Listen All Y’all It’s a Sabotage

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Free Beacon:

Lawmakers and activists are attempting to rein in union exemptions from extortion laws after several high profile acts of suspected union sabotage in 2012.

Labor groups are immune from prosecution under the Hobbs Act, a 1946 provision that criminalized extortion and robbery using the threat or fear of force. Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah) attempted to close that loophole last year with the Freedom from Union Violence Act (FUVA).

The bill never left committee but Lee has pledged to crack down on the sabotage and violence some unions use during labor disputes.

“Union violence and intimidation are serious issues and my legislation is an effort to close the loophole that protects unions from being held accountable for their actions,” Lee said. “Threatening workers and damaging property shouldn’t be defended as ‘legitimate union objectives’ and the law should be clear about that.”

Republicans have made several attempts to bring unions under the Hobbs umbrella over the past 25 years, according to Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation.

“[The Hobbs exemption] is really an amazing special privilege only granted to unions,” Mix said. “We are trying to clarify the provisions of the act so that picket line violence is treated the same as rioting and other forms of violence, but union influence has killed [the bills] every time.”

Labor allies have prevented FUVA from advancing through either chamber of Congress but Mix said a spate of alleged union violence in 2012 has made the need for reform apparent.

________

 

Holding the thugs accountable.