The following is a statement from Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy as the National Labor Relations Board deliberates changes in law that would prohibit workers from earning union benefits:

"Times are tough and getting tougher for American workers. Workers are bearing the burden of steadily rising gas prices, increased health care costs and a budget deficit that continues to jeopardize their retirement security. Now, hundreds of thousands of workers are awaiting the verdict of the National Labor Relations Board on a series of decisions that could take away their right to join unions.

"An effort to reclassify workers as 'supervisors' is taking hold. Unlike other employees, those classified as supervisors do not have federally protected rights to form or join unions. Under new proposed rules, any worker who occasionally directs or assigns work of less-experienced or skilled colleagues would be labeled a 'supervisor' and would lose benefits he or she has worked hard to obtain. This rule would force people to work harder for fewer benefits and in some cases, money.

"I worked as a nurse for 30 years and I know that helping out younger, less experienced nurses is an important part of the job. Nurses and other workers shouldn't be penalized for helping those with less experience.

"If workers lose their protections as 'employees' under federal law, they may be fired or otherwise disciplined for union activity. They'll lose the freedom to choose to join or remain a member of a union. And they will lose their ability to have a voice on the job.

"For example, for nurses, union membership provides a voice on the job and the protections needed to be effective patient advocates. A nurse with a union works with confidence to make tough calls and be a strong patient advocate when patient decisions need to be made. Patients need a strong voice to stand up to those who put the bottom line before a patient's health care needs.

"But this decision will not just affect nurses. Others affected include foremen on construction jobs who work with a team of workers who could lose their union rights under a broad definition of 'supervisor.' Thousands of painters, welders, sheet metal workers, plumbers, electricians and others could lose their right to be in a union.

"Workers deserve to be heard on this issue, which is why tens of thousands of union members have asked their members of Congress to appeal to the Labor Board for an opportunity to provide oral arguments.

"But the board seems uninterested in hearing from the working people most affected by their decisions. Since 2001, the Labor Board has to hear oral arguments in any case. In fact, this is the only five-year period in the last 25 years in which the board has not held any oral arguments.

"These workers have a right to be heard, especially during this tough economic climate. I believe that no worker should be deprived of their benefits because bureaucrats in the Department of Labor decide to change how the government describes their jobs.

"I will work with my colleagues in Congress from both parties to ensure our workers' voices are heard on this important matter. Together, we can fight to make sure these hard-working Americans can keep the benefits they have worked so hard to earn."