PRINTER'S NO. 1767
No. 321 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY BLACKWELL, HARKINS, LEVDANSKY, BELFANTI, SURRA,
SEIP, MELIO, SHIMKUS, SOLOBAY, BRENNAN, R. TAYLOR, EACHUS,
DALEY, MANDERINO, JAMES, JOSEPHS, M. O'BRIEN, CURRY, SAINATO,
COHEN, KOTIK, CALTAGIRONE, GEORGE, W. KELLER, LEACH,
SIPTROTH, FREEMAN, MANN, SANTONI, DERMODY, GERGELY,
LONGIETTI, DeWEESE, GRUCELA, GIBBONS, STURLA, BUXTON,
PETRONE, BENNINGTON, MARSHALL, READSHAW, KIRKLAND, FABRIZIO,
SABATINA, CRUZ, YOUNGBLOOD, COSTA, CONKLIN, BISHOP, PRESTON,
WALKO, MYERS, MUNDY, RAMALEY, WANSACZ, DePASQUALE, DeLUCA,
WAGNER, KING, FRANKEL, MARKOSEK, HANNA, McILVAINE SMITH,
SONNEY, McCALL, PETRARCA, KORTZ, GOODMAN, OLIVER, CARROLL,
M. SMITH, THOMAS, YUDICHAK, BIANCUCCI, HORNAMAN, J. WHITE,
HARHAI, KULA AND PAYTON, JUNE 5, 2007
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON INTERGOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, JUNE 5, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Urging passage of the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007.
2 WHEREAS, In 1935 the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was
3 enacted; and
4 WHEREAS, The NLRA allows employees to recognize a union when
5 a majority of workers sign authorization cards designating a
6 union as their bargaining agent; and
7 WHEREAS, The free choice to join with others and bargain for
8 better wages and benefits is essential to economic opportunity
9 and good living standards; and
10 WHEREAS, Unions benefit communities by strengthening living
11 standards, stabilizing tax bases, promoting equal treatment and
1 enhancing civic participation; and
2 WHEREAS, States in which more people are union members are
3 states with higher wages, better benefits and better schools;
4 and
5 WHEREAS, Union workers receive better wages and benefits,
6 earning 29% more than workers without a union; and
7 WHEREAS, Union workers are 35% more likely to have access to
8 health insurance and 400% more likely to have access to a
9 guaranteed defined benefit pension; and
10 WHEREAS, Unions raise workers' pay and narrow the income gap
11 for minorities and women: median weekly earnings increased 31%
12 for union women workers and African-American workers, 50% for
13 union Latino workers and 9% for union Asian-American workers;
14 and
15 WHEREAS, Workers in the United States are routinely denied
16 the freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life; and
17 WHEREAS, Workers in the United States are subjected to
18 increasing employer harassment, discrimination and even job
19 termination during organizing campaigns; and
20 WHEREAS, At least 25% of private sector employers have
21 illegally fired one or more workers for union activity during
22 organizing campaigns; and
23 WHEREAS, A vast majority of the public believes it is
24 important to have strong laws protecting the freedom of workers
25 to make their own decisions about unions; and
26 WHEREAS, Given the chance, 58% of workers would join a union;
27 and
28 WHEREAS, Employers often refuse to bargain fairly with
29 workers who choose to form a union by dragging out the first
30 contract bargaining for up to two years in nearly 50% of
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1 successful campaigns; and
2 WHEREAS, Each year millions of dollars are spent to frustrate
3 workers' efforts to form unions; and
4 WHEREAS, Most violations of workers' freedom to choose a
5 union occur behind closed doors, with employers forcing
6 employees to attend mandatory anti-union meetings; and
7 WHEREAS, When the right of workers to form a union is
8 violated, wages fall, race and gender pay gaps widen, workplace
9 discrimination increases and job safety standards disappear; and
10 WHEREAS, Questions relating to a worker's fundamental right
11 to choose a union without employer coercion or intimidation
12 require public policy solutions, including legislative remedies;
13 and
14 WHEREAS, The Employee Free Choice Act of 2007 has been
15 introduced in the Congress of the United States to restore
16 workers' freedom to form, join or assist a union; and
17 WHEREAS, The Employee Free Choice Act of 2007 safeguards
18 workers' ability to make their own decisions without
19 interference, provides for first contract mediation and
20 arbitration and establishes meaningful penalties when employers
21 violate workers' rights; therefore be it
22 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the
23 Commonwealth of Pennsylvania support passage of the Employee
24 Free Choice Act of 2007, which authorizes the National Labor
25 Relations Board to certify a union as the bargaining
26 representative when a majority of employees voluntarily sign
27 authorizations designating that union to represent them and
28 which provides first contract mediation and arbitration and
29 establishes meaningful penalties for violations of a worker's
30 freedom to choose a union; and be it further
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1 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives urge the Congress
2 to pass the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007 to protect and
3 preserve the freedom of America's workers to choose whether or
4 not to form, join or assist a union; and be it further
5 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
6 the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each
7 member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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