July 23, 2009

Olympia... Today Senate Republican Leader Mike Hewitt and Sen. Janéa Holmquist, ranking Republican on the Senate Labor, Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee, praised a new state Attorney General’s opinion that says last year’s “employer gag bill” would have violated the National Labor Relations Act.

While the Attorney General's formal opinion focused on the bill's prohibition on employer-employee communication regarding union organizing activities, the bill would have also prohibited all employer-employee communication related to legislation, elected officials, candidates, religious observance (including holidays), or charity drives. Even a note from an employer inviting employees to participate in a Relay for Life event or a Christmas party could have exposed an employer to a lawsuit.

Although SB 5446/HB 1528 had appeared headed for passage this year, it died when some legislators received an e-mail hinting that campaign contributions depended on legislative approval. As Labor's top priority, it is all but certain that the bill will be back again next year.

Federal law -- The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) -- protects an employee's right to join or not to join a union and establishes the boundaries and rules for the union organizing process.  Based on many years of United States Supreme Court precedents, the Attorney General determined that the portions of the bill related to employer communication to employees regarding union organizing activities would be preempted by federal law -- meaning that the states have no jurisdiction to regulate this activity. 

“Our state is struggling to hold on to every job we can get, including those in large companies like Boeing that have a very big impact on our state’s economy,” said Hewitt, R-Walla Walla. “Yet the Legislature was pushing a bill this year that told employers we were going to completely remove their ability to discuss union organizing activities in their own workplace and then open them up to additional lawsuits.  This AG decision is the right one at the right time and will hopefully help us reassure employers that we appreciate the jobs they provide and that their voices are every bit as valuable as the voices of Labor Unions.”  

“The real intent behind the bill was to gag employers on issues related to labor and management, giving labor an unfair advantage in a process that is supposed to be fair,”  said Holmquist, R-Moses Lake.  “Now that the AG has issued his opinion, I hope we won’t see this job-killing and speech-stifling measure back again.”