Dear Representative:
On behalf of the 12.5 million members and 57 affiliates of the AFL-CIO, I am writing to ask that you co-sponsor the No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act. This bill, led by Rep. Norcross, will end corporations’ current ability to claim a tax deduction for their union busting costs.
The reason for this bill is simple - hardworking taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize employers’ efforts to silence workers and deny them the opportunity to engage in collective action.
The recent wave of union organizing across the country highlights what we have known for some time: millions of workers want a voice in the workplace.1 Unfortunately, employers have responded to this wave of worker organizing not by respecting their employees’ right to form a union, but instead by spending millions of dollars on union busting consultants who are dedicated to decimating the union organizing campaign at any cost.2
The existing policy of the United States is to encourage the practice and procedure of collective bargaining by protecting workers’ designation of representatives of their own choosing. 29 U.S.C. § 151. The United States should not, consistent with that existing policy, subsidize employer efforts to avoid collective bargaining by allowing the costs of such efforts to be deductible.
To balance the playing field and make sure workers truly have a fair shot when they seek to engage in collective action or form a union, Congress must eliminate all federal incentives for interfering with organizing efforts. As President Biden has explained, the decision to join a union “belongs to workers, not to their employers.” This bill ensures that the federal government does not encourage employer interference in workers’ collective efforts.
We urge you to co-sponsor the No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act. Please contact Josh Crandell ([email protected]) to add your boss as an original co-sponsor.
Sincerely,
William Samuel
Director, Government Affairs
1
https://www.epi.org/publication/working-people-want-a-voice/
2
https://www.epi.org/publication/unlawful-employer-opposition-to-union-election-campaigns/