The House of Representatives passed the Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act, that would ban the federal National Labor Relations Board from ordering any employer to shut down plants or relocate work, even if it violates labor law, according to reports in the Associated Press and the Huffington Post.
The measure is not expected to pass in the Democratic-run Senate.
Passage would help protect the Boeing Co., under attack for opening an assembly plant for its new 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina, a right-to-work state.
The NLRB’s acting general counsel filed a controversial complaint in April, saying Boeing violated labor law when it opened the plant and alleging it was a move to retaliate against Boeing’s unionized workers in Washington state for previous strikes.
Boeing has denied the allegations, saying it had solid, economic reasons for the move.
Democrats and union say the bill would weaken the 77-year-old independent NLRB and give Boeing a pass for alleged misdeeds.
Republicans allege the move would kill jobs.
