WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced the No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act to end the taxpayer subsidization of corporate union busting campaigns.
As workers around the country join together to fight for better pay and safer working conditions by unionizing, they often face million-dollar corporate intimidation campaigns to prevent unionization. To add insult to injury, corporations are allowed to write off these anti-unionization efforts as run-of-the-mill business expenses.
“Corporations shouldn’t be interfering with workers’ right to organize. They certainly shouldn’t be able to write off anti-unionization campaigns as a business expense,” said Casey. “I’m introducing the No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act to end the taxpayer subsidization of anti-union activity. Unions are a rising tide that lifts all boats; they don’t just help workers in them, they raise wages for all workers. It’s long past time we level the playing field and protect workers’ rights to organize.”
The No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act would end the taxpayer subsidization of anti-union activity by corporations. The bill would classify businesses’ interference in worker organization campaigns like political speech under the tax code and therefore not tax deductible. Activities denied a deduction would include both unlawful attempts to influence employees, and lawful activities that nonetheless should not be subsidized by taxpayers. These include violations of the National Labor Relations Act, so-called “captive audience meetings”—where employers hold mandatory meetings during work hours and pressure employees against joining a union or interrogate workers—and million-dollar anti-union advertising campaigns around union organization elections.
“Workers who engage in collective action and organizing drives deserve to have the chance to make their voices heard,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler. “As we’ve seen a wave of union drives across the country, we’ve also witnessed a wave of companies using union busting tactics to stop their workers from organizing. We should not be subsidizing intimidation and bullying tactics, and this legislation would put an end to it. Companies that engage in union busting shouldn’t reap financial benefits, they should pay penalties for this anti-democratic behavior.”
The No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act also establishes an IRS reporting requirement for employers who intervene in protected labor activities. Only a small portion of this activity is even reported to the Department of Labor currently, but it amounts to at least $340 million annually, according to a recent report.
