Danny K. Davis was chosen by the people of the 7th Congressional District of Illinois as their Representative in Congress on November 5, 1996. He has been re-elected by large majorities to succeeding Congresses.
In the 117th Congress, Representative Davis has been reappointed to the Committee on Ways and Means and is the Chairman of the Worker and Family Support Subcommittee. Davis also serves on the Oversight and Reform Committee. Congressman Davis is a member of several Congressional Caucuses including the Congressional Black Caucus, the Progressive Caucus, the Urban Caucus, the Community Health Center's Caucus, the Congressional Sugar Caucus, the Congressional Caucus on Black Men and Boys and Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Re-entry.
Congressman Davis is a strong supporter and co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act which amends the National Labor Relations Act to establish an efficient system to enable employees to form, join, or assist labor organizations and provides for mandatory injunctions for unfair labor practices during organizing efforts. The bill is sponsored by Rep. Miller of California.
The Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to certify a bargaining representative without directing an election if a majority of the bargaining unit employees have authorized designation of the representative (card-check) and there is no other individual or labor organization currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit.
It sets forth special procedural requirements for reaching an initial collective bargaining agreement following certification or recognition and revises enforcement requirements with respect to unfair labor practices during union organizing drives, particularly a preliminary investigation of an alleged unfair labor practice (ULP) which may lead to proceedings for injunctive relief.
The Legislation requires that priority be given to a preliminary investigation of any charge that, while employees were seeking representation by a labor organization, or during the period after a labor organization was recognized as a representative until the first collective bargaining contract is entered into, an employer: (1) discharged or otherwise discriminated against an employee to encourage or discourage membership in the labor organization; (2) threatened to discharge or to otherwise discriminate against an employee in order to interfere with, restrain, or coerce employees in the exercise of guaranteed self-organization or collective bardaining rights; or (3) engaged in any other related ULP that significantly interferes with, restrains, or coerces employees in the exercise of such guaranteed rights.
It also adds to remedies for such violations: (1) back pay plus liquidated damages; and (2) additional civil penalties.