Minnesota Legislature
SF 543
as introduced - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am
KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.
1.1A resolution
1.2memorializing Congress to support the Employee Free Choice Act relating to workers'
1.3rights to form and join unions.
1.4WHEREAS, in 1935, the United States established, by law, that workers must be free
1.5to form unions; and
1.6WHEREAS, the freedom to form or join a union is internationally recognized by the 1948
1.7Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a fundamental human right; and
1.8WHEREAS, the free choice to join with others and bargain for better wages and benefits is
1.9essential to economic opportunity and good living standards; and
1.10WHEREAS, unions benefit communities by strengthening living standards, stabilizing tax
1.11bases, promoting equal treatment, and enhancing civic participation; and
1.12WHEREAS, union workers receive better wages and benefits, with union workers earning
1.1329 percent more than workers without a union, 35 percent are more likely to have health
1.14insurance, and they are four times more likely to have a guaranteed defined-benefit pension; and
1.15WHEREAS, unions help raise workers' pay and narrow the income gap for minorities and
1.16women by increasing median weekly earnings by 31 percent for union women workers, 31
1.17percent for African-American workers, 50 percent for Latino workers, and nine percent for
1.18Asian-American workers; and
1.19WHEREAS, workers across the nation are routinely denied the freedom to form unions and
1.20bargain for a better life with 25 percent of private-sector employers illegally firing at least one
1.21worker for union activity during organizing campaigns; and
2.1WHEREAS, 77 percent of the public believes it is important to have strong laws protecting
2.2the freedom for workers to make their own decision about having a union, and 58 percent of
2.3workers would join a union if they had the chance; and
2.4WHEREAS, in 45 percent of successful organizing campaigns, employers often refuse to
2.5bargain fairly with newly unionized workers by dragging out the first contract bargaining for
2.6up to two years; and
2.7WHEREAS, each year millions of dollars are spent to frustrate workers' efforts to form
2.8unions, and most violations of workers' freedom to choose a union occur behind closed doors,
2.9with 78 percent of employers forcing employees to attend mandatory antiunion meetings; and
2.10WHEREAS, when the right of workers to form a union is violated, wages fall, race and
2.11gender pay gaps widen, workplace discrimination increases, and job safety standards disappear;
2.12and
2.13WHEREAS, a worker's fundamental right to choose a union free from coercion and
2.14intimidation is a public issue that requires public policy solutions, including legislative remedies;
2.15and
2.16WHEREAS, the Employee Free Choice Act has been introduced in the United States
2.17Congress in order to restore workers' freedom to join a union; and
2.18WHEREAS, the Employee Free Choice Act will safeguard workers' ability to make their
2.19own decisions on joining a union without coercion, provide for first contract mediation and
2.20arbitration, and establish meaningful penalties when employers violate workers' rights; and
2.21WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota supports the Employee Free
2.22Choice Act which would authorize the National Labor Relations Board to certify a union as
2.23the bargaining representative when a majority of employees voluntarily sign authorizations
2.24designating that union to represent them; and
2.25WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota supports the Employee Free Choice
2.26Act which would provide for first contract mediation and arbitration of a first contract; and
2.27WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota supports the Employee Free Choice
2.28Act to establish meaningful penalties for violations of a worker's freedom to choose a union;
2.29NOW, THEREFORE,
3.1BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges, the President
3.2and the Congress of the United States to pass the Employee Free Choice Act to protect and
3.3preserve for America's workers their freedom to choose whether or not to form a union.
3.4BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is
3.5directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United
3.6States, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk
3.7of the United States House of Representatives, the chair of the Senate Committee on Health,
3.8Education, Labor, and Pensions, the chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, and
3.9Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress so that they may be informed of the stand
3.10of the Minnesota Legislature in this matter.
1.2memorializing Congress to support the Employee Free Choice Act relating to workers'
1.3rights to form and join unions.
1.4WHEREAS, in 1935, the United States established, by law, that workers must be free
1.5to form unions; and
1.6WHEREAS, the freedom to form or join a union is internationally recognized by the 1948
1.7Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a fundamental human right; and
1.8WHEREAS, the free choice to join with others and bargain for better wages and benefits is
1.9essential to economic opportunity and good living standards; and
1.10WHEREAS, unions benefit communities by strengthening living standards, stabilizing tax
1.11bases, promoting equal treatment, and enhancing civic participation; and
1.12WHEREAS, union workers receive better wages and benefits, with union workers earning
1.1329 percent more than workers without a union, 35 percent are more likely to have health
1.14insurance, and they are four times more likely to have a guaranteed defined-benefit pension; and
1.15WHEREAS, unions help raise workers' pay and narrow the income gap for minorities and
1.16women by increasing median weekly earnings by 31 percent for union women workers, 31
1.17percent for African-American workers, 50 percent for Latino workers, and nine percent for
1.18Asian-American workers; and
1.19WHEREAS, workers across the nation are routinely denied the freedom to form unions and
1.20bargain for a better life with 25 percent of private-sector employers illegally firing at least one
1.21worker for union activity during organizing campaigns; and
2.1WHEREAS, 77 percent of the public believes it is important to have strong laws protecting
2.2the freedom for workers to make their own decision about having a union, and 58 percent of
2.3workers would join a union if they had the chance; and
2.4WHEREAS, in 45 percent of successful organizing campaigns, employers often refuse to
2.5bargain fairly with newly unionized workers by dragging out the first contract bargaining for
2.6up to two years; and
2.7WHEREAS, each year millions of dollars are spent to frustrate workers' efforts to form
2.8unions, and most violations of workers' freedom to choose a union occur behind closed doors,
2.9with 78 percent of employers forcing employees to attend mandatory antiunion meetings; and
2.10WHEREAS, when the right of workers to form a union is violated, wages fall, race and
2.11gender pay gaps widen, workplace discrimination increases, and job safety standards disappear;
2.12and
2.13WHEREAS, a worker's fundamental right to choose a union free from coercion and
2.14intimidation is a public issue that requires public policy solutions, including legislative remedies;
2.15and
2.16WHEREAS, the Employee Free Choice Act has been introduced in the United States
2.17Congress in order to restore workers' freedom to join a union; and
2.18WHEREAS, the Employee Free Choice Act will safeguard workers' ability to make their
2.19own decisions on joining a union without coercion, provide for first contract mediation and
2.20arbitration, and establish meaningful penalties when employers violate workers' rights; and
2.21WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota supports the Employee Free
2.22Choice Act which would authorize the National Labor Relations Board to certify a union as
2.23the bargaining representative when a majority of employees voluntarily sign authorizations
2.24designating that union to represent them; and
2.25WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota supports the Employee Free Choice
2.26Act which would provide for first contract mediation and arbitration of a first contract; and
2.27WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota supports the Employee Free Choice
2.28Act to establish meaningful penalties for violations of a worker's freedom to choose a union;
2.29NOW, THEREFORE,
3.1BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges, the President
3.2and the Congress of the United States to pass the Employee Free Choice Act to protect and
3.3preserve for America's workers their freedom to choose whether or not to form a union.
3.4BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is
3.5directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United
3.6States, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk
3.7of the United States House of Representatives, the chair of the Senate Committee on Health,
3.8Education, Labor, and Pensions, the chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, and
3.9Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress so that they may be informed of the stand
3.10of the Minnesota Legislature in this matter.