Amendment to Circumvent Collective Bargaining Agreements

Jun. 21, 2012 | S.Amdt. 2166 to S. 3240

Under the guise of "strengthening" workers' collective bargaining rights, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) offered an amendment to the Farm Bill that would give employers the right to circumvent provisions on wage increases in collective bargaining agreements, supposedly to allow for merit raises. But under current law, unions and employees can and often do link pay increases and performance as merit-based increases. Nothing in the RAISE Act links pay or benefit improvements to individual achievement or success; rather it eliminates current built-in protections against favoritism, cronyism, and arbitrary action by employers. The amendment was defeated.