Online NewsHour: The Teamwork Debate in Congress -- May 14, 1996

POWER PLAYS

MAY 14, 1996
TRANSCRIPT

Senate Republican attempts to pass the Team Act, a controversial employer/employee proposal, has singlehandedly held up debate on both an increase in the minimum wage and a repeal of the 4.3 cent gas tax. Charlayne Hunter-Gault looks at the fight on Capitol Hill.

SEN. TOM DASCHLE, Minority Leader: I guess I'd begin by saying here we go again.
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: Last week, the Senate looked like it was on the verge of a compromise. Republicans were pushing for partial repeal of the federal gas tax. Democrats wanted to increase the minimum wage. The simple solution appeared to be one bill containing both measures, but then Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole added to the mix something called the Team Act and challenged the President to accept it.
SEN. BOB DOLE, Majority Leader: I think he'll sign the bill, the Team Act, and it's a very minor piece. As you know, it's only about a sliver of the entire package.
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: But the President said he wouldn't sign any bill that contained the Team Act.
PRESIDENT CLINTON: He wants to put this poison pill, and it will undermine workers' rights.
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: The Team Act, more formally the Teamwork for Employees and Management Act, would modify Depression era labor laws to make clear that businesses are allowed to form worker management groups in non-union shops to discuss some workplace issues. But there are differing opinions on what the bill would accomplish. Kansas Senator Nancy Kassebaum, sponsor of the bill, gave an example of how she envisions the Team Act would work.
SEN. NANCY KASSEBAUM, (R) Kansas: A group of workers at a manufacturing plant want to discuss health and safety issues with their supervisor. The supervisor forms a safety committee with the foreman and three or four workers in the group meets once a week. The workers note that the floor is often slippery and workers have fallen, causing injuries and significant workers' compensation costs for the company. The workers also note that most accidents happen on Mondays, so perhaps a brief safety reinforcement briefing at the start of the shift coming off the weekend would improve plant safety. Acting on these employee suggestions, the supervisor makes sure that mops are available to clean up the floors and institutes a five-minute safety meeting for workers each Monday morning. Sounds reasonable.
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: But not to most Democrats.
SEN. TOM DASCHLE, Minority Leader: What the Republicans want to do is roll back 60 years of labor law. They want to be able to allow companies to set up rump organizations to negotiate with themselves. It's like the father asking the son-in-law to negotiate on behalf of the employees and coming up with some plan that the--ultimately the employees are supposed to accept as fact in that workplace. That is unacceptable. We aren't in any way, shape or form opposed to good discussions and good negotiations and good opportunities for employees, employees to work out their differences. That should be a fact. In fact, 96 percent allow that, but we will not tolerate rump organizations in the name of labor negotiating with companies and calling that somehow advancement in a workplace.
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: Presidential politics took the debate beyond the pros and cons of the Team Act.
SEN. BOB DOLE: In his State of the Union address last January, President Clinton said, "When companies and workers work as a team, they do better and so does America." So what happened between January and May? Well, the labor bosses called in and contributed $35 million.
SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY, (D) Massachusetts: We have not--maybe we will have to or maybe we should talk about the various companies and corporations that are supporting this legislation and what they've contributed to various candidates.
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: The stalemate over the Team Act blocked action on the gas tax and minimum wage for a week. Late this afternoon, Senate Republicans emerged from a meeting and offered to remove both the Team Act and gas tax from the minimum wage debate, holding votes on the three issues separately instead.
SEN. TRENT LOTT, (R) Mississippi: A straight vote on the gas tax repeal, a straight vote on the minimum wage, with some amendments included that basically I think would be acceptable. That's with a training wage and raising the threshold, and a straight vote on the Team Act.
CHARLAYNE HUNTER-GAULT: But Democrats were cool to the offer, saying now they want to see what Republicans in the House do with the minimum wage bill before they'll agree to move ahead on either the gas tax or Team Act legislation. That could come next week.

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