By Andrew Harrer

– Organized labor has embarked on a project to develop legislation that would expand collective bargaining rights of private-sector workers, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said.

During and after a meeting with Wall Street Journal reporters and editors Wednesday, Mr. Trumka wouldn’t provide specifics about labor’s plan or timing. But he suggested employers should be required to bargain over wages with all private-sector workers — union members and nonunion workers alike.

“We believe nonunion workers should be able to come together and negotiate with their employer without fear of retaliation or firing to get a better wage, to get a fairer share of what they produce,” he said. “Without collective bargaining, how do we close that gap” of income inequality? Mr. Trumka asked.

“We’re going to try to get … enacted in the law that every worker should have the right to bargain collectively with their employer, whether they have a union or not,” he said.

Any legislative proposal to expand bargaining rights is likely to draw a backlash from business groups, and would have no chance of clearing Congress anytime soon.

One labor official familiar with the effort said the bill would be unveiled as part of a long-term education and messaging campaign intended to “start a conversation” about expanding workers’ bargaining rights. “As politics changes, maybe it will get through” Congress, the official said, adding that while a bill is not imminent, it is under “active discussion,” including with congressional aides.

The 1935 National Labor Relations Act already extends collective bargaining rights to private-sector workers, but it does so under a set of circumstances that are more limited than what organized labor wants.

Existing law doesn’t require workers to be represented by a union to collectively bargain — at least not in the traditional sense of what a union is. Employees have the right to collectively bargain if they can demonstrate that they’re part of a “labor organization” that represents a majority of the workers, labor lawyers say. The term “labor organization” is broader than a union, including any organization, agency, committee or plan, in which employees participate for the purpose of dealing with employers about labor disputes, wages, work schedules or other working conditions.

It isn’t clear if organized labor would seek to legally require employers to bargain without a labor organization in place. Under existing law, private-sector workers can take collective action on their own, such as approaching their employer to try to improve wages, benefits or other working conditions. Employers can’t retaliate but aren’t required to negotiate with the workers.

Some worker advocates contend that under current law, employers could be made to bargain with a labor organization that represents only a minority of workers. But the National Labor Relations Board, which enforces the 1935 labor law, doesn’t order employers to do so. It’s not clear if organized labor would raise that issue in the legislation it plans to propose.

Union membership has fallen sharply since the 1980s. Last year, 11.3% of wage and salary workers belonged to a union, down from 20.1% in 1983. The rate remained flat last year compared to 2012, when unions managed to add members in the private sector, driven by gains in industries such as construction, manufacturing , health-care and food services. Still, rates remain far below what unions want, sapping them of membership dues they use in part to build political power.

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/06/05/unions-set-high-goal-collective-bargaining-for-all-workers/