Senate Proceeding on Sep 23rd, 2010 :: 1:50:10 to 1:55:15
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1:49:55 to 1:50:15( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: quorum call: mr. isakson: madam president? the presiding officer: the mr. isakson: i ask that the quorum call be vitiated. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. isakson: i would like to recognize for up to six minutes the distinguished senator from nevada, senator ensign. the presiding officer: the senator from nevada. mr. ensign: madam president, i rise today to discuss the resolution before us, a resolution of disapproval to

1:50:10 to 1:55:15( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: John Ensign

1:50:16 to 1:50:38( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: prevent the implementation of the recent national mediation board regulations. many americans are likely unaware of the vote that we are about to have today, let alone the controversial rule that it concerns. last may the national mediation board finalized a new regulation that would turn 75 years of union voting precedent on its head.

1:50:39 to 1:50:59( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: i believe that a vote to support this resolution of disapproval is a vote to protect our nation's workers. specifically, the national mediation board has changed the voting rules under the railway labor act. the railway labor act is the law that sets labor union rules for railways and airline employees.

1:51:00 to 1:51:21( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: for the past 75 years under this act, a majority of employees in a -- quote -- "organizing unit" have had to vote "yes" to form a union. under this new change, only a majority of employees who actually vote are needed to form a union. how does this new rule work in practice?

1:51:22 to 1:51:42( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: for example, if an airline has 1,000 employees who are nonunion today, currently 501 must vote "yes" to unionize. but under this new rule, if only 300 of those employees vote, then it would require only 151 of those employees to unionize

1:51:43 to 1:52:03( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: and speak for the entire 1,000 employees. and since there is no procedure to dine kwropbz under the railway labor act, once this union is formed, these 1,000 employees would be permanently unionized. there is simply no way to vote out a certified union in this

1:52:04 to 1:52:25( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: part of the law, even if a majority is unhappy with the union leadership. this doesn't make sense given that the national labor relations act, the law that governs most labor unions in this country, does allow workers to deunionize. it is also concerning that the national mediation board effectively blocked out the

1:52:26 to 1:52:47( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: input of its sole republican member, chairman elizabeth daugherty, during the rule making process. chairman daugherty stated that the proposal was completely without my input or participation, and i was excluded from any discussions regarding the timing of the proposed rule. sounds like what's been going on here lately. this certainly doesn't sound like transparency that the other

1:52:48 to 1:53:08( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: side of the aisle campaigned on. the american people who are listening to this debate may be thinking that this rule change sounds like nothing more than a political pay back to big labor, and in my opinion, they're right. the american people listening today may also be that i go this whole debate -- may also be thinking this whole debate sounds vaguely familiar and they

1:53:09 to 1:53:29( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: may be right again. a proposal called card check may ring a bell. under the legislation, american workers would be deprived of a right to a secret ballot when voting on whether to form a union or not. while card check and the national mediation board rule change may not be one and the same, they both lead to an identical outcome undermining the fundamental rights of

1:53:30 to 1:53:50( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: american workers. now, you may be asking whether this rule will help workers in the airline and railway industries unionize. perhaps this rule is needed because their employees have stacked the deck of cards against unionization efforts. well, let's look at the facts. an average of 72% of airline and

1:53:51 to 1:54:11( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: railway employees today are unionized compared to only 8% in the rest of the private sector. 72% in airlines and railways; only 8% in the rest of the private sector. so it can't be the case that this new policy is in response to a failure of 75 years of voting precedent or employers

1:54:12 to 1:54:33( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: blocking the ability for employees to unionize. in fact, workers at delta have voted down six organizing drives over the past ten years. this nation is facing unprecedented economic difficulties. i speak from experience. my state of nevada, unemployment rate is 14.4%.

1:54:34 to 1:54:54( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: we lead the country, unfortunately. the federal bureaucracy should be working to strengthen our kpheurbgs not creating an -- economy, not creating an environment for american businesses to create an uneven playing field and at the end of the day uncertainty. uncertainty does not help create jobs. the members of the national mediation board have not provided congress with any substantial evidence that a

1:54:55 to 1:55:15( Edit History Discussion )

John Ensign: change in union voting procedures is needed. i believe that this rule change is a sign of a dangerous trend, a trend that runs counter to the core principles of american democracy and the ability to choose fairly through a fair voting process. as such, i urge my colleagues to