(WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) today joined Congressman Andy Levin (D-MI), vice chair of the House Education and Labor Committee, and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) in sending a bipartisan letter to House Leadership requesting funding in future COVID-19 relief legislation for the National Labor Relations Board to develop a system for holding union elections electronically. 168 bipartisan House Members co-signed the letter.
The Members wrote: “In times of crisis, it is the responsibility of good government to find ways to adapt to ensure that the rights of its constituents are protected. Workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively with their employer are always important, but especially so when subjects like adequate health care benefits, access to protective equipment, and pandemic safety protocols, are - quite literally - matters of life and death.”
The letter is supported by: AFL-CIO; American Federation of Teachers (AFT); Communications Workers of America (CWA); International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW); International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT); International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE); International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE); Service Employees International Union (SEIU); Transit Workers Union of America (TWU); United Auto Workers (UAW); United Food & Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW); and United Steelworkers (USW).
"During the COVID-19 crisis, many working people are facing dangerous and uncertain conditions on the job,” CWA Director of Government Affairs Dan Mauer said. “It is more critical now than ever that workers have a safe method to exercise their right to form a union during this time — and that means the NLRB must begin allowing electronic representation elections. CWA is thankful to Reps. Levin and Fitzpatrick for standing up for workers' rights at a time when workers' voices need to be heard to keep our communities safe."
Signers of the letter include:
Alma S. Adams, Ph.D. (NC-12), Colin Allred (TX-32), Cindy Axne (IA-03), Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Don Beyer (VA-08), Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-At Large), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Brendan F. Boyle (PA-02), Anthony Brindisi (NY-22), Anthony G. Brown (MD-04), Julia Brownley (CA-26), André Carson (IN-07), Ed Case (HI-01), Joaquin Castro (TX-20), Judy Chu (CA-27), David Cicilline (RI-01), Gilbert R. Cisneros, Jr. (CA-39), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Wm. Lacy Clay (MO-01), Emanuel Cleaver, II (MO-05), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Joe Courtney (CT-02), Angie Craig (MN-02), Charlie Crist (FL-13), Sharice L. Davids (KS-03), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Susan A. Davis (CA-53), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Peter A. DeFazio (OR-04), Diana Degette (CO-01), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Suzan K. DelBene (WA-01), Antonio Delgado (NY-19), Ted Deutch (FL-22), Debbie Dingell (MI-12), Lloyd Doggett (TX-35), Mike Doyle (PA-18), Eliot Engel (NY-16), Veronica Escobar (TX-16), Anna G. Eshoo (CA-18), Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Abby Finkenauer (IA-01), Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07), Bill Foster (IL-11), Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11), Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02), Ruben Gallego (AZ-07), John Garamendi (CA-03), Sylvia R. Garcia (TX-29), Jesús G. "Chuy" García (IL-04), Jimmy Gomez (CA-34), Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15), Al Green (TX-09), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Deb Haaland (NM-01), Josh Harder (CA-10), Alcee L. Hastings (FL-20), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Brian Higgins (NY-26), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Kendra S. Horn (OK-05), Steven Horsford (NV-04), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30), Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. (GA-04), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), William R. Keating (MA-09), Joseph P. Kennedy, III (MA-04), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Dan Kildee (MI-05), Ron Kind (WI-03), Peter T. King (NY-02), Conor Lamb (PA-17), John B. Larson (CT-01), Brenda L. Lawrence (MI-14), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Ted Lieu (CA-33), Daniel W. Lipinski (IL-03), Dave Loebsack (IA-02), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Ben Ray Luján (NM-03), Elaine G. Luria (VA-02), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), Tom Malinowski (NJ-07), Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Lucy McBath (GA-06), Betty McCollum (MN-04), James P. McGovern (MA-02), David B. McKinley, P.E. (WV-01), Ann McLane Kuster (NH-02), Gregory Meeks (NY-05), Grace Meng (NY-06), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Joseph D. Morelle (NY-25), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26), Stephanie Murphy (FL-07), Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Grace F. Napolitano (CA-32), Richard E. Neal (MA-01), Joe Neguse (CO-02), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), Chris Pappas (NH-01), Bill Pascrell, Jr. (NJ-09), Ed Perlmutter (CO-07), Scott Peters (CA-52), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Katie Porter (CA-45), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Jamie Raskin (MD-08), Cedric L. Richmond (LA-02), Max Rose (NY-11), Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36), C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (MD-02), Tim Ryan (OH-13), Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan (Northern Mariana Island), Linda T. Sánchez (CA-39), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), David Scott (GA-13), José E. Serrano (NY-15), Donna E. Shalala (FL-27), Brad Sherman (CA-30), Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), Albio Sires (NJ-08), Elissa Slotkin (MI-08), Adam Smith (WA-09), Christopher H. Smith (NJ-04), Darren Soto (FL-09), Abigail D. Spanberger (VA-07), Jackie Speier (CA-14), Greg Stanton (AZ-09), Pete Stauber (MN-08), Haley M. Stevens (MI-11), Thomas R. Suozzi (NY-03), Eric Swalwell (CA-15), Mark Takano (CA-41), Bennie G. Thompson (MS-02), Mike Thompson (CA-05), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-13), Paul D. Tonko (NY-20), Lori Trahan (MA-03), David Trone (MD-06), Juan Vargas (CA-51), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07), Peter J. Visclosky (IN-01), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12), Peter Welch (VT-At Large), Jennifer Wexton (VA-10), Susan Wild (PA-07), Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), John Yarmuth (KY-03).
See the signed letter here.
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