Senator Boxer: RESPECT for Workers' Rights

August 13, 2007

Dear Friend:

I am pleased to let you know that I am cosponsoring the Re-empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers Act, or RESPECT Act, S.969.

The goal of this legislation is to modify the definition of “supervisor.” Specifically, the RESPECT Act would change the definition of supervisor to ensure that no employee is unjustly denied his or her right to join a labor union. Workers designated as supervisors may not join a union or engage in collective bargaining. As a result, some employers have sought to deny many workers their right to organize by unfairly classifying them as supervisors. And unfortunately, President Bush's appointees on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) have upheld these unfair classifications.

In various rulings, the NLRB has steadily eroded the definition of supervisor. Several of these cases have involved nurses who often rotate through a variety of roles, including some with minor oversight such as making assignments to ensure quality of care based on a particular nurse’s special skills. Too often, hospitals argued – and the NLRB has concurred – that these nurses are supervisors and ineligible for union membership.

By this logic, almost anyone who works with an assistant, or who in any way oversees another employee’s work, can be considered a supervisor. The RESPECT Act offers a common-sense step to protect workers' rights by clearly defining the role of a supervisor as one who spends the majority of his or her work time in a supervisory capacity.

I am pleased to be a cosponsor of the RESPECT Act and look forward to working with Senator Chris Dodd, the author of the bill, and others to make it law.

Sincerely,

Barbara Boxer
United States Senator

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