Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. form letter to constituent, July 1996

Thank you for conveying to me your concerns about the activities of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and its implicit sanctioning of union political activities funded by rank- and-file members. It is unfortunate that the national leaders of the AFL-CIO have chosen to spend $35 million in union dues in a way which fundamentally misrepresents the views of rank-and-file members-40 percent of whom supported Republican congressional candidates in 1994. According to a poll conducted by Americans for a Balanced Budget and the Luntz Research Company, 62 percent of union members oppose the AFL-CIO ad campaign, and 56 percent stated that they were “likely” to request a refund of their dues used for political activities. As you noted, the NLRB recently ruled that it is an “unfair labor practice” for companies to inform their employees that they are not required to pay for union political activities such as the AFL-CIO ad campaign. I regret the fact that the NLRB— an organization which claims to protect the interests of the American worker-has apparently chosen to side with big labor bosses in Washington instead of America’s working families. It is time for Congress to reevaulate the extent to which the NLRB should be federally funded. The FY 97 Labor-HHS appropriations bill (H. R. 3755), which I supported, cuts NLRB funding by $26 million. This should make it far more difficult for NLRB to abuse its power and unnecessarily harass small businesses. Thanks again for contacting me regarding this issue. Please feel free to contact me again if I may be of additional assistance. Sincerely, Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. Member of Congress