Thursday, September 22, 2011

Was H.R. 2587 Really Just About Boeing?

H.R.2587 - Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act is legislation that prohibits the National Labor Relations Board from ordering any employer to close, relocate, or transfer employment under any circumstance.  Some are discussing this legislation as if it is only about Boeing.  But the legislation actually affects “any employer” “under any circumstance” which in turn affects any employee.  If our Congress people were really just interested in protecting just Boeing and American jobs the bill would have been named “Protecting   American Multinational Aerospace and Defense Corporations from Government Interference Act” or “Protecting American Jobs From Government Interference Act”   The NLRB is an independent agency of the United States government charged with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices and with conducting elections for labor union representation.  H.R. 2587 basically strips the board of all its authority to prevent outsourcing.  Why didn’t Congress divide NLRB into 2 boards one to deal with unfair labor practices and outsourcing and another to deal with union representation?  Without a board charged with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices many Americans could be subject to unfair labor practices or having their jobs outsourced.
Rep. Timothy Bishop [D, NY-1] filed a motion to recommit with instructions. The instructions contained in the motion seek to require the bill to be reported back to the House with an amendment prohibiting the Act from limiting the National Labor Relations Board's authority to order an employer to maintain or restore jobs within the United States that have been or will otherwise be outsourced to a foreign country in violation of the National Labor Relations Act.
The motion to recommit with instructions failed by the Yeas and Nays: 189 – 235.  235 House Representatives voted against an amendment that would have kept our jobs from being outsourced to a foreign country.  Wait, wasn’t all this supposed to be just because of Boeing opening a facility in South Carolina (not in a foreign country)?   If H.R. 2587 was really just about Boeing this amendment would not have failed.  Americans deserve to know the real reason behind H.R. 258.

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