It was wonderful to be back at Dynax America Corporation this afternoon to unveil my Freedom to Work Agenda. This is a company that I spent much time recruiting to Virginia. The decision by Dynax to locate in Virginia highlighted the criteria that made Virginia “Open for Business” including our Right-to-Work laws, educated workforce, locational advantages, and strong, pro-growth climate. It is so heartening to see that Dynax is thriving and growing in the Roanoke Valley of Virginia.
Allen to unveil “Freedom to Work Act”
Richmond Times Dispatch
By Wesley Hester
October 5, 2011
Republican U.S. Senate candidate George Allen will today roll out his “Freedom to Work Act,” a three-pronged blueprint to free U.S. businesses of what he sees as onerous burdens imposed by the federal government.
Allen will unveil his plan at Botetourt County-based Dynax America Corp., a Japanese subsidiary that manufactures parts for automotive transmissions. Allen recruited the business to the state as governor in 1996.
The goals of the plan, Allen said Tuesday in an interview with The Times-Dispatch, are to “help businesses create jobs, save the taxpayers money and protect the liberty of working men and working women.”
The first tenet of the plan, “Freedom of Movement,” would strip the National Labor Relations Board of the power to order any employer to move, shut down, or transfer employment.
The proposal is aimed at the NLRB’s lawsuit against Boeing alleging that the aircraft company illegally shifted work from union plants in Washington state to a new non-union factory in South Carolina.
Allen called it “just a terrible lawsuit,” adding, “And that’s a threat to Virginia as well, being the furthest state north on the Eastern seaboard with a right-to-work law,” which he said is an enormous asset in attracting companies such as Dynax.
Allen’s plan would also seek to prohibit project labor agreement requirements on federal and federally assisted construction contracts, and repeal Davis-Bacon wage laws, which require that federal government construction contract workers be paid no less than the locally prevailing wages and benefits on similar projects.
In Botetourt, Allen outlines plan targeting labor union rules
Roanoke Times
By Katelyn Polantz
October 5, 2011
Gov. George Allen, who is seeking the Republican nomination to run for the U.S. Senate in 2012, announced a plan today to amend federal labor laws to prohibit compulsory union membership.
Allen, as part of a campaign stop at a Botetourt County auto parts plant, described his “Freedom to Work Act” agenda as one that will create jobs, save taxpayers money and “protect the liberty of working men and women.”
The former governor and one-term U.S. senator pushed three key ideas today:
Freedom of movement. Allen called for amending federal law to prohibit the National Labor Relations Board from ordering any employer to move, close or shut down equipment. It’s in response to the NLRB’s complaint filed against Boeing Co. that the airline manufacturer was transferring an assembly line from Washington state to South Carolina to punish union workers. A similar bill has been proposed by House Republicans.
Freedom to contract. Allen wants to reverse an executive order that requires Project Labor Agreement rules on federal and federally assisted construction contracts. Such agreements generally require unionized workers and union work rules.
Freedom of association. Aside from bringing Virginia’s right to work law to the federal level, Allen wants to mandate secret ballots for union organizing votes.
