FAA Bill Could Help Weaken Union Influence

House Republicans have spent the last few months trying to put an end to a sneaky union move that might mean American workers lose their say in whether their shop forms a union. House Republicans have managed to head off the National Mediation Board by inserting a provision vetoing their efforts in a bill that would extend funding for the FAA. Now that this mission has come to a critical juncture, and the cooperation of House Republicans is absolutely critical to preserving workers choice (and, additionally, keeping government spending in check).

The National Mediation Board, an Obama crony-filled body connected tenuously to the AFL-CIO recently overturned decades of precedent when it determined that workers who chose not to participate – or could not participate – in an election to form a union did not receive a voice in the election’s outcome. Previously, a majority of all workers in a shop were required to form a union; if a worker was absent for a vote to form a union, that worker was counted as a “no” vote, thus imperiling union creation. Not content with results of recent elections, the NMB decided that unions could be formed with merely a majority of present workers, making forming a union much, much easier.

Back in April, the House GOP passed an FAA reauthorizatin bill that would have killed the NMB decision, restored workers choice, reduced wasteful government spending, cut back on restrictive airline industry regulations, and provided the FAA with the resources necessary to improve flight control and air traffic technology, all without levvying any new taxes or fees on American taxpayers. Of course, as with many bills that do what Americans want, Democrats vociferously opposed the measure in the Senate and passed their own bill with none of the benefits of the House bill.

Now, that bill is headed to a joint session, and suddenly the GOP has an unprecedented, rare opportunity.

They can stand strong against the Democrats and their union backers and represent the interests of the American taxpayer in DC by supporting HR 658 – the House version of the bill that contains the tough language, preserving taxpayer dollars and preserving workers choice. We, as Americans must encourage them to step up and support this bill.