Press Releases

 

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Scott Perry (PA-10) just introduced the Freedom from Union Violence Act, to rectify a deadly loophole in the 1946 Hobbs Anti-Extortion Act that enables union officials to perpetrate violence, extortion, and other crime in pursuit of union objectives.

“I was shocked to learn that unions can literally terrorize non-union workers into either joining a union or quitting their jobs altogether, which has included many forms of violence up to and including even murder,” said Congressman Perry. “For decades, bad-actor unions have gotten away with this because of a much-abused loophole the Supreme Court carved out through the Hobbs Anti-Extortion Act. My bill, the 'Freedom from Union Violence Act,' closes that loophole once and for all. Americans – all Americans - are subject to the same laws and penalties, union member or not.”

The Supreme Court Enmons decision (1973) held that strike-related violence cannot be prosecuted under the 1946 Hobbs Anti-Extortion Act, which created a loophole empowering chaos and criminality, so long as the perpetrators believe they’re pursuing “legitimate union objectives.” As a result, decades of union violence (much directed at coworkers merely disagreeing with a strike) came with zero consequences. This not only emboldens more violence, but creates an untenable, dangerous, and inequitable system by which a special/select group of Citizens (unions) may act without impunity whereby Citizens in similar situations would otherwise be held accountable.

According to the National Institute for Labor Relations Research, since Enmons, approximately 12,000 incidents of union violence resulted in 203 deaths and over 6,600 injuries to American workers. Other law enforcement records indicate that as much as 80-90% of union violence reported to police goes unreported in the media. 

Congressman Perry’s bill not only rights a wrong by closing the Enmons loophole, but most importantly, keeps our workers safe by raising awareness of this issue.