ENDING PREDATOR ACCESS TO UNION POWER ACT

On 2026-09-16, Representative Tim Walberg (R-MI-5) delivered a floor speech titled "ENDING PREDATOR ACCESS TO UNION POWER ACT" in the House.

ENDING PREDATOR ACCESS TO UNION POWER ACT

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 146 (Wednesday, September 16, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 146 (Wednesday, September 16, 2026)] [House] [Pages H5906-H5908] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] ENDING PREDATOR ACCESS TO UNION POWER ACT Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 8775) to amend the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to provide that individuals who have been convicted of sex offenses against minors may not serve in certain positions, as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 8775 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Ending Predator Access to Union Power Act''. SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON HOLDING OFFICE. (a) In General.--Section 504(a) of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (29 U.S.C. 504(a)) is amended by inserting after ``grievous bodily injury,'' the following: ``a sex offense against a minor,''. (b) Technical Amendment.--Section 504(a) of such Act is further amended by striking ``Act any'' and inserting ``Act, any''. (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this Act shall take effect 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg) and the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan. General Leave Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 8775. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Michigan? There was no objection. Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 8775, Ending Predator Access to Union Power Act. This bill has an important and concerning background. It came about after reports that a local of the Service Employees International Union, or SEIU, hired a convicted child sex offender as a business agent. What makes this especially concerning is that SEIU represents public school employees, bus drivers, and childcare providers, positions that provide access to large groups of children. I am thankful that the union recognized its mistake and fired this individual, but this never should have happened in the first place. We must take steps to ensure it does not happen again. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to protect children and strengthen the integrity of unions by voting ``yes'' on H.R. 8775. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak in favor of H.R. 8775. The Labor- Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, or LMRDA, prohibits individuals convicted of certain crimes from holding union office or a staff position and other related union-side positions. It also applies to employers by prohibiting these individuals from serving as a labor- relations consultant to an employer and in a labor-relations role for an employer or an association of employers, as well as related positions. Currently, the law already bars individuals convicted of serious crimes such as murder, robbery, extortion, embezzlement, rape, and assault causing grievous bodily injury, from holding union or employer- side positions and roles. This bill will add ``a sex offense against a minor'' to the existing list of disqualifying convictions. As written, the bill is balanced by applying to both the unions and employers. However, Republicans may exaggerate the problem this bill addresses by highlighting a singular incident from 4 years ago regarding an individual who was immediately fired by a local union. The reality is that this is not a widespread issue as unions are one of the most regulated entities in the country, remain subject to the LMRDA, conduct [[Page H5907]] background checks for job applicants, and have codes of conduct. Furthermore, the title of the bill suggests that it only applies to unions, which is false. In fact, during the committee's deliberations, I offered an amendment to strike the title to eliminate any misinterpretation about the bill's scope. Every Republican member of the committee present voted against the amendment. Nonetheless, any individual in a position of trust should be held to high standards and this, indeed, does apply to employers so I will support the bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson), the sponsor of this legislation. Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to sponsor H.R. 8775, the Ending Predator Access to Union Power Act, which amends the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act to prohibit individuals convicted of sex crimes against minors from being employed by labor organizations. Specifically, this bill bars these individuals from serving in leadership or decisionmaking roles within labor organizations, acting as an employer labor consultant, or representing employers in collective bargaining. This prohibition applies for 13 years after the conviction or end of imprisonment. {time} 1240 Critics may say the bill is unnecessary. However, with the leadership of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, there was an investigation of the local chapter of the Service Employees International Union, who sadly found they had hired a convicted child molester and longtime registrant of California's Sex Offender Registry to be a member of the leadership team. This is particularly upsetting since we appreciate that SEIU represents public service employees who work closely with children, including public school employees, bus drivers, and childcare providers. This could create a very serious situation of allowing a child molester access to children. Additionally, union dues should not be used to fund the salaries of those convicted of these heinous crimes. Labor management reporting already prohibits individuals convicted of many crimes, including rape and serious forms of assault, from holding office in labor unions. Therefore, it is common sense to add sexual abuse of a minor to the list. This commonsense legislation closes the loophole by adding sex offenses against minors to the list of disqualifying crimes. The passage of the bill will ensure that union power cannot be exploited by those who have committed crimes against children. In recognition of the successful service of Chairman Tim Walberg, it is appropriate that I am going to present him a hat signed by all bipartisan members of the congressional delegation on the delegation that he led to our allies--Japan, Philippines, and Vietnam--last month, and also, he concluded the visit to the beautiful island of Guam where we had the opportunity to be with Congressman Jim Moylan. With that in mind, I urge all colleagues to support this legislation. Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, this bill ensures that individuals convicted of a sex offense against a minor cannot serve as a union official, staff, or in a labor relations position with employers. As I noted earlier, this restriction applies to both sides, to the union side and the employer side alike, irrespective of what the bill's title suggests. An individual in a position of trust must be held to a high standard. This bill reflects that principle, so I support the bill. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 8775, the Ending Predator Access to Union Power Act, amends section 504 of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 to include ``a sex offense against a minor'' to the existing enumerated list of convictions that bar individuals from serving as a union officer or union staff, a consultant or advisor to a union, a labor-relations consultant to an employer, and a labor- relations role for an employer or association of employers, among other positions. The bill also makes a technical amendment to include a missing comma in the statute. The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA), which is enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS), imposes extensive financial reporting requirements on labor organizations, including a detailed disclosure of assets, liabilities, salaries, and expenses. The LMRDA also regulates the internal governance of labor organizations, such as elections of union officials. The LMRDA's regulations are designed to hold union leadership accountable to their members because unions receive dues and are the exclusive representative of workers. The LMRDA also provides union members equal rights and protections within their union. Under Title I, entitled the ``Bill of Rights of Union Members,'' union members are provided multiple rights and protections, including the right to express their views, and right to assemble, and due process. Union members also have the right to enforce their Title I rights through a private suit; however, they may be required to first exhaust internal union remedies for a certain period of time. Additionally, the LMRDA requires employers and labor-relations consultants who engage in particular activities--including to wage anti-union campaigns against workers' organizing efforts or collect information on worker organizing efforts for an employer--to file disclosures with OLMS regarding arrangements with labor-relations consultants and spending on such arrangements. Section 504 of the LMRDA prohibits individuals convicted of certain crimes from holding union of

Referenced legislation: HR5267, HR8775