From the Committee on Education and the Workforce Democrats Blog:

On Friday, Rep. George Miller (D-CA), senior Democrat on the committee, took the House floor to announce his opposition to a conference report accompanying the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act. Miller opposed the conference report because of changes made in the bill will roll back workers rights by making union elections in the airline industry difficult, if not impossible to hold.

“It contains numerous statutory changes that will make it harder for workers to get an election and have a voice at work,” Miller said. “It undermines the rights of American workers for no purpose other than to satisfy the ideological demands of the Republicans and their special interest backers.”

Watch video of Rep. Miller and read the entirety of his prepared remarks below.

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Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this conference report.

This compromise stands as an example of why it is counterproductive to negotiate with hostage takers.

Initially, Republicans insisted that to keep the FAA open we make union elections as unfair as possible. For instance, they said that for a union election we should count anyone who did not vote in an election as a ‘No’ vote against the union.

Republicans gave up that demand. Thanks to Democrats, the rule providing for fairer elections is protected.

But, instead of succeeding at making union elections unfair, this conference report makes those elections difficult, if not impossible, to hold.

This report contains numerous statutory changes that will make it harder for workers to get an election and have a voice at work. And these changes will require an act of Congress to undo.

This compromise leads to absurdities.

Under the election rule – which is saved for the time being – workers need a majority of actual voters to win a union election.

But under this conference report, to even hold an election, workers must first get a majority of all ELIGIBLE voters to sign cards supporting the union.

These are nationwide units, stretched across the country.

You don’t have access to all of these voters. You don’t even know where many of them are. In the airlines, some have been on furlough for years.

Imagine if congressional elections were run this way: To get on the ballot, you would first need a majority of all voters in your district to sign cards saying they supported you.

None of us would be elected under this requirement. In fact, there probably wouldn’t even be an election. And that may be the point, especially when you see how this might work in airline mergers.

Mr. Speaker, I cannot support this bill.

It undermines the rights of American workers for no purpose other than to satisfy the ideological demands of the Republicans and their special interest backers.

I urge my colleagues to join me in defeating this conference report.
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