Letter to the U.S. Senate on S. 964 the "Job Protection Act"
May 12, 2011
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE:
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region, urges you to support and co-sponsor S. 964 the “Job Protection Act.”
The Job Protection Act would amend the National Labor Relations Act in two important ways. First, it would ensure that employers that choose to talk openly and honestly about the costs of collective bargaining agreements and strikes will not have those same words used against them as evidence of anti-union discrimination. Second, it reinforces the basic principle that the decision over where to locate production and other facilities is fundamentally a matter of business judgment that should not be lightly overturned.
This legislation may not have been necessary had it not been for the recent complaint issued by the National Labor Relations Board’s Acting General Counsel against The Boeing Company regarding Boeing’s plans to construct a new aircraft production line, a complaint that is unprecedented in scope in that it seeks to nullify more than $1 billion in investment, to say nothing of further delays to production and other disruptions that would likely occur if the Acting General Counsel is successful.While it is true that Boeing will eventually have its day in court, it will likely take years and countless litigation expenses. In the mean time, businesses considering investing in new facilities in the United States will think twice and need to consider the risk that those decisions may be second guessed by the NLRB. Enactment of the Job Protection Act would remove this element of uncertainty and encourage investment in new U.S. facilities.
For these reasons, the Chamber urges you to support and co-sponsor the Job Protection Act.
Sincerely,
R. Bruce Josten
Related Links
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- Comments to PEFC on Use of ILO Conventions
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- Key Vote Letter Supporting S.J. Res. 30, a Resolution of Disapproval that Would Repeal Revisions the National Mediation Board Made to its Regulations Concerning Union Organizing Under the Railway Labor Act
- U.S. Chamber Highlights Continued Barriers to Job Creation at Annual Labor Day Briefing
- Key vote letter to the members of the U.S. House of Representatives regarding H.R. 1120, the “Preventing Greater Uncertainty in Labor-Management Relations Act.”
- Testimony on The Future of the NLRB: What Noel Canning vs. NLRB Means for Workers, Employers, and Unions
- Letter supporting H.R. 3094, the “Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act.”