Meehan Votes to Protect Workers' Rights

WASHINGTON - Congressman Patrick Meehan (PA-07) today issued the following statement after voting to support workers' rights by opposing H.R. 2587, legislation meant to address a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) allegation that the Boeing Company violated federal labor law:

“Let me make one thing absolutely clear: I believe businesses that operate within the law should be able to start production and hire workers anywhere that makes economic sense. In the case of Boeing, which opened a new factory in South Carolina to increase production of the new 787, the NLRB complaint has it wrong. After a review of the facts, Boeing is expanding into South Carolina, not transferring jobs from Washington. In fact, Boeing has added jobs in the Pacific Northwest while it expands into and creates jobs in South Carolina. This is not and should not be illegal in any economy, let alone when we have 9 percent unemployment nationally.

“Another concern is that the NLRB complaint would require that Boeing expand its capacity in Washington to accommodate new work. Why does a government agency get to tell a private entity that it must do that? Boeing has invested nearly $1 billion in its South Carolina facility. Ultimately a solid argument can be made under current labor law that such a remedy would be ‘unduly burdensome’ and that the complaint be denied. I believe the NLRB case will fail.

“Rather than allowing the legal process to resolve the Boeing case, H.R. 2587 overreaches. It eliminates a remedy the National Labor Relations Act has allowed for years to reinstate work where an employer does in fact unlawfully retaliate or refuse to bargain. As a prosecutor, we had a saying that ‘bad cases make for bad law,’ and this bill will have significant consequences touching long-settled areas in the law, including subcontracting, switching to non-union workers, and transferring work out of the country.

“Lastly, nowhere in the bill is the Boeing matter addressed directly. Indeed, the word 'Boeing' isn't used at all. Instead, H.R. 2587 deprives all workers of protections long-enshrined in federal statute and case law.

“These are difficult economic times, and workers need to know that more than 80 years of federal labor protections will be available to them. This bill throws the baby out with the bath water.”