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Senate Memorial

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A memorial to the Congress of the United States, urging

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Congress to support the Employee Free Choice Act.

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     WHEREAS, in 1935, the United States established by law, that

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workers must be free to form unions, and

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     WHEREAS, the freedom to form or join a union is

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internationally recognized as a fundamental human right by the

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1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and

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     WHEREAS, the freedom to chose to join with others and

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bargain for better wages and benefits is essential to economic

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opportunity and an improved standard of living, and

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     WHEREAS, unions benefit communities by strengthening

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standards of living, stabilizing the tax base, promoting equal

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treatment, and enhancing civic participation, and

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     WHEREAS, in states where more people are union members,

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schools are of higher quality and workers receive better wages

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and benefits, and

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     WHEREAS, union workers earn 29 percent more, are 35 percent

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more likely to have access to health insurance, and are four

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times more likely to have access to a guaranteed defined-benefit

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pension than workers without a union, and

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     WHEREAS, unions help raise workers' pay and narrow the

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income gap for minorities and women by increasing median weekly

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earnings of women workers by 31 percent, African-American workers

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by 31 percent, Latino workers by 50 percent, and Asian-American

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workers by 9 percent, and

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     WHEREAS, workers have often been denied the freedom to form

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unions and bargain for a better life, with 25 percent of the

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nation's private-sector employers having illegally fired at least

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one worker for union activity during an organizing campaign, and

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     WHEREAS, 77 percent of the public believes that it is

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important to have strong laws protecting the freedom of workers

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to make their own decision about having a union and 58 percent of

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workers would join a union if given the option, and

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     WHEREAS, employers often do not bargain fairly with workers

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after a union is formed and in 45 percent of these cases, first-

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contract bargaining with the union has dragged out for up to 2

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years, and

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     WHEREAS, when the right of workers to form a union is

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violated, wages fall, income gaps related to race and gender

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widen, discrimination in the workplace increases, and job-safety

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standards weaken, and

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     WHEREAS, 78 percent of employers have required that

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employees attend anti-union meetings, and

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     WHEREAS, each year millions of dollars are spent to

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frustrate workers' efforts to form unions and most violations of

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workers' freedom to choose a union occur behind closed doors, and

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     WHEREAS, a worker's fundamental right to choose a union free

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from coercion and intimidation is a public issue requiring a

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public policy solution, including legislative remedies, and

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     WHEREAS, the Employee Free Choice Act has been introduced in

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the United States Congress in order to restore the freedom of

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workers to join unions and safeguard the ability of workers to

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protect their rights, NOW, THEREFORE,

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Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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     That the Congress of the United States is urged to enact the

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Employee Free Choice Act, which contains provisions allowing

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employees to form unions by signing cards authorizing union

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representation, establishes stronger penalties for violation of

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employee rights when workers seek to form a union and during

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first-contract negotiations, and provides for mediation and

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arbitration of first-contract disputes, and

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     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be

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dispatched to the President of the United States, to the

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President of the United States Senate, to the Speaker of the

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United States House of Representatives, and to each member of the

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Florida delegation to the United States Congress.