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| 1 | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, In the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (29 | ||||||
| 3 | U.S.C.
Sec. 151, et seq.) the United States Congress declared | ||||||
| 4 | it to be the
policy of the United States to encourage the | ||||||
| 5 | practice of collective
bargaining by protecting the exercise by | ||||||
| 6 | workers of full freedom of
association, self-organization, and | ||||||
| 7 | designation of representatives of
their own choosing for the | ||||||
| 8 | purpose of negotiating the terms and
conditions of their | ||||||
| 9 | employment or other mutual aid or protection; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, The freedom to form or join a union is a
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| 11 | fundamental human right; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Unions benefit communities by strengthening tax | ||||||
| 13 | bases,
promoting equal treatment, and enhancing civic | ||||||
| 14 | participation; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Fifty-seven million United States workers have | ||||||
| 16 | indicated
that they would join a union if given the | ||||||
| 17 | opportunity; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Even though the nation's workers ostensibly have | ||||||
| 19 | the
freedom to choose whether to organize, in reality they are | ||||||
| 20 | routinely
denied that right; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, When the right of workers to form a union is | ||||||
| 22 | violated,
wages decline, race and gender pay gaps widen, | ||||||
| 23 | workplace
discrimination increases, and job safety standards | ||||||
| 24 | lapse; and
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| 25 | WHEREAS, Each year, 20,000 of America's workers are | ||||||
| 26 | illegally
threatened, coerced, or terminated for attempting to | ||||||
| 27 | form a union; and
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| 28 | WHEREAS, Most violations of workers' freedom to join a | ||||||
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| 1 | union occur
behind closed doors, and each year millions of | ||||||
| 2 | dollars are spent to
frustrate workers' efforts to organize; | ||||||
| 3 | and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, A worker's fundamental right to join a union is a | ||||||
| 5 | public
issue that requires public policy solutions, including | ||||||
| 6 | legislative
remedies; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Federal legislation, the Employee Free Choice | ||||||
| 8 | Act, has been introduced in the United States Congress with | ||||||
| 9 | bipartisan support in both chambers (S. 842 and H.R. 1696) in | ||||||
| 10 | order to restore workers' freedom to join unions; therefore, be | ||||||
| 11 | it
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| 12 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 13 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | ||||||
| 14 | CONCURRING HEREIN, that that we urge the Congress of the United | ||||||
| 15 | States of America to enact the Employee Free Choice Act that | ||||||
| 16 | would protect and preserve the freedom of
America's workers to | ||||||
| 17 | organize and join unions by authorizing the
National Labor | ||||||
| 18 | Relations Board to certify a union as the bargaining
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| 19 | representative when a majority of employees voluntarily sign
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| 20 | authorization cards (commonly known as "card check" | ||||||
| 21 | recognition),
providing for first contract mediation and | ||||||
| 22 | arbitration, and
establishing meaningful penalties for | ||||||
| 23 | violations of a worker's right
to join a union; and be it | ||||||
| 24 | further
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| 25 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 26 | delivered to the President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, the | ||||||
| 27 | Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and each member | ||||||
| 28 | of the Illinois congressional delegation.
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