HB 1856 Hits a Roadblock, Sent to the Subcommittee's Final Calendar
Alyssa Hansen
Three weeks after being delayed the first time due to multiple issues with the legislation, House Bill 1856/Senate Bill 1796 has been moved to the House Banking & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee's final calendar. The nearly 100 e-mails that you've sent over the past couple of weeks against this bad piece of legislation played a major role in slowing it down, and we thank you for reaching out to your lawmakers so quickly.
Even though there's a good chance that we won't see this legislation again (at least in the House) for about another month, this is not the time to let our guard down.
This bill would tie the hands of private businesses that may want to locate in Tennessee in the future by making them ineligible to receive state monies or be required to return them if any votes on worker representation are not held by a secret ballot election.
As a reminder, this legislation is yet another attempt by anti-worker lawmakers who couldn't resist taking a shot at the longstanding, productive relationship between the UAW and Ford during the October special session to insert themselves into matters that should be left up to businesses and workers.
While this bill likely won't be heard again for several weeks, it is still very important that we keep the e-mails coming. Anti-worker lawmakers could easily try to quickly push this through at the end of session, especially if they think that we're not paying attention.
Click here and ask your state representative to vote "NO" on HB 1856!
We should be focused on working together to create safe, good-paying jobs (just like the ones that are coming to the Memphis Regional Meagasite) instead of the government trying to manage the private sector.
If this legislation is calendared in the Senate, we will update our Action Network page with a new list of targets.
Of course, there's plenty of additional legislation that we're watching next week, but we thank all of you for your continued action to ensure that politicians are kept out of discussions that should be left up to businesses and workers.
Tell your legislator: Stop trying to manage private businesses and employees!
A Brief Look at Some of the Additional Legislation That We're Watching Next Week
-SB 2042/HB 2078: This bill removes the subminimum wage exception for employees who are impaired by age, physical or mental disability, or injury.
-HB 2029/SB 1971: This is a good piece of legislation that says local governments can require private employers to pay employees an hourly wage that's higher than the minimum wage as a condition of conducting business.
-SB 2472/HB 2474: Another good bill, this would enact the "Broadband Resiliency, Public Safety, and Quality Act."
-SB 2073/HB 2097: A piece of legislation that will be watched closely, this seeks to expand the definition of racketeering activity outlined in the "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization" (RICO) Act.
Note: While unions are already included in the original law, we will be monitoring the intent of the legislation, especially given the strong anti-worker mentality amongst many lawmakers.
-SB 2602/HB 2278: As announced earlier this week, this bill calls for a study to be conducted on the possibility of expanding railroad passenger service via Amtrak.
-HB 2733/SB 2879: This piece of legislation requires employers to give their employees who are veterans an unpaid holiday on Veterans Day.
-HB 2396/SB 2657: This legislation increases the penalties for violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
-HB 1274/SB 958: According to this bill, certain employers could submit plans to reduce employee work hours in exchange for access to a specific level of unemployment benefits.
-HB 1283/SB 0023: A piece of legislation from last year, this would allows photo ID cards, including those from accredited Tennessee colleges and universities, to be used in verifying a voter's identity.
-HB 2734/SB 2674: According to this bill, employees who are local elected officials must be allowed to leave work to perform their duties without the loss of pay, vacation time, etc.
-HB 2339/SB 2345: This is a good piece of legislation that raises the wages of preferred service employees in the Department of Correction by 15%.
-HB 2833/SB 2168: This is the massive bill that seeks to give charter schools more authority and less regulations to operate in Tennessee.
Special note: On Monday, February 28th at 3:00 p.m. CT, the House Appropriations Subcommittee will hear a presentation on Blue Oval City at the Memphis Regional Megasite. You can watch the discussion live here at that time.
Even though there's a good chance that we won't see this legislation again (at least in the House) for about another month, this is not the time to let our guard down.
This bill would tie the hands of private businesses that may want to locate in Tennessee in the future by making them ineligible to receive state monies or be required to return them if any votes on worker representation are not held by a secret ballot election.
As a reminder, this legislation is yet another attempt by anti-worker lawmakers who couldn't resist taking a shot at the longstanding, productive relationship between the UAW and Ford during the October special session to insert themselves into matters that should be left up to businesses and workers.
While this bill likely won't be heard again for several weeks, it is still very important that we keep the e-mails coming. Anti-worker lawmakers could easily try to quickly push this through at the end of session, especially if they think that we're not paying attention.
Click here and ask your state representative to vote "NO" on HB 1856!
We should be focused on working together to create safe, good-paying jobs (just like the ones that are coming to the Memphis Regional Meagasite) instead of the government trying to manage the private sector.
If this legislation is calendared in the Senate, we will update our Action Network page with a new list of targets.
Of course, there's plenty of additional legislation that we're watching next week, but we thank all of you for your continued action to ensure that politicians are kept out of discussions that should be left up to businesses and workers.
Tell your legislator: Stop trying to manage private businesses and employees!
A Brief Look at Some of the Additional Legislation That We're Watching Next Week
-SB 2042/HB 2078: This bill removes the subminimum wage exception for employees who are impaired by age, physical or mental disability, or injury.
-HB 2029/SB 1971: This is a good piece of legislation that says local governments can require private employers to pay employees an hourly wage that's higher than the minimum wage as a condition of conducting business.
-SB 2472/HB 2474: Another good bill, this would enact the "Broadband Resiliency, Public Safety, and Quality Act."
-SB 2073/HB 2097: A piece of legislation that will be watched closely, this seeks to expand the definition of racketeering activity outlined in the "Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization" (RICO) Act.
Note: While unions are already included in the original law, we will be monitoring the intent of the legislation, especially given the strong anti-worker mentality amongst many lawmakers.
-SB 2602/HB 2278: As announced earlier this week, this bill calls for a study to be conducted on the possibility of expanding railroad passenger service via Amtrak.
-HB 2733/SB 2879: This piece of legislation requires employers to give their employees who are veterans an unpaid holiday on Veterans Day.
-HB 2396/SB 2657: This legislation increases the penalties for violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act.
-HB 1274/SB 958: According to this bill, certain employers could submit plans to reduce employee work hours in exchange for access to a specific level of unemployment benefits.
-HB 1283/SB 0023: A piece of legislation from last year, this would allows photo ID cards, including those from accredited Tennessee colleges and universities, to be used in verifying a voter's identity.
-HB 2734/SB 2674: According to this bill, employees who are local elected officials must be allowed to leave work to perform their duties without the loss of pay, vacation time, etc.
-HB 2339/SB 2345: This is a good piece of legislation that raises the wages of preferred service employees in the Department of Correction by 15%.
-HB 2833/SB 2168: This is the massive bill that seeks to give charter schools more authority and less regulations to operate in Tennessee.
Special note: On Monday, February 28th at 3:00 p.m. CT, the House Appropriations Subcommittee will hear a presentation on Blue Oval City at the Memphis Regional Megasite. You can watch the discussion live here at that time.