Reintroduction of the Employee Rights Act

Tennessee House Representative Phil Roe has recently reintroduced the Employee Rights Act (ERA). This act protects employees from abusive union leadership powers. The ability for union employees to elect their representation is currently limited. Reportedly around 10 percent of union employees picked the union that represents them. The ERA introduces the ability to for employees to reassess union leadership and elect new representation. Once union leadership is selected for employees, there is not much room to change who is representing you. This act would also disallow unions from spending member money on political advocacy without member approval.

Rights to Start a Union in the Workplace

The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) enacted in 1935, encourages collective bargaining and protects unionizing activities in the workplace. Under this act, employees are given the following rights:

• Forming a new union or joining a union
• Assisting a union to organize fellow employees
• Be fairly represented by a union

Furthermore, employees that are not in a union or attempting to start one still have rights protected by the NLRA. They protect concerted activities which include:

• Two or more employees asking their employer to improve pay
• Two or more employees talking to their employer about improving safety conditions or other issues in the workplace

Dallas employment lawyer Dan A. Atkerson is dedicated to investigating your employer’s practices to see if they are operating legally.