Letter Opposing H.R. 1644, the "Re-Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradesworkers (RESPECT) Act"

TO THE MEMBERS OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business federation representing more that three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region, opposes H.R. 1644, the "Re-Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradesworkers (RESPECT) Act," and urges you to neither co-sponsor nor support this bill.

Supervisors have long been exempt from the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) for many important reasons, such as the conflict that would be created by subjecting management to union control through union discipline rules. H.R. 1644 would amend the NLRA's definition of "supervisor" so that more management employees would be included in union bargaining units.

One of the most significant provisions of the bill would exclude all management employees who do not spend a majority of time performing supervisory responsibilities from the supervisory exemption. This provision flies in the face of more than 50 years of settled labor law that requires that employees perform management responsibilities regularly and for a substantial portion of their time to be considered supervisors, but also recognizes that employees with management responsibilities may also spend a significant amount of time performing non-management duties.

In addition, H.R. 1644 would delete the functions of assigning work and directing the work of other employees from those functions deemed to be supervisory in nature. It is legitimate to pose the question: if directing the work of others is not truly supervisory, what is? Proponents of H.R. 1644 claim that the bill is necessary to correct the National Labor Relations Board's decision in Oakwood Healthcare, Inc., (348 NLRB No. 37), in which they claim the Board made it easier to classify employees as supervisors. Little discussed, however, is that in the Oakwood case, the vast majority of employees in dispute were not deemed to be supervisors. Likewise, the dire consequences predicted by critics of the decision have not come to pass. As the Board continues to issue more decisions in this area, it is only becoming clearer that the Board will not permit workers to be classified as supervisors if they do not truly function in such a capacity.

For these reasons, the Chamber opposes H.R. 1644 and urges you to refrain from cosponsoring or supporting it. Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.

Sincerely,

R. Bruce Josten