House Hearing, 113TH Congress - The Future of Union Organizing

THE FUTURE OF UNION ORGANIZING
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH,
EMPLOYMENT, LABOR, AND PENSIONS
COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
AND THE WORKFORCE
U.S. HOUSE
OF
REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION
HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC SEPTEMBER 19, 2013
Serial No. 11333

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COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE

JOHN KLINE, Minnesota, Chairman
Thomas E. Petri, Wisconsin
Howard P. Buck McKeon, California
Joe Wilson, South Carolina
Virginia Foxx, North Carolina
Tom Price, Georgia
Kenny Marchant, Texas
Duncan Hunter, California
David P. Roe, Tennessee
Glenn Thompson, Pennsylvania
Tim Walberg, Michigan
Matt Salmon, Arizona
Brett Guthrie, Kentucky
Scott DesJarlais, Tennessee
Todd Rokita, Indiana
Larry Bucshon, Indiana
Trey Gowdy, South Carolina
Lou Barletta, Pennsylvania
Martha Roby, Alabama
Joseph J. Heck, Nevada
Susan W. Brooks, Indiana
Richard Hudson, North Carolina
Luke Messer, Indiana
George Miller, California,

Senior Democratic Member
Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey
Robert C. Bobby Scott, Virginia
Ruben Hinojosa, Texas
Carolyn McCarthy, New York
John F. Tierney, Massachusetts
Rush Holt, New Jersey
Susan A. Davis, California
Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona
Timothy H. Bishop, New York
David Loebsack, Iowa
Joe Courtney, Connecticut
Marcia L. Fudge, Ohio
Jared Polis, Colorado
Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan,
Northern Mariana Islands
John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky
Frederica S. Wilson, Florida
Suzanne Bonamici, Oregon
Juliane Sullivan, Staff Director

Jody Calemine, Minority Staff Director
SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EMPLOYMENT, LABOR, AND PENSIONS

DAVID P. ROE, Tennessee, Chairman
Joe Wilson, South Carolina
Tom Price, Georgia
Kenny Marchant, Texas
Matt Salmon, Arizona
Brett Guthrie, Kentucky
Scott DesJarlais, Tennessee
Larry Bucshon, Indiana
Trey Gowdy, South Carolina
Lou Barletta, Pennsylvania
Martha Roby, Alabama
Joseph J. Heck, Nevada
Susan W. Brooks, Indiana
Luke Messer, Indiana
Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey,

Ranking Member
Rush Holt, New Jersey
David Loebsack, Iowa
Robert C. Bobby Scott, Virginia
Ruben Hinojosa, Texas
John F. Tierney, Massachusetts
Raul M. Grijalva, Arizona
Joe Courtney, Connecticut
Jared Polis, Colorado
John A. Yarmuth, Kentucky
Frederica S. Wilson, Florida
(II)
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C O N T E N T S
Page
Hearing held on September 19, 2013 .....................................................................

Statement of Members:
Roe, Hon. Phil, Chairman, Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor,
and Pensions .................................................................................................
Prepared statement of ...............................................................................
Statement of Witnesses:
Adams, Clarence, Field Technician, Cablevision ...........................................
Burton, David R., General Counsel, National Small Business Association .
Meisburg, Ron, Member Of The Firm, Proskauer .........................................
Marculewicz, Stefan J., Shareholder, Littler Memdelson .............................
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40
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43
APPENDIX
Roe, Hon. Phil, Chairman, Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor,
and Pensions:
Letter, dated September 18, 2013 from Vice President Angelo I. Amador,
Esq., National Restaurant Association .......................................................
Letter, dated September 19, 2013 from Vice President Geoffrey G. Burr,
Associated Builders and Contractors Inc. ...................................................
(III)
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CANDRA
THE FUTURE OF UNION ORGANIZING

Thursday, September 19, 2013
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Health, Employment Labor & Pensions,
Committee on Education and the Workforce,
Washington, D.C.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:07 a.m., in Room

2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. David P. Roe [chairman
of the subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Roe, Salmon, Guthrie, DesJarlais, Andrews, Holt, Grijalva, Courtney, and Wilson.
Also present: Representatives Kline and Miller.
Staff present: Katherine Bathgate, Deputy Press Secretary;
Owen Caine, Legislative Assistant; Molly Conway, Professional
Staff Member; Ed Gilroy, Director of Workforce Policy; Benjamin
Hoog, Senior Legislative Assistant; Marvin Kaplan, Workforce Policy Counsel; Brian Newell, Deputy Communications Director;
Krisann Pearce, General Counsel; Molly McLaughlin Salmi, Deputy
Director of Workforce Policy; Alissa Strawcutter, Deputy Clerk;
Loren Sweatt, Senior Policy Advisor; Aaron Albright, Minority
Communications Director for Labor; Tylease Alli, Minority Clerk/
Intern and Fellow Coordinator; Jody Calemine, Minority Staff Director; Melissa Greenberg, Minority Staff Assistant; Eunice Ikene,
Minority Staff Assistant; Brian Levin, Minority Deputy Press Secretary/New Media Coordinator; Richard Miller, Minority Senior
Labor Policy Advisor; Megan OReilly, Minority General Counsel;
Michele Varnhagen, Minority Chief Policy Advisor/Labor Policy Director; Michael Zola, Minority Deputy Staff Director; and Mark
Zuckerman, Minority Senior Economic Advisor.
Chairman ROE. A quorum being present, the Subcommittee on
Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions will come to order. This
morning we will broadly examine the future of union organizing. It
is no secret the number of workers electing to join a union has declined sharply in recent decades. Since 1983, the share of all workers belonging to a union has dropped from roughly 20 percent to
less than 12 percent.
Today, fewer than 7 percent of private sector workers are union
members. AFLCIO president, Richard Trumka, recently warned
the labor movement is in crisis. Gary Chaison, an industrial relations professor at Clark University, told the New York Times
unions are thrashing around looking for answers, and there is a
sense that this is a make or break time for labor. Either major
changes are done, or we will be too late to resuscitate the labor
movement. As union leaders try desperately to swell the ranks of
dues-paying members, we have to ensure the tools they use abide
by the law and are in the best interests of our workforce.
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We must also hold federal agencies accountable for the role they
play as union looks to regain the support they once held among
Americas workers. Toward that end, this committee has repeatedly
expressed concerns with the culture of union favoritism embraced
by the current administration. In some cases, we have stated our
disapproval and called for a course of correction. In others, we have
advanced legislation that would strengthen the rights of workers
and ensure a level playing field between unions and employers.
Schemes such as ambush elections or micro unions will spark
radical changes in the union organizing process. Under the process
envisioned by union leaders, a workers right make to informed decisions in union elections is diminished, employers freedom to communicate with employees is stifled, and workers privacy is jeopardized. And the solidarity in the workplace is broken. As a result, it
will be virtually impossible for workers to freely vote their conscience. Aside from the help of friendly federal agencies, union
leaders are also pursuing inventive strategies to organize workers.
Recent news reports have highlighted one particular strategy to
utilize worker centers to build employee support for unionization.
Worker centers often engage in traditional union activities, such as
corporate campaigns and employee walkouts. But because they operate under the guise of non-profit community organizations, they
can avoid a range of federal standards that have long governed
union contact. Chairman Klein and I have asked the Department
of Labor to clarify the legal obligations of worker centers.
While the response we received to our initial inquiry was incomplete and disappointing, we are hopeful Secretary Perez will provide more substantive answers to our questions. We should support
every effort to improve wages and working conditions of those
struggling in todays economy, so long as those efforts follow the
law. The question of union representation is a deeply personal matter for any worker. It is important to remember what has been,
and must remain, the vital principle of federal labor law.
The law is supposed to enable unions to organize every workplace, and the law isnt designed to help employers obstruct union
representation. Fundamentally, the law exists to protect the right
of workers to freely choose to join or not join a union. Defending
this right is the responsibility of every elected policymaker, and
this committee will continue to demand fair and objective policies
that allow workers to make this important decision without a fear
of coercion, intimidation or retribution. And we will work to ensure
these policies are vigorously enforced.
Before I close, I want to thank our witnesses for being with us.
I would also like to extend a special thanks to Mr. Clarence Adams,
a Marine veteran. Mr. Adams was the first of many troops deployed under Operation Iraqi Freedom. This weeks senseless tragedy at the Navy Yard reminds us of the sacrifice rendered every
day by the men and women in our armed forces. Mr. Adams, we
are grateful for you service to our country, and for your participation in todays hearing.
I will now recognize our senior Democratic member of the subcommittee, my colleague, Mr. Andrews, for his opening statement.
[The statement of Chairman Roe follows:]
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3
Prepared Statement of Hon. Phil Roe, Chairman, Subcommittee on Health,
Employment, Labor, and Pensions
This morning we will broadly examine the future of union organizing. Its no secret the number of workers electing to join a union has declined sharply in recent
decades. Since 1983 the share of all workers belonging to a union has dropped from
roughly 20 percent to less than 12 percent. Today fewer than seven percent of private-sector workers are union members.
AFLCIO President Richard Trumka recently warned the labor movement is in
a crisis. Gary Chaison, an industrial relations professor at Clark University, told
the New York Times, Unions are thrashing around looking for answers. Theres a
sense that this is make-or-break time for labor. Either major things are done, or
it will be too late to resuscitate the labor movement.
As union leaders try desperately to swell the ranks of dues-paying members, we
have to ensure the tools they use abide by the law and are in the best interests
of our workforce. We also must hold federal agencies accountable for the role they
play as unions look to regain the support they once held among Americas workers.
Toward that end, this committee has repeatedly expressed concerns with the culture of union favoritism embraced by the current administration. In some cases, we
have stated our disapproval and called for a course correction. In others, we have
advanced legislation that would strengthen the rights of workers and ensure a level
playing field between unions and employers.
Schemes such as ambush elections and micro-unions will spark radical changes
in the union organizing process. Under the process envisioned by union leaders,
workers right to make informed decisions in union elections is diminished; employers freedom to communicate with employees is stifled; workers privacy is jeopardized; and solidarity in the workplace is broken. As a result, it will be virtually impossible for workers to freely vote their conscience.
Aside from the help of friendly federal agencies, union leaders are also pursuing
inventive strategies to organize workers. Recent news reports have highlighted one
particular strategy to utilize worker centers to build employee support for unionization. Worker centers often engage in traditional union activities, such as corporate
campaigns and employee walkouts. But because they operate under the guise of
nonprofits community organizations, they can avoid a range of federal standards
that have long governed union conduct.
Chairman Kline and I have asked the Department of Labor to clarify the legal
obligations of worker centers. While the response we received to our initial inquiry
was incomplete and disappointing, we are hopeful Secretary Perez will provide more
substantive answers to our questions. We should support every effort to help improve the wages and working conditions of those struggling in todays economy, so
long as those efforts follow the law.
The question of union representation is a deeply personal matter for any worker.
It is important to remember what has been and must remain the vital principle of
federal labor law. The law isnt supposed to enable unions to organize every workplace. And the law isnt designed to help employers obstruct union representation.
Fundamentally the law exists to protect the right of workers to freely choose to join
or not join a union.
Defending this right is the responsibility of every elected policymaker, and this
committee will continue to demand fair and objective policies that allow workers to
make this important decision without fear of coercion, intimidation, and retribution,
and we will work to ensure these policies are vigorously enforced.
Before I close, I want to thank our witnesses for being with us. Id also like to
extend a special thanks to Mr. Clarence Adams. As a marine veteran, Mr. Adams
was the first of many troops deployed under Operation Iraqi Freedom. This weeks
senseless tragedy at the Navy Yard reminds us of the sacrifice rendered every day
by the men and women in our Armed Forces. Mr. Adams, we are grateful for your
service to our country and for your participation in todays hearing.
I will now recognize the senior Democratic member of the subcommittee, my colleague Mr. Andrews, for his opening remarks.
Mr. ANDREWS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would also like to

thank the witnesses for their diligence in preparation for todays
hearing. We are glad that you are here. And I thank you, Mr.
Chairman, for starting this hearing off with a solemn reminder of
those who lost their lives working for our country just a few blocks
from here, at the Navy Yard, on Monday. We are deeply in their
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debt, and I appreciate you honoring their service with your remarks this morning.
When I was home for our extended break in August and early
September, I got the sense from listening to a lot of constituents
that although the economy has improved certainly since the dark
days of 5 years ago, when the economy nearly collapsed, that it is
not good enough. It has just not gained the traction that we need
to lift people out of the struggles that they feel every day. Now, one
way toone thing we should certainly not do is continue with the
budget sequester policies that, unfortunately, this House is gonna
vote to renew either tomorrow or Friday.
I hope that we can find a way to reenergize our economy by reducing and eliminating the sequester. But one thing we should do
is regenerate the middle class. Our economy works when a middle
class worker gets her kitchen remodeled. Because the kitchen remodeler then is likely to go out and buy a car. And the car salesman earns more commissions, so he or she is more likely to buy
a house. And the real estate agent earns a commission, so he or
she is more likely to go out to a restaurant. And the owner of the
restaurant is more likely to hire more servers and more workers
and they are more likely to get their kitchens remodeled. And on
it goes.
So we believe that you grow the economy from the middle class
out. There has been an unhappy story, even in this recovery, for
the middle class. In the early days of this economic recovery, for
every 1 dollar of growth that went to higher wages for Americas
workers $70 went to corporate profits in the country. So by a 70to-1 ratio the benefits of growth that we have seen have gone to
corporate profits and not to employee wages. What do you do about
that?
Well, the evidence broadly suggests that when people engage in
collective bargaining that those results are considerably better. On
the average, members of unions earn 27 percent more than those
who dont belong to a union for similar work. Members of unions
are 28 percent more likely to have health care benefits provided for
them at work. They are 64 percent more likely to have a pension
plan when they retire. These are the elements of middle class success. This is particularly relevant to groups in our society who have
historically suffered under greater burdens and had more difficulty
in achieving the American dream.
For African-Americans, African-American workers who are in
unions have a median wage that is 30 percent higher than those
who are not. For Latinos in our country, Latinos who are in a
union have a median wage 58.5 percent higher than those who are
not. I think the Chairman exactly stated the intention of U.S. labor
law, which is an aggressive neutrality. It is the idea that people
should be free to make their own decisions about what is right for
them. I certainly agree that that means that there shouldnt be any
coercive behavior toward employers or toward employees who do
not wish to join a union. Certainly that is part of the law.
And the chairman states it well when he says, and I am quoting
him, The law is not designed to enable employers to obstruct
union representation. He is absolutely right. When Mr. Adams
came home from Iraq, he went to work for an employer in New
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5
York City and he was part of an effort to organize his fellow workers under the Communication Workers of America. They succeeded,
on January 26 of 2012, to win a representation election. Today, all
these days later, they still do not have a first contract.
So one of the issues we should be looking at, as we try to grow
the economy, grow the middle class and permit those who have
freely chosen to join a union and have the benefits of collective bargaining, is, what is happening across this country with those first
contracts. I look forward to our discussion here this morning.
I thank the Chairman and look forward to hearing from the witnesses.
Chairman ROE. Thank you, Mr. Andrews.
Pursuant to committee rule 7C, the members will be permitted
to submit written statements to be included in the permanent
hearing record. And without objection, the hearing record will remain open for 14 days to allow such statements and other extraneous material referenced during the hearing to be submitted for
the official hearing record.
It is now my pleasure to introduce our distinguished panel of witnesses. Mr. Ronald Meisburg is partner of Proskauer Rose in
Washington, D.C. Mr. Meisburg served as general counsel for the
NLRB for the 4 years, and is a board member for 1 year. And I
did a little research on him. He graduated from Carson-Newman
College, very close to my home. Welcome.
Mr. David Burton is the general counsel for the National Small
Business Association and is testifying on their behalf. Mr. Clarence
Adams, a field technician for Cablevision in Brooklyn, New York.
Welcome. Mr. Stefan Marculewicz is a shareholder in Littler
Mendelson, PC of Washington, D.C.
And before I recognize you to provide your testimony, let me
briefly explain our lighting system. You have 5 minutes to present
your testimony. When you begin, the light in front of you will turn
green. When one minute is left, the light will turn yellow. When
your time is expired the light will turn red. At that point, I will
ask you to wrap up your remarks as best as you are able. And I
wont cut you off in the middle of your remarks, but try to finish
up. After everyone has testified, members will each 5 minutes to
ask questions.
And right now, I would like to thank the witnesses. And if you
would, Mr. Meisburg?
STATEMENT OF MR. RON MEISBURG, MEMBER OF THE FIRM,
PROSKAUER, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Mr. MEISBURG. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the

subcommittee. My name is Ronald Meisburg. I am a partner in the
Proskauer Rose law firm. I am co-chair of the firms labor-management relations practice group. I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you here today.
My testimony is solely my own. I am not here representing my
firm, its clients or any person or organization. I have practiced law
now for 39 years. I began my legal career in 1974 in the office of
the solicitor of labor; first, in the division of employee benefits, and
then the division of mine safety and health. I moved to private
practice in 1980, and for the next 23 years I practiced principally
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in the area of labor relations, including collective bargaining, contract administration, grievance and arbitration proceedings and
cases before the NLRB and in federal court.
In 2003, I was nominated for a seat on the National Labor Relations Board by President George W. Bush. I served a recess appointment on the board for 1 year, January through December,
2004. In January 2006 I received a recess appointment for the post
of general counsel. I was confirmed by the Senate in August of
2006, and I served as general counsel until mid-2010. Following
that, I returned to the private practice of law, where I am now.
I have submitted written testimony about what I see as the areas
of law and legal issues that will most likely be addressed by the
board in the upcoming months, and I will touch only lightly on
them here. In 2011, the board proposed regulations making substantial changes in the representation election process. Some of the
proposed regulations that were promulgated were eventually set
aside, and are currently pending on appeal in the United States
Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Other parts
of the proposed regulations have yet to be promulgated.
I would expect the board to revisit that and to attempt to complete what it began in 2011. Many in the management community,
I believe, felt that the boards previous rulemaking efforts were not
necessary, given the overall success of the boards handling of representation cases. At the time the proposed rules were announced,
the boards general counsel had described the boards representation case handling results as outstanding. If the board, in fact, goes
forward with further rulemaking it will hopefully follow a process
that involves stakeholders earlierperhaps through an advanced
notice of proposed rulemakingand which focuses on the potential
delay caused in outlier cases.
We have also recently seen the board expand in areas of concerted protected activity, such as decisions addressing non-employee and off-duty employee access to an employers property and
protection from employee social media statements. I would expect
the board to continue to expand these areas and the concept of protected activity, particularly as it is adapted to developments in the
organization of work and the revolution we are seeing in technology. And I would hope that the board does this with a sense of
balance, recognizing that the NLRA is one of a constellation of federal, state and local workplace laws with which employers must
comply.
I also expect the board will continue to apply, and perhaps refine, its tests for the determination of bargaining units announced
in specialty health care through both administrative processes at
the regional office level, as well as cases coming before the board
itself. And the board will continue to deal with the fallout from the
recess appointment issue in many cases where it has been raised,
both with respect to the board and with respect to some of the regional directors and also delegations of the board. And just a few
weeks ago, there was a decision by a federal district court in Washington which held the general counsels appointment in 2010,
under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, to have been invalid.
So the board and its staff, unfortunately, are going to be distracted by a lot of these cases as they go forward. Finally, let me
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say a brief word about the career staff at the board with whom I
had the pleasure of working on almost a daily basis for several
years. They serve the appointees like a lawyer serves a client: giving advice, speaking directly, arguing their points. But when a decision is made, they turn to delivering a draft opinion or advice
memorandum, or brief or other action as decided by the appointee.
And they do this whether they serve a Republican appointee or a
Democrat appointee.
I have great respect for these career professionals and the staff
that supports them, and I hope they can be kept free of the political crossfire that sometimes engulfs the NLRB. Thank you very
much for this time, and I look forward to your questions.
[The statement of Mr. Meisburg follows:]
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Chairman ROE. Thank you, Mr. Meisburg.
Mr. Burton?
STATEMENT OF MR. DAVID R. BURTON, GENERAL COUNSEL,
NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION, WASHINGTON, D.C.
Mr. BURTON. I appreciate the opportunity to be here today. My

name is David Burton. I am general counsel for the National Small
Business Association. NSBA was founded in 1937, and represents
approximately 65,000 small businesses throughout the country.
About 28 percent of our members have 20 or more employees.
Roughly 4 percent of our members have unions. Roughly 8 percent
of our members have dealt with unionization campaigns. And a
very large proportion of our members are subject to NLRB jurisdictional standards.
I will quickly address four issues. The DOL has proposed a rule
that would radically narrow the advice exemption in the LaborManagement and Disclosure Act and jettison the interpretation of
that exemption that has been adopted by every administration
since the Kennedy administration. It is our considered view that
the proposed rules be withdrawn because it is contrary to congressional intent for at least five reasons.
It upends a century of settled law and creates uncertainty, and
imposes dramatically higher costs than the DOL claimed in their
estimate; to harm the right of employers to secure advice that will
violate the attorney-client privilege; and it lacks an adequate evidentiary basis. For half a century, advisors that did not interact
with employees generally did not have to file reports with DOL. In
contrast, under the interpretation of section 203C contained in the
proposed rule, virtually any imaginable activity by almost any consultant or vendor that, in any manner, directly or indirectly relates
to a labor dispute or attempted organization of an employer would
be reportable.
In addition, attorneys, employee benefits consultants and other
human resources advisors would probably be reportable. Even extremely minor activities would have to be reported. And if you go
back and look at the legislative history, the 1959 conference committee report explicitly stated that Congress intended for the advice exception to be broad. It is, however, difficult to conceive of a
more narrowly drafted definition of advice than that contained in
the proposed rule.
The proposed rule is inconsistent with basic rules of statutory
construction. It more or less reads the 203C exemption out of the
law. It is impermissible to read a section of the statute as unnecessary or meaningless surplusage when an alternative construction
can give meaning to the provision. Congress has acquiesced to the
definition established by the Kennedyor the interpretation that
satisfied the Kennedy administration for over half a century. That
is strong evidence that the Kennedy administration DOL got it
right.
The proposed rule also applies to multi-employer seminars,
Webinars and conferences. And absent mind-reading skills, the
sponsors of those seminars arent going to know to what use the
information is gonna be put. So they will end up having to report
on every attendee of their conferences with respect to the fees and
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20
who attended. With respect to union elections, in June of 2011 the

NLRB published a proposed rule, now withdrawn but likely to be
revisited now that the NLRB has a quorum.
The rule would revise election procedures so that in many cases,
if not most, elections would be conducted within 10 to 21 days rather than the 35 to 40 days typical today. The members of this committee know a thing or two about elections, and I invite each member of this committee to engage in a thought experiment. Imagine
if your opponent was permitted to organize his or her campaign,
raise money, hire consultants, recruit volunteers, communicate
with voters and only then you were informed there was gonna be
an election and it was gonna be in 10 days.
Perhaps I am wrong, but I think most people would regard that
as unfair. It is equally unfair in the case of union elections. Small
businesses are not familiar with labor law, they dont have labor
lawyers on staff. They need time to find advice and to decide how
to deal with the potential unionization campaign. In the case of
micro unions, we basically are extremely concerned with the line
of cases inaugurated by specialty health care.
The case that I think is most notable is the Bergdorf Goodman
case, where the second and fifth floor ladies shoe departments were
separately organized. When you get into a case where you can organize separate shoe departments in a store, you have the potential
to have an incredible multiplicity of bargaining units, tremendous
complexity and a balkanization of the workplace.
And with that, I will wrap up my statement. I am glad to answer
any questions.
[The statement of Mr. Burton follows:]
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38
Chairman ROE. Thank you, Mr. Burton.
Mr. Adams?
STATEMENT OF MR. CLARENCE ADAMS, FIELD TECHNICIAN,
CABLEVISION, BROOKLYN, NY
Mr. ADAMS. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking

Member Andrews, and members of the subcommittee for giving me
this opportunity to testify. I appreciate it greatly. Thank you very
much.
My name is Clarence Adams, and I have been a field technician
for Cablevision in Brooklyn for over 14 years. I am also a proud
veteran of the United States Marines. And 10 years ago, I was
among the first wave of American troops who invaded Iraq. I was
proud to serve my country and was prepared to do whatever was
necessary to define the basic freedoms that make this country
great.
I want to tell you today that my coworkers and I have gone
through a lot to try to join a union. In the fall ofI am sorry, in
the winter of 2011 myself and a large group of coworkers decided
to organize with the Communication Workers of America. Company
management viciously opposed our efforts. I was forced to attend
literally dozens of meetings where Cablevision management told
me that CWA was corrupt. They lied to me about the cost of dues
and the likelihood of strikes. They threatened that my wages and
benefits would actually go down if we joined together in a union.
But on January 26, 2012 an overwhelming majority of my coworkers in Brooklyn voted to join CWA. We were very excited. We
thought now we would be able to sit down with Cablevision and negotiate a contract that reasonably addresses our concerns. But we
were wrong. I soon learned that management had no intention of
bargaining with us in good faith. They continued their campaign of
pressure and intimidation. And as a union supporter, I felt like I
was under the microscope every day when I went to work.
A few months after we won our election, my Cablevision workers
in the Bronx and I decidedmy Cablevision workers in Bronxville
decided to begin organizing as well and join CWA. In late April,
James Dolan, the CEO of Cablevision, made it clear that he would
stop at nothing to prevent more employees from joining our union.
Dolan gave every single employee in the entire company, about
$10,000, significant raises, except for us in Brooklyn. He improved
the health plans of every single employee in Cablevision except for
us in Brooklyn.
He allowed techs all over his company to install Wi-Fi in parks,
except for us in Brooklyn. The only difference between those of us
in Brooklyn and the rest of the company was that we exercised our
legal rights to join a union. Right before my coworkers in the Bronx
held a vote on joining the union in late June, James Dolan personally visited them and stated that they shouldnt make the same
mistake we did in Brooklyn. He told them that Cablevision would
now abandon Brooklyn. He told them Brooklyn would be left behind in terms of investment in workforce.
Management succeeded in frightening enough workers so that a
majority voted against the union. Earlier this year, on January 30,
I was among 70 Cablevision workers in Brooklyn who decided to
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take advantage of the companys open door policy, which encourages employees to go to management at any time to discuss issues
of concern. I arrived, before my shift started, to meet with a manager, any manager, for only 5 minutes to express my frustration
that the company was stalling during bargaining.
That morning, management eventually agreed to invite 22 techs
into a conference room, and I was one of those techs. I was shocked
to find that vice president, Mr. Rick Levesque, came into the room
and told us we were all being permanently replaced. Cablevisions
open door policy specifically says that the company does not tolerate retaliation against employees for having views different from
their own, but on this day that policy wasnt worth the paper it
was written on.
Thanks to a massive pressure campaign, the company has been
forced to hire all of us back. I am proud to say that my 21 coworkers and I, who were fired, stayed strong through the entire ordeal.
And when we walked back in the door, we showed our fellow coworkers that this is a fight that we can still win. But I have to say
that I am very, very upset about what happened to us and what
has happened since we voted the union in.
The NLRB had filed charges against Cablevision, and we still
await justice. Cablevision threatened my livelihood by illegally firing me, and they have shown utter contempt for the rule of the
law. And so far, there have been no consequences for them. Cablevision has hired over 50 lawyers, literally, to defend their unlawful
actions. It is simply obscene for them to spend so much on lawyers
instead of sitting down to negotiate with their employees.
I just want a shot at the American dream. I want job security.
I want to know that I cant be fired without just cause. Ten years
ago, I put my life on the line 6,000 miles away from home in the
name of protecting the basic rights of American democracy. I believe I was fighting so that the rights of every American would be
protected. I never thought that I would see the day that I, as an
American citizen, would have my basic rights trampled on, and no
one would do anything about it.
I never thought that a big corporation could violate my rights,
and the government would just let them get away with it. I am sad
to say that my experience has taught me that our current labor
laws are broken. Workers who dream of reaching the middle class
and who hope for some job security shouldnt have to endure
months, or even years, of fear and intimidation at work. I was
there when my country asked me to risk everything in Iraq, and
is it too much to ask for my government to protect my rights to join
a union at work?
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my story with
you today. Thank you.
[The statement of Mr. Adams follows:]
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Testimony of
Clarence Adams
Before the Subcommittee on
Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions
Hearing on
The Future of Union Organizing
September 19, 2013
Thank you Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Andrews and members of this subcommittee for giving me the opportunity to testify.
My name is Clarence Adams and I have been a field technician for Cablevision
in Brooklyn for over 14 years. I am also a proud veteran of the US Marines. Ten
years ago, I was among the first wave of American troops who invaded Iraq. I was
proud to serve my country and I was prepared to do whatever was necessary to defend the basic freedoms that make this a great country.
I want to tell you today what I and my coworkers have gone through just to try
to join a union.
In the fall and winter of 2011, I and a large group of my co-workers decided to
organize with the Communications Workers of America.
Company management viciously opposed our efforts. I was forced to attend literally dozens of meetings where Cablevision management told me CWA was corrupt. They lied to me about the cost of dues and the likelihood of strikes. They
threatened that my wages and benefits would actually go down if we joined together
into a union. But on January 26, 2012, an overwhelming majority of my coworkers
in Brooklyn voted to join CWA.
We were so excited. We thought, now well sit down with Cablevision and negotiate a contract that reasonably addresses our concerns.
We were wrong. I soon learned that management had no intention of bargaining
with us in good faith. They continued their campaign of pressure and intimidation.
As a union supporter, I felt like I was under a microscope every day I went to work.
A few months after we won our election, my Cablevision coworkers in the Bronx
decided to begin organizing as well, to join us in CWA.
In late April, James Dolan, the CEO of Cablevision, made it clear that he would
stop at nothing to prevent more employees from joining our union. Dolan gave every
single employee in the entire company - about 10,000 people - significant raises. Except for us in Brooklyn. He improved the health plans of every single employee in
Cablevision. Except for us in Brooklyn. He allowed techs all over his company to
install Wi-Fi in parks. Except for us in Brooklyn. The only difference between those
of us in Brooklyn and the rest of the company was that we exercised our legal rights
to join a union.
And then, right before my coworkers in the Bronx held a vote on joining the union
in late June, James Dolan personally visited them and stated that they shouldnt
make the same mistake we did in Brooklyn. He told them that Cablevision would
now abandon Brooklyn. He told them Brooklyn would be left behind in terms of
investment and the workforce. Management succeeded in frightening enough workers so that a majority voted against the union.
Early this year, on January 30th, I was among 70 Cablevision workers in Brooklyn who decided to take advantage of the companys Open Door Policy, which encourages employees to go to management at anytime to discuss issues of concern.
I arrived before my shift started to meet with a manager, any manager, for only
five minutes to express my frustration that the company was stalling during bargaining. That morning, management eventually agreed to invite 22 techs into a conference room. I was one of those techs.
I was shocked when the Vice President, Mr. Rick Levesque, came into the room
and told us we were being permanently replaced.
Cablevisions Open Door Policy specifically says that the company does not tolerate retaliation against employees for having views different from ours, but on
this day, that policy wasnt worth the paper it was written on.
Thanks to a massive pressure campaign, the company has been forced to hire all
of us back. I am proud that my 21 co-workers and I who were fired stayed strong
through this ordeal. And when we walked back in the door, we showed our fellow
workers that this is still a fight that we can win.
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But I have to say I am very, very upset about what happened to us and what
has happened since we voted in the union. The NLRB has filed charges against Cablevision, and we still await justice. Cablevision threatened my livelihood by illegally firing me, and they have shown utter contempt for the rule of law. And so far
there have been no consequences for them. Cablevision has hired over 50 lawyers,
literally, to defend their unlawful actions. It is simply obscene for them to spend
so much on lawyers, instead of sitting down to negotiate with their employees.
I just want a shot at the American Dream. I want some job security. I want to
know that I cant be fired without just cause.
Ten years ago, I put my life on the line 6,000 miles away from home in the name
of protecting the basic rights of American democracy. I believed I was fighting so
that the rights of every American would be protected. I never thought that I would
see the day that I, as an American citizen, would have my basic rights trampled
on and no one would do anything about it. I never thought that a big corporation
could violate my rights and the government would let them get away with it.
I am sad to say that my experience has taught me that our current labor laws
are broken. Workers who dream of reaching the middle class and who hope for some
job security shouldnt have to endure months and even years of fear and intimidation at work.
I was there when my country asked me to risk everything in Iraq. Is it too much
to ask for my government to protect my right to join a union at work?
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my story with you today.
Chairman ROE. Thank you, Mr. Adams.

Mr. Marculewicz?
STATEMENT OF MR. STEFAN J. MARCULEWICZ,
SHAREHOLDER, LITTLER MEMDELSON, WASHINGTON, DC
Mr. MARCULEWICZ. Chairman Roe, Ranking Member Andrews

and the members of the committee, I want to thank you all for the
opportunity to offer testimony this morning on this important topic.
My name is Stefan Marculewicz. I am a shareholder with the law
firm of Littler Mendelson here in Washington, D.C. I am speaking
to you today on my own behalf and not on behalf of my firm or any
firm client or anyone else.
I have practiced law, or labor employment law, for nearly 20
years. I started my career at the National Labor Relations Board
in Forth Worth, Texas as a field attorney, and also worked for a
time in Baltimore, Maryland at the regional office there, as well.
Labor unions, as Chairman Roe indicated, the primary advocate
for workers rights in the United States for more than a century,
have experienced a significant decline in membership. As a result,
labor unions have sought new and innovative means to effectuate
change in the workplace. One of the most significant examples of
this effort is the development of organizations known as worker
centers. In recent months, these groups have been involved in protests and other activities that have received substantial coverage in
the media.
Typically, they are non-profit organizations that receive funding
from foundations, grants, including from government, membership
fees and other donations. Some are funded by other labor organizations. These groups offer a variety of services to their members, including education, training, employment services and legal advice.
Increasingly, however, worker centers are directly engaging employers or groups of employers to effectuate change in the wages,
hours, and terms and conditions of employment of the workers they
claim to represent.
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Indeed, when it comes to such direct engagement, these worker

centers often act no differently than traditional labor unions. Yet
few of these groups comply with the laws that regulate labor organizations. Statutes, like the National Labor Relations Act and the
Labor, Management, Reporting and Disclosure Act, contain significant protections with respect to representational democracy, organizational democracy, access to basic information and promotion of
the duty of fair representation.
These basic rights are an important part of the process governing
the representation of employees in the workplace by third-party organizations. Even though compliance with these laws would confer
benefits upon the very workers these groups claim to represent,
many such groups are reluctant to define themselves as labor organizations because the NLRA and LMRDA are perceived as creating
an impediment to worker centers activities. In addition, worker
centers have not considered themselves to be limited by the NLRA
restrictions on secondary picketing and protracted picketing for recognition.
And such conduct is a common tool used by these groups to convey their message, although it would violate the National Labor
Relations Act. Without coverage of the NLRA and LMRDA, these
organizations can avoid accountability to the workers they claim to
represent, and avoid restraints that are imposed on traditional
labor organizations. Yet the laws that provide protections to workers, vis-a-vis labor organizations that represent them, were designed precisely to create that accountability.
Moreover, these laws were also intended to protect worker selfchoice, to ensure a balance between labor and management, labor
and management interests, and to ensure the free flow of commerce. The burden of compliance with those laws is not so severe,
when considered within the context of the benefits afforded to
workers and the economy in general. The mission of many worker
centers is often seen as being an important means of advocating on
behalf of underrepresented employees who do not have access to,
or knowledge of, the legal mechanisms to protect their rights.
However, no organization, no matter how laudable its mission, is
above reproach. And through its passage of laws that regulate
labor organizations, Congress established safeguards to give workers a say in, and understanding of, the operations of the organizations that represent them. Compliance with the NLRA and LMRDA
serves not only as a protection for workers, but perhaps as a
validator of the worker centers that claim to represent them.
One goal of many worker centers is to ensure that employers of
their members comply with the basic laws that offer protections to
workers. Ultimately, the benefits of the laws that govern labor organizations flow to the workers they represent. And as such, there
is simply no viable justification for worker centers not to comply
with them.
Thank you for your time, and I look forward to answering any
questions that you may have.
[The statement of Mr. Marculewicz follows:]
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Testimony of Stefan Marculewicz Before
The United States House of Representatives
Health, Employment Labor and Pensions Subcommittee
September 19, 2013
Chairman Roe and Ranking Member Andrews, thank you for the opportunity to
offer testimony to the members of this Committee. My name is Stefan Marculewicz
and I am a Shareholder at the law firm of Littler Mendelson here in Washington,
DC. I am speaking to you today on my own behalf and not on behalf of my firm
or any firm client.
Labor unions, the primary advocates for workers rights in the United States for
more than a century, have experienced a significant decline in membership. As a
result, labor unions have sought new and innovative means to effectuate change in
the workplace.
One of the most significant examples of this effort is the development of organizations known as worker centers. In recent months, these groups have been involved
in protests and other activities that have received substantial coverage in the media.
Today there are hundreds of worker centers across the country. Their structure and
composition vary. Typically, they are non-profit organizations that receive funding
from foundations, grants-including from government, membership fees and other donations. Some are funded by other labor organizations. These groups offer a variety
of services to their members, including education, training, employment services and
legal advice. Increasingly, however, worker centers are directly engaging employers
or groups of employers to effectuate change in the wages, hours and terms and conditions of workers they claim to represent. Indeed, when it comes to such direct engagement, these worker centers often act no differently than traditional labor organizations.
Yet, few of these groups comply with the laws that regulate labor organizations.
Statutes like the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and the Labor Management
Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) contain significant protections with respect
to representational democracy, organizational democracy, access to basic information and promotion of a duty of fair representation. These basic rights are an important part of the process governing the representation of employees in the workplace
by third-party organizations.
Even though compliance with these laws would confer benefits upon the very
workers these groups claim to represent, many such groups are reluctant to define
themselves as labor organizations because the NLRA and the LMRDA are perceived
as creating an impediment to worker centers activities. In addition, worker centers
have not considered themselves to be limited by the NLRA restrictions on secondary
picketing and protracted picketing for recognition, and such conduct is a common
tool used by these groups to convey their message, although it would violate the
NLRA.
Without coverage of the NLRA and LMRDA these organizations can avoid accountability to the workers they claim to represent and avoid restraints that are imposed on traditional labor organizations. Yet, the laws that provide protections to
workers vis a vis labor organizations that represent them were designed precisely
to create that accountability. Moreover, these laws were also intended to protect
worker self-choice, to ensure a balance between labor and management interests,
and to ensure the free flow of commerce. The burden of compliance with those laws
is not so severe when considered within the context of the benefits afforded to workers and the economy in general.
The mission of many worker centers is often seen as being an important means
of advocating on behalf of underrepresented employees who do not have access to
or knowledge of the legal mechanisms to protect their rights. However, no organization, no matter how laudable its mission, is above reproach, and through its passage
of the laws that regulate labor organizations, Congress established safeguards to
give workers a say in and understanding of the operations of the organizations that
represent them. Compliance with the NLRA and LMRDA serves not only as a protection for workers, but perhaps as a validator of the worker centers that claim to
represent them.
A goal of many worker centers is to ensure that employers of their members comply with the basic laws that offer protections to workers. It therefore is not unreasonable to expect worker centers to do the same. Ultimately, the benefits of the laws
that govern labor organizations flow to the workers they represent, and, as such,
there simply is no viable justification for worker centers not to comply with them.
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Thank you for your time, and I look forward to answering any questions you may
have.
Chairman ROE. I thank the panel. And you all may be the best
on the lights that I have seen since I have been here. Everybody
was under the wire, so thank you all. You all did a great job.
I will now ask Mr. Salmon. Yield to him.
Mr. SALMON. Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity to listen
to this panels testimony. Thank you very much.
I have a little bit of a story, and I would like maybe some
thoughts. Arizona had, really, only one family-owned grocery store
left in Arizona, called Bashas. The head of Bashas, who basically
became the head of Bashas after his father died, Eddie Basha, a
very, very dear and close personal friend of mine. While I am a Republican, he was a prominent Democrat. In fact, about 15 years
agomight even be a little longer, maybe 18 years agohe was the
Democrat nominee for governor of the state of Arizona.
He didnt prevail. He ran against the incumbent. But Eddie has
always been just a pillar in our community, always, you know,
fighting for homeless people and against child abuse. Any good
cause, Eddie was always there. And what is really tragic is that he
was one of the top contributors, over the last, I would say, 30, 40
years to the Democrat Party and Democrat candidates. He was
very prominent in the Democrat Party. And yet, time and time
again the unions tried to organize at Bashas.
And the employees themselves decided they didnt want to do it.
So the last several years, they started resorting to some dirty
tricks. In fact, they planted some overdue formulasome bad formula, baby formulaon the shelves, and they did all kinds of real
nasty public relations tricks on him. In fact, they were caught redhanded on the planting of the tainted formula, or the overdue formula. And then they filed just multiple frivolous claims with the
NLRB.
And they had an unlimited supply of money to file these lawsuits. And the upshot is that Eddies company, Bashas, ended up
going into bankruptcy because they had multimillion dollars of trying to defend against these stupid, frivolous lawsuits against the
NLRB. And Eddie, muchsad to say, just in the last few months,
passed away. But Arizona has sorely missed him.
My question is, what can be done to address some of these frivolous lawsuits and this aggressive tactic of just trying to wear somebody down through that kind of a process, to the point where they
just either throw up their hands and give in or file bankruptcy like
Bashas had to? Any thoughts on that from anybody in the panel?
Mr. MEISBURG. I believe one thing that would help in these circumstances would be if the board would permit an employer to call
for an election. In other words, make the fact that the employees
dont want to join the union, make it a matter of record in a board
election. And treat a corporate campaign of this sort like a demand
for recognition. Now, the board has, in the past, had cases where
they could do that. It has been bouncing around the board for a
number of years.
I think that would let the employer say, Listen, I am willing to
let my employees decide whether they want to be a membera
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union-represented shop or not. But I want to do it through a secret

ballot election. Unless the union files for a petition or demands
recognition, right now the employer cant make that happen. So
what I think might help in those situations would be if the employer could say, Okay, I am willing to put this to a vote of my
employees.
And if there are a number of employeesthe employees vote
against it, then the union would be banned fromas they are trying to organize after a lost election for a year. And that would give,
I think, some calming effect to these kinds of campaigns.
Mr. BURTON. I think the problem that you have identified is very
real. Litigation costs can crush small businesses. Mr. Adams referred to how much money was being spent on lawyers. It is a
problem throughout the entire legal system, not just NLRB. I think
there is a need to streamline the procedures. Some of the things
the NLRB has done along those lines makes sense, but a lot of
them also do it in a way that dont really make sense.
But in the entire legal system, we have given some thought to
the problem. And there is probably a need, at least with respect to
smaller litigants that dont have unlimited resources. Fortune 500
companies and the federal government are fine, but small businesses and other smaller entities are not. To move more towards
a small claims type arrangement or a continental European-type
arrangement where the judge is more of a fact-finder rather than
the two litigants being able to throw up walls and expend the other
sides money on an almost unlimited basis in discovery or filing
various motions.
These days, it can cost $60-to 100 grand to defend an utterly frivolous lawsuit. And that can be crushing to a small firm.
Chairman ROE. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Andrews?
Mr. ANDREWS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I thank each of the
witnesses for their testimony. Mr. Adams, thank you for serving
our country and for being with us this morning. And thank all four
of you.
It has now been, by my count, 601 days since Mr. Adams and his
group won the organizing election he referred to. And, Mr. Adams,
my understanding is there is still not a first contract. Is that right?
Mr. ADAMS. Yes, that is correct.
Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Meisburg, on April 19 of 2006, in your role
as general counsel, you wrote a memo. I want to read from it. You
quote approvingly the federal mediation conciliation service, observing, Initial contract negotiations are often more difficult than
established successor contract negotiations since they frequently
follow contentious representation election campaigns. Then you go
on to say, And when employees are bargaining for their first collective bargaining agreement, they are highly susceptible to unfair
labor practices intended to undermine support for their bargaining
representative.
Indeed, our records indicate that in the initial period after election and certification, charges alleging that employers that refuse
to bargain are meritorious in more than a quarter of all newly-certified units, or 28 percent. That sounds like a sort of macro description of the case that Mr. Adams just talked about. What do
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you think we should do about these cases where there is a chronic

failure to come to that first contract because of the kind of practices you discuss in 2006? What should we do to fix that problem?
Mr. MEISBURG. Well, what we did, at the time, was we followed
up on that first contract bargaining initiative, which included a
more aggressive use of 10J, which is the injunction provisions of
the act, which then can get into a situation where an employer can
be in contempt. So that is a pretty powerful weapon. We also suggested other potential remedies that arent typically used in board
cases: bargaining on a specific schedule; reports by the employer directly to our regional directors about the status of the bargaining;
and payment of the costs of the bargaining by the wrongful-acting
party of the wronged party.
Mr. ANDREWS. Now, I know because of your recess status appointment situation, you werent around for a whole long period of
time to see this through. But did that tactic work?
Mr. MEISBURG. Well, that actually, I was there. I issued this
memorandum before I was confirmed, and then I was confirmed.
Mr. ANDREWS. These days, that would be probably pretty
smartconfirmation.
Mr. MEISBURG. And I followed up as a confirmed GC. What got
me interested in it was, we noticed that
Mr. ANDREWS. But did it work? Did the
Mr. MEISBURG. Well, I think it did. And let me tell you statistics.
When I first became GC, 50 percent of all the refusal to bargain,
85 bad faith bargaining charges were filed in first contract situations. When I left, that number had dropped to 25 percent. Now,
I just felt like the arrows were pointing in the right direction when
we left. Also, I think it is important to noteand this was in the
last speech I gave as general counsel80 percent of all first-contract bargaining succeeds without resort to the board.
Mr. ANDREWS. Yes
Mr. MEISBURG. And that is a tribute to the
Mr. ANDREWS. It is that 20 percent I am worried about.
Mr. Adams
Mr. MEISBURG. I understand.
Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Adams, what I want to ask Mr. Adams a
question. There is a proposal that has been before the Congress
that after a certain number of days if there wasnt a first contract
there would be mediation, where your union and the company
would have had to go to a mediator and talk about things. And
after a certain number of days, if that didnt work the first contracts could be subject to what is called binding arbitration,
where you guys would make your offer, the company would make
its offer, and the arbitrator would choose the outcome that he or
she thought was best.
Would that have helped you in this situation?
Mr. ADAMS. Tremendously, it would have helped a lot. In fact, I
would already be within the first year of an actual contract had
that been in place.
Mr. ANDREWS. It is interesting that if you played for the Yankees, which you probably couldif you played for the Yankees and
you had that situation, you would get that kind of arbitrator. Because, in other words, you would have the bargaining leverage to
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have somebody figure out what you were worth. So you would support a proposal in the law that would, after a certain period of
time, provide for that binding arbitration.
Mr. ADAMS. Absolutely, yes.
Mr. ANDREWS. Thank you very much.
Mr. Guthrie?
Mr. GUTHRIE. Thank you. Thanks for all the panelists for being
here. And, Mr. Adams, I thank you for your service and willing to
put on the uniform and serve overseas. I was actually in Brooklyn
Monday. I went to college in metro New York, at West Point. And
so Brooklyn has changed a lot. It is great, it is a wonderful place.
I enjoyed being there. So it was wonderful to be there. It has
changed a lot since the 1980s, so it was great to be there.
But I have a question for Mr. Burton. You mentioned in your testimony, and I have heard from small businesses, about the persuader activity. And from my own experience, I know the importance of being able to seek outside counsel. So I would like you to
give you a chance to expand on the persuader rule a little bit. And
you mentioned specifically in testimony that imposing additional
burdens on employers seeking advice would be a deterrent to seeking advice.
And could you expand on that for just a couple of minutes. I have
another question of another panelist, butabout the persuader activity and how it will discourage people from seeking advice.
Mr. BURTON. Okay. Well, if you end up having to buy into a bureaucratic morass, filing reports, and then potentially having to
spend a great deal of money to hire people to advise you how to
fill out the reports, then you will tend not to want to hire consultants. Because they dont cost just what you have to pay them,
but
Mr. GUTHRIE. You know what the
Mr. BURTON.the entire compliance cost associated with it.
Mr. GUTHRIE. You know what the Department of Labor is trying
to get to in that rule, and why you think they are wrong in that?
Mr. BURTON. I am not entirely sure what their true rationale is.
I think part of it is so that they can obtain information that they
would find useful in terms of understanding better the employer
strategy in unionization campaigns. And also wouldthis, of
course, would not be lawful, but some might want to use it for purposes of intimidating people.
Mr. GUTHRIE. Well, thank you for that. And I have a question
for Mr. Marculewicz? Is that correct? Under both the NLRA and
LMRDA, one of the primary elements in determining whether an
entity is a labor organization is whether it exists for the purpose,
in whole or part, of dealing with employers concerning terms and
conditions of employment. Last month, in response to an oversight
letter sent by this committee, the Department of Labor stated it
concluded, in 2004 and 2008, that the restaurant opportunity center was not a labor organization primarily because it did not deal,
or intend to deal, with employers.
How have the courts defined dealing with? Is the departments
conclusion consistent with your findings related to RLC?
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Mr. MARCULEWICZ. Thank you. The concept ofwell, first and

foremost, the concept of worker centers has evolved dramatically in
the last 5 years. We have seen a tremendous amount of activity by
these groups, and they have engaged in a wide variety of different
things. The situation that occurred in 2004 and 2008 with respect
to those letters, the analysis under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act provides that it has to be an organization
in which employees participate, that it have a purpose, in whole or
in part, of dealing with an employer over issues related to wages,
hours, and terms and conditions of employment.
The definition of that dealing with is prettythe bar is set
very, very low. And, in fact, the National Labor Relations Board
has the same test for employer-created committees, and has found
many of those committees to be violative of section 882 of the National Labor Relations Act when an employer creates an organization that engages in a dialogue and engages in, you know, so dealing with their workforce. And as a result of that, it is a fairly low
bar.
And, in fact, the NLRB has reachedhas considered a number
of cases where the name of the case is actually Group of Concerned
Workers and Their Leader. Because they have grouped together,
engaged in picketing or other activity, and the NLRB has looked
at that and said, you know, they have a goal of dealing with, their
purpose is dealing with, it is focused on the intent. And if you look
at some of the activities of these worker centers subsequent to that,
you will see thatyou know, I think there is a wide variety of attempts to effectuate change in the workplace.
Mr. GUTHRIE. I am about to run out of time. So also on that, you
mentioned that because they are not limited that they do secondary
picketing. And what is secondary picketing, and why does the
NRLA respect secondary picketing and protracted picketing for recognition?
Mr. MARCULEWICZ. Secondary picketing is where, if you and I
have a labor dispute and one of my major customersyou go and
picket that major customerthat customer has nothing to do with
our labor dispute, the NLRB prohibits that, or the National Labor
Relations Act prohibits, that secondarythey are trying to protect
the true neutrals; those who are not interested toand it was Congress balance of the balance of the interests of labor and management and the pursuit of the free flow of commerce.
Mr. GUTHRIE. So the work centers are doing the secondary picketing.
Mr. MARCULEWICZ. In many situations. Not all, but in many situations, yes.
Mr. GUTHRIE. I believe I am out of time.
I yield back.
Chairman ROE. Mr. Grijalva?
Mr. GRIJALVA. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me ask Mr. Adams
a couple of questions, if I may. And as a point of reference to my
friend and colleague from Arizona, and the comments regarding
Bashas, the grocery chain, a very large grocery chain in Arizona.
Mr. Basha, who passed is a good philanthropist, great immigrant
story. And considered him a friend.
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But at the same time, the lawsuits that were referenced and
some of the other issues dealt with some very specific things:
OSHA violations worker safety. It also dealt with violations of overtime. It also dealt with other kinds of issues that any individual
employee has the right to, and should, exercise that right. And exercising the right does not make the people doing that, or the organization helping with that, necessarily evil. And I would subject
I would ask people that there is, in any question of that magnitude,
there is always another side.
Let me ask Mr. Adams, in your testimony youwell, let me go
in your testimony, you said that the management at Cablevision
had no intention of bargaining. Can you share some of the tactics
they used to pressure, intimidate workers, and really keep from
formalizing what, through election, the workers wanted to sit down
and collectively bargain?
Mr. ADAMS. Thank you. One of the things that my coworkers and
I definitely noticed is, they were obviously objectionable to the
whole of us unionizing in the first place. They didnt think it was
necessary. One of the things we tried to point out to management
is that there was a serious need for structure. A lot of the times
there was a lot of, you know, favoritism, things like that, that go
on. And it is unfair to a number of employees who are doing the
right thing and, you know, following some of the expectations that
the company has for, you know, the employees.
One of the things that I have noticedespecially last year, the
number of meetings we had, their way of trying to inform us what
was best for us was to tell us that we didnt need to form a union.
Are weyou know, are we sure that we know what we are getting
into. And no matter how often we made them aware of the fact that
we were very sure and this was what we wanted to do, they always
seemed to come up with a new way of trying to derail it.
I have to say, this is, without question, one of the hardest things
that I have ever been through. As you know already, I have been
fired already. Myself and 21 other employees were fired because we
basically took advantage of an open door policy to speak with management on the morning of January 30. It would have only literally
taken about 5 minutes. They were very dismissive. They seemed to
have other things to do.
And like I said, theyyou know, Mr. Levesque invited us, the
vice president of our shop invited us into the room. And he basically told us we were all being permanently replaced. That was just
one of the things that took place to try to intimidate the workers.
As soon as we were led out by police escort and we were removed
from the building, a memo went out to the employees about decertification.
A lot of the employees, already intimidated by the fact that a
number of the stronger members were already led out the door, got
them to feel like they didnt have a chance against Cablevision.
And so a lot of them felt like they had to put their names on the
paper to decertify.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Open door policies that the company has. What
else is covered other than coming in and stating your opinion to
management? What else is covered in that policy?
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Mr. ADAMS. If there is any general concerns that we have, one

of the things that is covered in there, especially when it comes to
employee safetyyou know, there are a lot of times that we have
to do things that are otherwise unsafe. You know, it is not really
safe for the employee to do. We are climbing rooftops, fire escapes,
you know, we are in backyards where most people, you know, traditionally dont have much traffic.
A lot of the time people do get hurt, and they end up, you know,
being off the job for some time, sometimes over 4 or 5, 6 months.
You know, Cablevision has already, this past year, two employees
were let go because they werent able to recover in time from their
injuries. A lot of the times employees feel the need to come in and
work, you know, sometimes with injuries, you know, that are workrelated. And they refuse to let management know about it because
they understand that they will not be able to relate to what is
going on with them, or at least do the right thing in making sure
they take care of those employees.
Mr. GRIJALVA. Thank you. And, Mr. Chairman, with regard to
the comments on the worker centers, it should be noted that much
of the activity and support these centers are providing is to immigrant workers all across this country, including the push for an increased minimum wage. And, in doing so, are providing a service,
providing English lessons, providing social services, and providing
a voice to a group of workers in this country that have historically
been exploited.
And I would consider that a good thing for the overall economy
of this country and, certainly, for those immigrant workers rights.
With that, I yield back.
Mr. Miller?
Mr. MILLER. Thank you. And I want to thank Mr. Adams for
coming and testifying today. I also want to recognize Lana Stuart
and Tanya Cauley, who are in our audience today. I have had
many of my constituents participate in our Wal-Martand my conversations with them in my office and on the street, a lot of it
about just they are trying to figure outyou know, they know that
with Wal-Mart discussion of a union is toxic.
They are trying to figure out how to keep their job, and how they
get some respect and how they get a decent wage and how they get
decent conditions in working, and dont live in a place of intimidation. I mean, Wal-Mart has figured it out pretty clearly. They have
the highest paid truck drivers in the country. Because they know
if they dont the Teamsters can organize them. But people on the
floor, they are interchangeable.
Just fire them and find somebody else to do that job, as hard as
it is and as difficult as it is. And that is, you knowand so if you
try to figure it out yourself among your peers, you can get fired.
If you talk to somebody from OUR[MG3] Wal-Mart, you can get
fired. So you can be arbitrary as hell in that fashion. But if you
then go the other route, as Mr. Adams went, you spend a year trying to talk to your coworkers and get a union and you win an election. What did you win by, Mr. Adams, 180 to 86?
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Mr. MILLER. Yes. Everybody that gets elected, close the deal. Except your deal never got closed.
Mr. ADAMS. That is correct, yes.
Mr. MILLER. So now you have spent how long? What is itMr.
Andrews says 600 days?
Mr. ADAMS. Six-hundred-one.
Mr. MILLER. Six-hundred-one days trying to get the results of
your election.
Mr. ADAMS. Yes.
Mr. MILLER. And get the benefits of the bargaining. Which I understand started out with you are asking for parity.
Mr. ADAMS. Yes.
Mr. MILLER. And I assume if you find out that this unit can
crawl and walk and run, you might ask for something else some
day.
Mr. ADAMS. Hopefully, we will be able to get a contract.
Mr. MILLER. Yes.
[Laughter.]
Mr. ADAMS. Hopefully.
Mr. MILLER. So they dont give you the contract, and Mr. Andrews went through that part of it. And they gave everybody
around you a raise, but not for the people in your unit that signed
up for the union.
Mr. ADAMS. That is correct.
Mr. MILLER. So Mr. Dolan can be as arbitrary and as capricious
as he wants to be, as long as you dont get a contract.
Mr. MILLER. So he can reward people, trying to send a signal to
the 186 that joined you that they just missed out on this benefit
ofwhat was it you said, $5,000 to 25,000, something like that. I
didnt get the benefit of your previous testimony, but.
Mr. ADAMS. Upwards of $27,000, yes, $18,000.
Mr. MILLER. So just a cash benefit.
Mr. ADAMS. Yep.
Mr. MILLER. Telling people to stay away from this unit. And then
I guess this progressive company, Cablevision, they have an open
door policy.
Mr. ADAMS. Yes. Yes, they do. They have an open door policy.
Mr. MILLER. Unless you are in the union, it turns out to be a
trapdoor.
Mr. ADAMS. Pretty much.
Mr. MILLER. Yes. So you must be wondering where you go to get
justice.
Mr. ADAMS. I am, actually. My and
Mr. MILLER. Where do you go to get your union. And these people can drag you out for 600 days. They can fire you because you
asked for a 5-minute meeting. Apparently, you didnt even ask for
a meeting in front of other workers. You asked for a meeting with
your group, with him, with Mr. Levesque is it?
Mr. ADAMS. Rick Levesque, yes.
Mr. MILLER. And that meeting, that meeting got you permanently displaced, or immediately replaced.
Mr. ADAMS. That is correct. Permanently replaced, yes.
Mr. MILLER. You need a union.
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Mr. MILLER. That is whatbecause these people are about as arbitrary and capricious as an employer could be. And this is just,
you know, a company that is a rogue with respect to its employees.
They have decided also that you are replaceable. And anybody else
that, apparently, speaks up, uses their policies, uses the law, can
be punished and lose their job and lose the benefits of an increase
in pay. And they are daring you to do something about it.
Mr. MILLER. It is really unfortunate for you. You know, and I noticed several members here thank you for your service to the country. Dont make a damn bit of difference when you are in that
workplace at Cablevision. Doesnt make a damn bit of difference.
Made a big difference to us as a country and to your fellow
servicepeople.
Thank you very much for your testimony.
Mr. ADAMS. Thank you.
Chairman ROE. Mr. Courtney?
Mr. COURTNEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I actually just wanted
to pick up where Mr. Miller left off. You testified, Mr. Adams, that
what you have been going through is the toughest thing you have
ever experienced?
Mr. COURTNEY. Okay. And you are a U.S. Marine combat veteran
of Iraq. Is that correct?
Mr. ADAMS. Yes. Support, yes.
Mr. COURTNEY. Yes. And when you entered the Marines you entered as a volunteer. Isnt that correct?
Mr. ADAMS. Yes.
Mr. COURTNEY. And you took an oath. And in that oath, you
swore to uphold the Constitution and the laws of this country, is
that correct?
Mr. COURTNEY. And when we go into military service, again, you
are not taking an oath to an individual or to the homeland or to
the motherland. You are really taking an oath to a system that is
about protecting peoples dignity and rights as American citizens.
Isnt that correct?
Mr. COURTNEY. And itagain, I justyou know, listening to
thisyour story, it just is stunning to see that, you know, where
you were prepared to put your life on the line as a Marine, and to
come and have the system, again, really just trample on your
rights. Which, again, are not sort of just statutory rights. The
rights to collectively bargain are recognized by the United Nations
human rights charter. It was recognized by Pope Leo in the Vatican in the late 1880s in terms of1880s, in terms of recognizing
that human dignity is tied to the fact that people have the right
to withhold their work as a way of bargaining for appropriate
working conditions.
And yet you are in a situation now where 600 days after going
through the process, following the rules, obeying the law, that,
again, you still do not have an outcome that the law claims to offer.
Isnt that correct?
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Mr. COURTNEY. The Marines actually have a motto. Isnt that

correct?
Mr. ADAMS. Yes, they do.
Mr. COURTNEY. And what is it?
Mr. ADAMS. Always FaithfulSemper Fi.
Mr. COURTNEY. Semper Fi. Well, there is also another Latin term
called ubi jus ibi remedium, which says that without a remedy,
there is no right. And, again, that is first-year law class, you
know, taught to individuals. Marshall v. Marbury, that was the
principle that the U.S. Supreme Court, establishing its authority,
enunciated. And it is a very simple concept. Which is that, you
know, you can have all the platitudes in the world about peoples
right to equality and votes and collective bargaining. But if you
dont have a remedy, it really doesnt exist.
And what your story proves is that the decline in union membership, which we have heard from witnesses and which we have
heard from the chairman, is frankly because we have a broken system. And sadly, in this committee room, you know, we have seen
measures brought forth trying to exploit the fact that the filibuster
rule was used in the Senate to basically neuter the National Labor
Relations Board and use that. Not the merits of cases, but use that
procedure as a device to, again, basically strip people of their
rights.
Thank goodness, they areyou know, the majority leader exercised a procedural measure to make sure that we now have a fullystaffed National Labor Relations Board. But the fact of the matter
is, you know, that just sort of gets us to the point where we can
begin the process of making sure that situations like yours are addressed. So thank you for your amazing service, for you belief in
our system. Not just as a soldier, but also a citizen and as a worker.
And, again, weand some of us here want to make sure that we
create a system that really balances rights and remedies so that
people can actually have available to themwhich is, again, bedrock human rights principles that has been recognized by international organizations and, in fact, the Vatican.
I yield back.
Ms. Wilson?
Ms. WILSON. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Strengthening labor means
strengthening our economy. And according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, the median weekly earnings of full-time union workers
in 2012 were $943 compared with $742 for non-union workers, or
$10,400 per year per worker. So people who are in unions earn less
than people who are not. By getting more income into the hands
of hardworking people who will spend it, we ensure more customers for American businesses and eliminate much of the need for
government assistance.
This is the case now more than ever. At a time of high unemployment and falling living standards for workers, today a parent working full-time at minimum wage will simply not earn enough income
to cover basic needs like food, clothing and shelter. Even working
a second job and well over 40 years a week, it is mathematically
impossible for many minimum wage workers to pay for child care,
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clothing and gas. If you doubt these claims, take a look at the draft
budget that a major employer distributed to its employees.
According to a new study from the Economic Policy Institute, the
bottom 60 percent of workers are earning less than they did 13
years ago. According to a recent report by the Center for Economic
& Policy Research, black Americans who have earned much higher
average levels of education over recent decades have a lower
chance of earning a living wage today than they had 30 years ago.
And so economic growth remains slow, unemployment stays high,
government debt continues to grow.
My question to Mr. Adamsand I have read your story, and I
commend you for your bravery and for standing tall for working
men and womenand I would like for you toI would like to find
out your view. How does collective bargaining affect low-and middle
class Americans purchasing power?
Mr. ADAMS. Well, what it does is, it definitely helps, at least for
the people who have already gone through the experience of earning low incomes, it really helps a lot when it comes to being able
to pay rent, being able to provide, you know, medical, being able
to just get some of the common items that every American deserves
and as to be as comfortable as possible, to work hard as possible,
and to earn a reasonable salary.
With collective bargaining, what it does is, it just points out that
the workers, if they have a good structure, are able to, you know,
help the company, you know, strive where it needs to go. And then
at the same time, withoutI couldI dontI hate to use the
term, without greed being part of the equation. Where everybody
is doing well, normally you would get, obviously, better results.
Better workers, people are willing to go the extra mile. And with
collective bargaining, it allows both sides to at least be able to, you
know, review that. And like I saidand it helps families tremendously.
Ms. WILSON. Yes. Well, you keep up the good fight. I have always
been a strong supporter of unions. I come from the public school
sector, where unions play a major role in making sure that there
is equal pay for everyone working for the school system. So it is
a bargaining procedure to make sure that people receive health
care, the benefits that they need to keep people at least surviving
and not falling below the poverty level.
And I just cant even imagine what we would actually do in our
school district in Miami-Dade County if we did not have the support of the unions making sure that people received a wage commensurate with what their living demanded. So thank you for
keeping on thestay on the path.
Mr. ADAMS. Thank you.
Chairman ROE. I thank the gentlelady for yielding.
Dr. DesJarlais?
Mr. DESJARLAIS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you all
for being here today. I would like to start with Mr. Marculewicz.
If a worker center is a labor organization under federal law, what
are the filing requirements and restrictions on activity?
Mr. MARCULEWICZ. Well, as in any labor organization they must
file an LM1, which is a form with the Department of Labor that
incorporates and includes the constitution and bylaws. And this is
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designed to provide disclosure, public information to those who

have an interest in that. Specifically those who are seeking to be
you know, or that group is seeking to represent as to how officers
are elected, what the process is, and the like.
There are also financial disclosures, in an LM2or if you are
a smaller labor organization, an LM4which are forms that are
filed with the Department of Labor that incorporate references and
describe and disclose the information, financial information, for the
labor organization. So workers, members can understand where the
money is coming from and where the money is going.
Mr. DESJARLAIS. Okay. I think you have partially answered this,
but why are the filing requirements and restrictions so important?
Mr. MARCULEWICZ. Well, they are important because back when
the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act was enacted
by Congress there were really fundamental problems of corruption
within labor unions. The McClellan hearings, which took placeactually were the first televised, to my understanding the first televised hearings in congressional history. And there was a fair
amount of interest in the issue. And it exposed union corruption,
exposed a wide variety of issues related to that.
And the law was passed to ensure that workers who were members and represented by these groups had a democratic right of
participation, a right to expression of opinion, a right to vote. I
mean, they have to elect their leadership, in a local, every 3 years
and in an international every 5 years. And those democratic principles are sort of at the foundation of organizational representation.
Mr. DESJARLAIS. Okay, thank you. Where do worker centers get
their funding?
Mr. MARCULEWICZ. Typically, worker centersthey get them, as
I indicated in my initial remarks, they receive funding from a wide
variety of sources. There are grants. Foundations will make contributions to them. There are also government grants that can be
that they can apply for and they can obtain. They alsosome of
them also receive direct funding from labor organizations. So the
money comes from a variety of different sources.
Now, the reality is, is that there is no disclosure related to where
that money comes from if that worker center doesnt consider itself
a labor organization. Now, recognize this. That workersnot all
worker centers act like labor organizations, but many of them are
starting to do so. And that isonce you become a labor organization and start engaging in dealing with an employer, there is a responsibility to file that and to disclose that information.
Mr. DESJARLAIS. Okay. Does this affect their tax status?
Mr. MARCULEWICZ. Well, typicallythere is actually a very good
piece written by Diana Furchtgott Roth on the worker center tax
treatment. And typically, a labor organization is a 501(c)(5) organization, which has different typeit is a different type of tax treatment. But many worker centers file, or designate themselves, as
501(c)(3)s. And the manner in which you can contribute is different. There are also contribution limitations by employers under
the Labor-Management Relations Act. Section 302 also limits how
money can be given to these worker centers.
Mr. DESJARLAIS. Thank you, sir.
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The next question will be for Mr. Meisburg. In fiscal year 2011,
labor unions won more than 71 percent of representation elections;
89 percent of those elections were held pursuant to agreements of
the union and employer, commonly referred to as voluntary consent
agreements. The median time to proceed to an election from the filing of a petition was 38 days. It appears the NLRB elections are
timely, and unions fare pretty well. In rare cases, the time between
a petition election can be significantly longer. What is the source
of these elections delay?
Mr. MEISBURG. Well, I havent done a study of that personally.
But my experience suggests that a lot of the delay is caused in
blocking charge cases. I know I had one case where weit was between the SCIU and the NUHW in California. And there was a petition for an election by the NUHW which was blocked for over a
year by a charge filed by the SEIU. Eventually, we refused to issue
a complaint. The block was withdrawn.
Now, the block can be withdrawn by a regional director if the
permission of the board at other times. But my sense is, and without having made a study, a thorough study of is, that is the source
of a lot of delay in, and it skews the statistics higher in those cases.
Mr. DESJARLAIS. Is this the exception to the rule?
Mr. MEISBURG. It is. I mean, you know
Chairman ROE. The gentleman is time has expired.
Mr. DESJARLAIS. Oh, sorry, Mr. Chairman.
Chairman ROE. Dr. Holt?
Mr. HOLT. I thank the chair. I would like to address Mr. Adams.
I was pleased to meet you in Brooklyn. I am impressed by your
service. I would think that the customers of the company must be
very pleased to know that someone such as you, so thoughtful and
diligent, is on the job. And as a policymaker, I must say I am very
pleased to find someone who so articulately expresses the workers
point of view.
You know, for well over half a century now labor laws in this
country have protected workers who believe that a union, through
collective bargaining, can improve their working conditions and
safety and pay and benefits. And those protections, I think, have
been well-justified because, over the intervening decades, unions
have, and to this day continue to be, I think, continue to have a
very beneficial effect on working conditions and safety and pay and
benefits.
What we see, and I have looked at this pretty closely, what we
see there with the Cablevision instance is a textbook example of
what has come to be known as union busting. In punishment, in
your case firing, for those who want to organize; inducements to try
to entice others not to organize; all sorts of statements, and then
retractions of those statements, and delays right up to the deadlines. It is a textbook example of how you use or misuse the laws
to prevent unionization. And even to this very day, the corporation
is spending millions of dollars to continue to fight this. Far more
than was at stake in the salaries and in the pay under dispute.
You have spoken about, we have heard about, Cablevision CEO,
Jim Dolans visit to the Bronx field technicians who were getting
ready to vote on affiliating and organizing. And he said they would
be left behind in training and investment and promotion and job
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advancement. And that group did not vote to affiliate. How do you
distinguish that from what happened with your group of field technicians? And from what you know about the Employee Free Choice
Act, how would that have made a difference in the Bronx? How
would it have made it a difference for your group?
Mr. ADAMS. Well, one of the things that would have been extremely beneficial, at least, you know, for the technicians in the
Bronx, when Mr. Dolan went to go visit them he did so simply because he realized that by underestimating the technicians in
Brooklyn he decided to, obviously, do something that would otherwise, like I say, point to our being irresponsible, so to speak, by
being a bit manipulative with his message. It was very difficult to
get the truth out to the Bronx.
Like I said, Cablevision has an unlimited amount of resources.
Like I said before, they have over 60 lawyers already working on
this case. They are spending countless amount of money just trying
to stop something thatI cant understand whybut to stop something that we have already, like I said, strongly made a decision
on. I just think that if, had we had the Free Choice Act, like I said,
I would already be one year into our first contract. And then possibly at least coming together to make an even better second one.
Because that is what I honestly thought this was all gonna be
about. Just being able to create better structure, to basically let
them know that obviously he proved us correct by paying the other
workers more money to help better their situations. When those
things are being brought up, that is really what we were hoping
that Mr. Dolan and his management team would see. That obviously we were behind. So had that been in place, this would all be
behind us and, like I said, we would be already one year into our
first contract.
Mr. HOLT. Thank you. And Mr. Chairman, I understand 55 percent of the workers still support the union, which is about equal
to the original..
[Off mike.]
Mr. HOLT. [Off mike.]
Chairman ROE. The gentlemans time has expired and I appreciate the gentleman yielding.
I will now yield myself 5 minutes. And Mr. Meisburg, if you
would like to continue your thoughts.
Mr. MEISBURG. Well, just at the end of that last question I had
about whether it was typical for blocking charges to be filed, they
areit is not typical. It happens, but it is not the rule, I dont believe.
Chairman ROE. Yes, I thank you.
And now, Mr. Burton, and I agree with Dr. Holt that basically,
as I understand, the NLRA was passed, I think, in 1935. And then
the NLRB was established to be a fair arbiter between the employees and employers. So that you didnt favor either side. It is like
being in a ball game, where you go and you hope the refs are fair.
And you want ayou just want a fair hearing. When some people
run the string out or whatever, they are at the tailmost of time,
as I understand these, the unions win most elections, 71 percent.
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The elections areand this happens in a fairly timely fashion. I

think within less than a month and a week, 35 days, I believe is
the median. So it seems like that it allows both sides to geta
small business especiallyto get the expertise in. I was thinking
about my own business. I wouldnt have any idea how to go out and
find a labor lawyer. I would have to go find somebody if Iand I
couldnt do it in 10 days or 15 days. It is impossible.
So both sides need to be fair. And this case that Mr. Adams
points out probably is at the other end of the scale. So I want to
ask a couple of questions aboutfor you, Mr. Burton. And the statistics to the size of our units, they fluctuate year-to-year. And
there is a graph over here that is up. And the Democrats are correct that the median size of units has increased from 2011 to 2012.
However, the average sizethere is a difference between median
and averagehas decreased from 71 to 65 in 2012.
And these are interesting numbers, but they really dont address
the issue of Specialty Health Care where this is the fragmentation
of the workforce. That is what I want to ask the question. And also
Bergdorf Goodman you mentioned. How does fragmentation of the
workforce affect the employers and employees? And number two,
can you give me an example of workplace fragmentation by recent
NLRB unit certification?
Mr. BURTON. Well, fragmentation is a problem in the sense that
you could end up having to deal with many unions. You can have
some aspects of your company governed by one collective bargaining agreement, and another. And there is a multiplicity of
agreements, a multiplicity of unions, complexity, inability to move
back and forth and so on down the line. The case that I mentioned
briefly in my oral remarks is, to me, the most dramaticthe
Bergdorf case, where you are organizing by shoe department, a department store.
There is another case that, out of the Northrop Grumman cited
in my written statement, where I believe they organized 180 out
of 2,400 technicians in the shipyard. So you end up having a lot
of division. I think that theand it was all launched by specialty
health care which, of course, is a specific job description type unit.
This is of concern to small employers, but not really small employers. Mid-size, 100, 200 type employers, which is part of our membership base.
Chairman ROE. Next question would be, in your experience, and
anybody can answer this, when do employers become aware that
of a union organizing drive? And anyone canhow do you know
when you are being organized?
Mr. BURTON. Well, that can vary dramatically. Sometimes it can
be reported to you by employees. But obviously, sometimes people
find out about it when the petition is filed by the labor union. So
it just varies dramatically. The one thing I think that is most important to understand is, most small employers dont know anything about labor law until they have to. They know about employment law, or maybe NRLA section 7 rights of like social media or
what have you.
But they dont know about unions or union organizing. The
unions generally do. That is what they do for a living. Six-hundred
days is ridiculous. Ten days is also ridiculous. I mean, there needs
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to be a reasonable middle ground found. But there is no way on

Gods green earth that a typical small business owner is going to
be able to find representation, understand the law, understand the
implications for his business, explain it to his employees, and adequately present the facts to his employees in 10 days.
Chairman ROE. Yes. I will now cut myself off. I would like to
again thank the witnesses for taking time to testify before the committee. Yall have been a terrific group.
I will now recognize the ranking member for closing statements.
Mr. ANDREWS. Well, I, too, want to thank the witnesses and our
fellow members for their participation this morning. I think we
heard a lot of good information. I wanted to come back to one thing
Mr. Meisburg said which struck a chord with me. Which is that
whatever ideological or political disputes may happen, it is very important that the dedicated career employees of the National Labor
Relations Board be respected in the integrity of their work. And I
appreciate that.
And again, Ithis is just my own observation. I am not putting
words in anyones mouth. But one of the things that we were disturbed about previouslyand Mr. Miller, Mr. Cummings and Mr.
Conyers wrote a letter on August 12 of 2011when the dispute
over the Boeing case was going on and the board had filed a complaint against Boeing, there was a subpoena served on the board
by thenot by this committee, by the Government Reform Committee, that called for all communications that took place between
the regional office and the board pertaining to the filing of the Boeing complaint.
Now, obviously, that was a rather hotly-contested item. But one
of the things we were worried about then was that the trial strategy, the negotiated settlement strategy, the work that the regional
office was doing was gonna be subject to invasion in a public forum.
And I think that was a grave concern. So I thought about that, Mr.
Meisburg, when you made that remark. I know that was not your
intention, but it triggered that response with me.
And I take it as a worthy admonition. The NLRB is a place
where there are fierce ideological battles. It has been this way for
a very long time. I hoped that we could bridge some of them. But
certainly, the work of the men and women in the regional offices
and in the main office, the career people, should not be abridged
in any way. And I think that was a very important point that you
made.
Mr. Chairman, I think this panel has served us well. I appreciate
their time and effort. Mr. Adams, we especially appreciate your efforts, as well. And we thank you for your time.
Chairman ROE. I thank the gentleman for yielding. And I thank
the panel. And in closing, you know, we have, in this country right
now, a real problem with jobs. And we have had a huge problem.
And you have noticed that the jobs in unions have dropped from
20 percent of the population down to around 7 in the private sector.
I grew up in a union household. My dad worked in a factory, made
shoe heels. He belonged to the union asafter World War II until
he died. And died before he was able to retire.
So we have some issues. The ranking member and myself are
gonna work on union issues with pensions. It is a huge issue. We
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60
plan to work diligently on that to help save those. I believe, quite

frankly, that we will not recreate the middle class in America until
we recreatebring manufacturing back to this country. There are
estimates out there, with a coherent energy policy in this country
if we had just exactly like President Kennedy did when I was a
high school student, he said we are going to go to the moon in this
decade. And we beat that.
Americans are that good. We beat that deadline. We put somebody on the moon in less than 10 years. We can become energy
independent in America, if we use all the resources we have, within
10 years. And Mr. Adams, one of the reasons that I have to look
at energy independence, it was 40 years ago this year I was stationed just south of the DMZ in Korea. And I almost froze to death
because we only got heat 3 hours a day.
And the reason was because the Middle East embargoed our oil
and we had to keep the oil for our Hueyfuel for our Huey helicopters, our Cobra gunships, our tanks and so forth. And you understand that very well. We were a hostage of what somebody else
halfway around the world did. If I could be the President of the
United States for 1 monthand I dont want to be, but if I were
in 1 month
Mr. ANDREWS. You are announcing your candidacy?
Chairman ROE. No.
[Laughter.]
Mr. ANDREWS. Okay, all right.
Chairman ROE. Trust me, I already said I dont want to be. But
I would have a coherent energy policy so that I thinkfor middle
America, where I grew up, the price of energy affects us more than
anything. You see a gallon of gas go up a dollar. That affects everybody. When they have got to fill their tank up where we live and
drive miles to their job, if they are making $10 or $11 or $12 an
hour it may take an entire days work just to get to and from work.
And that is why we have to do that. And there are estimates out
there, with people a lot smarter than I am, that say in the next
8 to 10 years we can create 21/2 to 5 million manufacturing jobs
if we become energy independent. And let me tell you, the American worker is the best worker in the world. And I was in China
a yeara little over a year ago. And it struck me when I was in
Beijing, you know they have done a lot of building. You hear all
about China.
That country has 1.4 billion, with a B, people. The United
States of America has 300 million people, and we produce more
goods and services than they do. The best worker in the world in
the American, and the most productive. We have got to give them
the tools in which to do that. And I really think recreation of the
middle class will solve a lot of these problems for us going forward.
I am concerned. Right now, I have got to share some real frustration with me in my job right now.
I spent 30 years, over 30 years practicing medicine. There is one
hospital system in my state that because of what is going on in
health care right now is going to have to make a $250 million cut.
We have just lost 50 residency slots, how we train young doctors
in the community I live in Johnson City, Tennessee. This is going
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61
on all over the country, the effects of the Affordable Care Act. We
need to step back and re-look at that.
It is affecting the economy. We have had a hospital close in
southwest Virginia, very close. It will close the 1st of October, this
year. I look forward to working with you all. I appreciate very
much all of the input from the members. And you all did a great
job. I appreciate you being here.
With no further business, this hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 11:37 a.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
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APPENDIX
MATERIAL SUBMITTED
FOR THE
HEARING RECORD
(63)
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66
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House Hearing, 113TH Congress - The Future of Union Organizing

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THE FUTURE OF UNION ORGANIZING

ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH CONGRESS

HEARING HELD IN WASHINGTON, DC SEPTEMBER 19, 2013

Serial No. 11333

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COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE

George Miller, California,

Juliane Sullivan, Staff Director

SUBCOMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EMPLOYMENT, LABOR, AND PENSIONS

Robert E. Andrews, New Jersey,

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Hearing held on September 19, 2013 .....................................................................

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THE FUTURE OF UNION ORGANIZING

The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:07 a.m., in Room

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Mr. ANDREWS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would also like to

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Mr. MEISBURG. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, members of the

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