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1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
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
 
10     WHEREAS, The freedom to form or join a union is a
11 fundamental human right; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Unions benefit communities by strengthening tax
13 bases, promoting equal treatment, and enhancing civic
14 participation; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Fifty-seven million United States workers have
16 indicated that they would join a union if given the
17 opportunity; and
 
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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1     WHEREAS, When the right of workers to form a union is
2 violated, wages decline, race and gender pay gaps widen,
3 workplace discrimination increases, and job safety standards
4 lapse; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Each year, 20,000 of America's workers are
6 illegally threatened, coerced, or terminated for attempting to
7 form a union; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Most violations of workers' freedom to join a
9 union occur behind closed doors, and each year millions of
10 dollars are spent to frustrate workers' efforts to organize;
11 and
 
12     WHEREAS, A worker's fundamental right to join a union is a
13 public issue that requires public policy solutions, including
14 legislative remedies; and
 
15     WHEREAS, Federal legislation, the Employee Free Choice
16 Act, has been introduced in the United States Congress (H.R.
17 800) in order to restore workers' freedom to join unions;
18 therefore, be it
 
19     RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL
20 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
21 CONCURRING HEREIN, that we urge the Congress of the United

 

 

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1 States of America to enact the Employee Free Choice Act that
2 would protect and preserve the freedom of America's workers to
3 organize and join unions by authorizing the National Labor
4 Relations Board to certify a union as the bargaining
5 representative when a majority of employees voluntarily sign
6 authorization cards (commonly known as "card check"
7 recognition), providing for first contract mediation and
8 arbitration, and establishing meaningful penalties for
9 violations of a worker's right to join a union; and be it
10 further
 
11     RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
12 delivered to the President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, the
13 Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and each member
14 of the Illinois congressional delegation.