§401 Congressional Declaration of Findings, Purposes, and Policy

Summary

Gives the federal government the job of protecting workers’ rights to organize, pick their own representatives, bargain as a group, and act together for their mutual help or protection. Says relations between unions, employers, and the millions of workers they represent affect national commerce, so unions, employers, and their leaders must act responsibly and ethically when running their affairs. Notes investigations found cases of broken trust, corruption, and violations of workers’ rights, and says more law is needed to protect employees and the public from wrongdoing by unions, employers, labor relations consultants, and their officers. Declares the law is needed to stop improper practices that undermine the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 and the Railway Labor Act and that can harm commerce in four ways: by hurting operation or safety of commerce tools, by occurring in the flow of commerce, by changing the flow or prices of materials or goods, or by cutting jobs and wages enough to disrupt markets.