WASHINGTON, DC – Area Congressman Scott Perry introduced legislation to fix a loophole in the 1946 Hobbs Anti-Extortion Act that enables union officials to perpetrate violence and crimes in pursuit of union objectives. Perry said he 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. The 1973 Supreme Court Enmons decision held that strike-related violence can not be prosecuted under the Hobbs Anti-Extortion Act, so long as the perpetrators believe they’re pursuing “legitimate union objectives.” As a result, decades of union violence came with zero consequences. According to the National Institute for Labor Relations Research, since Enmons, about 12,000 incidents of union violence resulted in 203 deaths and over 6,600 injuries to American workers. Perry’s Freedom from Union Violence Act closes the Enmons loophole to keep workers safe and raises awareness of the issue.
REP. SCOTT PERRY