Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27) voted against H.R. 3094, legislation intended to hinder employee workplace rights and spoke out on the House Floor in favor of reforms.

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Below is the text of Congressman Higgins remarks:

“Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to legislation that will hinder the rights of American workers.

“There are several occasions in the union certification process in which employers can delay a union election through unnecessary litigation.

“In June the National Labor Relations Board announced reforms to reduce litigation and streamline the process so that elections are held in a fair and timely manner.

“The legislation before us today will block these reforms and introduce even more opportunities to delay elections indefinitely. 

“Mr. Speaker, I don’t believe most employers try to delay elections.  In fact I often cite our history of cooperative labor-employer relations as one of Western New York’s strengths.

“But the record shows that some companies will use every loophole to prevent their workers from voting on whether to bargain collectively.  The NLRB’s rules will close those loopholes and allow the election to proceed.  We should allow these reforms to stand.”