CLEVELAND, March 29 — Anti-worker legislators in the U.S. House of Representatives are trying to make it much more difficult for railroad and airline employees to form unions. The BLET is urging its members to contact specific Representatives and ask them to support the LaTourette amendment to H.R. 658, the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act.
The debate on H.R. 658 is scheduled for Thursday (March 31), and BLET members are urged to call the Members of the House of Representatives listed below today. The BLET National Legislative Office is asking BLET members to focus on the following Representatives:
Republicans:
Lou Barletta (PA) 202/225-6511
Charles Dent (PA) 202/225-6411
Mike Fitzpatrick (PA) 202/225-4276
Jim Gerlach (PA) 202/225-4315
Mike Kelly (PA) 202/225-5406
Patrick Meehan (PA) 202/225-2011
James Renacci (OH) 202/225-3876
Shelley Moore Capito (WV) 202/225-2711
David McKinley (WV) 202/225-4172
JoAnn Emerson (MO) 202/225-4404
Richard Hanna (NY) 202/225-3665
Tom Reed (NY) 202/225-3161
Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA) 202/225-3536
Randy Hultgren (IL) 202/225-2976
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL) 202/225-3931
John Shimkus (IL) 202/225-5271
Bobby Shilling (IL) 202/225-5905
David Rivera (FL) 202/225-2778
Dave Reichert (WA) 202/225-7761
Democrats:
John Lewis (GA) 202/225-3801
Dan Boren (OK) 202/225-2701
Joe Donnelly (IN) 202/225-3915
Henry Cuellar (TX) 202/225-1640
Jim Cooper (TN) 202/225-4311
Jim Matheson (UT) 202/225-3011
Mike McIntyre (NC) 202/225-2731
When calling, identify yourself as a Teamsters/BLET member and then ask for the staff member who handles National Mediation Board or labor issues. When you get the staff member on the line or reach their voice mail, politely ask that the Member of Congress stand up in support of the democratic rights of railroad and airline workers and vote for LaTourette amendment to H.R. 658 that protects the NMB election rules currently in place.
BACKGROUND
Some members of the U.S. House of Representatives want to turn the clock back on how representation elections are conducted under the Railway Labor Act by the National Mediation Board (NMB).
For over 80 years NMB rules governing representation elections in the railroad and aviation industries counted workers who did not vote as having voted against representation. These undemocratic rules meant that widespread apathy and/or carrier intimidation almost always spelled defeat for these organizing efforts. Last year the NMB finally changed its rules to make representation elections the same as all other elections in America — the majority of those who vote make the decision whether there will be union representation.
“The effort to bring back archaic election rules in H.R. 658 would again sharply tilt the playing field in the carriers’ favor, and is being pushed by politicians beholden to corporations who can make unlimited contributions to these politicians’ election campaigns,” BLET National President Dennis Pierce said.
In early March, President Pierce launched the BLET’s national mobilization network to fight H.R. 658 in conjunction with the BLET’s State Legislative Board Chairmen.