AFL-CIO
WORKERS’ RIGHTS—H.R. 3061
Under the National Labor Relations Act, if employers allow organizations, including charities, to distribute materials to or solicit contributions from employees and customers on their sites, they must provide the same access to labor unions. During debate on the fiscal year 2002 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education spending bill, anti-union senators offered an amendment that would have allowed employers to unfairly restrict the free speech rights of labor unions by allowing charitable organizations, but not unions, to access worksites.
Although proponents of this amendment argued that employers needed it to be able to allow charities to solicit funds for the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, employers can do this now under current law. Thus, the proponents of this amendment were simply trying to use the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to discriminate against labor unions. The amendment was rejected.