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On September 19th, the House Committee on Education and Labor approved the Re-Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradesworkers (RESPECT) Act (H.R. 1644/S. 969) by a vote of 26-20. The legislation, introduced in the House by Reps. Rob Andrews (D-NJ) and Don Young (R-AK), and in the Senate by Sens. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Edward Kennedy (D-MA), would ensure that skilled and experienced workers in a wide range of industries do not lose their collective bargaining rights as a result of the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) Kentucky River rulings. The RESPECT Act would protect nurses and other workers from the NLRB decision by tightening the definition of supervisor in the National Labor Relations Act. This change were ensure that skilled and experienced workers in a wide range of industries who sometimes instruct co-workers do not lose their collective bargaining rights. ANA remains deeply concerned by the September 2006 NLRB decision in Oakwood Healthcare, which effectively limits the rights of thousands of registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses to retain basic protections under federal labor law. Under the Oakwood ruling, workers who may assign tasks, direct co-workers or utilize independent judgment, but who do not have the ability to hire, fire, transfer, suspend, reward or discipline their colleagues, can be classified as supervisors. This broadened definition of supervisor could have a serious and negative impact on Registered Nurses, who within the context of their set scope of practice, exercise critical judgment and delegate tasks among health care workers, but perform no other managerial functions. The RESPECT Act would ensure that nurses and other workers affected by KY River retain their fundamental right to choose a union. As a multi-purpose professional organization representing the diverse interests of every registered nurse in the United States, the ANA has long supported the rights of registered nurses to unionize, and the freedom to decide to organize is underscored in the ANA's Code of Ethics for Nurses With Interpretative Statements, Canon 6.3 (2001). ANA has sent a letter of support for the RESPECT Act to the House and Senate, and will continue to work to advance this important legislation. The House Committee approval paves the way for consideration by the full House, expected this fall. The Senate companion bill, S.969 has not yet seen movement. Use our online advocacy tools to urge your members of Congress to support the RESPECT Act. |