Reform labor with this pro-worker, pro-America plan

Would you vote to unionize your workplace? 

If you answered no, then you’re in good company. According to polls, just one in three non-unionized American workers would vote to unionize.  

Those numbers may be surprising in this age of workforce upheaval, but they reflect the modern labor movement’s abandonment of American workers in favor of the radical left’s political agenda. 

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Just look at two of the largest and most powerful labor organizations in America. The majority of potential union members chose none of the nearly 20 political issues regularly highlighted by the AFL-CIO and SEIU as an issue they would like their union to speak out on. 

In today’s hyper-political society, instead of receiving the attention they deserve, American workers are routinely subjected to "woke" nonsense from organized labor and their virtue-signaling employers. Whether they come in the form of ridiculous COVID procedures or paternalistic diversity, equity and inclusion regimes, these policies tend to divide and distract workers instead of empowering them. 

That same polling finds that 60% of employees don’t care whether they’re toeing the line of the left’s latest agenda. They just want to provide for their families and communities and receive fair treatment from management. No doubt, many of these men and women would like to work with their employers to reduce the craziness being forced upon them from on high, or simply to improve their work flexibility or benefits. 

There are plenty of workers who want to discuss working conditions with their employers in an organized fashion but don’t want to unionize. 

Unfortunately, federal law discourages employers from meaningfully engaging with groups of their employees on issues like these—or, really, on any issues. Why? Because the most important labor law on the books, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), makes it illegal for management to coordinate with worker organizations that aren’t official unions. 

There are plenty of workers who want to discuss working conditions with their employers in an organized fashion but don’t want to unionize. Unions are notoriously political and left-wing, and they push members into an adversarial relationship with management. In general, American Big Labor is less effective than other Western models and in need of significant reform.  

And yet, unions remain the only option for worker organization. Employees are dissatisfied, and if left untouched, this mismatch between what they really want and what they’re legally permitted to do will result in increasingly tense labor relations in major companies.  

The solution is simple: create a legal framework that lets employers and groups of their employees voluntarily meet to discuss issues important to the workforce. This would allow employees to engage in a variety of non-union organizing efforts, and for employers to work with them without violating federal law.  

We have authored a new bill, the Teamwork for Employees and Managers (TEAM) Act of 2022, to make this long-overdue change. If it becomes law, the TEAM Act will allow management and workers to establish employee involvement organizations (EIOs) to discuss workplace issues of mutual interest. These organizations would be a viable alternative to unionization, although the two would not be mutually exclusive.  

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Moreover, EIOs formed at companies that gross more than $1 billion in annual revenue would have the opportunity to elect a representative to serve as a nonvoting member on the company’s board of directors. This would be a promising new mechanism for employer-employee communication and coordination, one that would benefit workers and management alike. 

The TEAM Act would introduce greater flexibility and a much-needed breath of fresh air into the American labor movement. Most importantly, it would give workers what they really want—the ability to engage with their employers on their own terms, rather than those set by paternalistic, virtue-signaling managers or Big Labor. 

When President Bill Clinton vetoed a similar effort in 1996, he feared that legalizing EIOs would "undermine the system of collective bargaining that has served this country so well for many decades."   

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In reality, unions lost 241,000 members last year, with the union workforce share dipping to 10.3%. By contrast, that number was 20.1% in 1983. Americans have sent a clear message that the "system" is part of the problem, and they want change. 

It’s our hope that our colleagues in Congress will see the merits of expanding what is permissible under the NLRA and do right by American workers by passing the TEAM Act, rather than doubling down on a broken system.  

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM SEN. MARCO RUBIO

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM REP. JIM BANKS

Republican Marco Rubio represents Florida in the United States Senate.

Republican Jim Banks represents Indiana's 3rd congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is currently the Republican Study Committee (RSC) Budget and Spending Task Force chairman.