SR1561 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1561 LRB100 21283 MST 37654 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, For the last quarter-century, the Ford Motor Company has garnered a reputation for mishandling complaints of sexual and racial harassment at their production plants across the nation, giving rise to a string of lawsuits in the 1990s, an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) investigation, and a $22 million settlement to Ford employees who experienced harassment; and

WHEREAS, The allegations made by female employees have included crude comments about women's bodies, graphic images of male genitalia, groping, males simulating sexual acts or masturbating in front of the women, and supervisors who offered favorable treatment to women who would have sex with them; and

WHEREAS, The culture at the Ford plants enabled this conduct, thereby causing many of the women who reported harassment to be mocked, dismissed, threatened, or ostracized; and

WHEREAS, While Ford touted its purported commitment to cracking down on this hostile work environment of the 1990s, it continued to delay firing those accused of harassment, did not provide adequate sexual harassment training, and failed to stamp out retaliation against those women who reported misconduct, leaving workers to conclude that offenders would go unpunished; and

WHEREAS, Ford has done little to address the longstanding culture of sexual harassment at its plants, resulting in another EEOC investigation, a recent $10 million settlement of sexual harassment claims, and continuing litigation between Ford and employees who suffer from this pervasive sexual and racial harassment; and

WHEREAS, Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant and the Chicago Stamping Plant, which together employ over 5,700 people, of which just under a third are women, have been the source of half of all sexual harassment and gender discrimination complaints lodged against Ford with the EEOC; and

WHEREAS, Although United Auto Workers (UAW) is the union entrusted with representing Ford workers in employment matters, UAW not only breached its duty of fair representation to women experiencing harassment at Ford's Chicago plants, but many of the alleged perpetrators of harassment included UAW representatives and leadership; and

WHEREAS, Harassment victims who sought protection from UAW were instead rebuked for tattling on a union brother and putting a man's job at risk, and bullied into tolerating the harassment as just another aspect of the job; and

WHEREAS, Neither Ford nor UAW took any action to mitigate the inherent conflict of interest that arises when both a victim and the perpetrator of sexual harassment are members of the same collective bargaining unit and the union must fairly represent both workers; and

WHEREAS, Many of the known and unknown women who became victims of sexual harassment throughout their employment with Ford are Illinois workers who have suffered serious psychological and physical trauma, economic loss, and retaliation including loss of their jobs as a result of Ford and UAW's gross mishandling and failure to eradicate this impermissible behavior; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, and the Illinois Department of Labor to investigate the culture of harassment at Ford's Illinois plants, and provide increased support for the brave women who have come forward to make their voices heard; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call upon the Governor of Illinois to review all state contracts with Ford Motor Company for compliance with the Illinois Human Rights Act, the Illinois Procurement Code, and other laws and regulations governing state contractors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call upon the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Illinois Department of Human Rights, and the Illinois Department of Labor to investigate UAW's role in facilitating the harassment at Ford's Illinois plants, including whether it breached its duty of fair representation to union members who were victims of harassment; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to Governor Bruce Rauner, the Acting Chair and the Commissioners of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the members of the National Labor Relations Board, the Director of the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the Director of the Illinois Department of Labor, the United Automobile Workers International Executive Board, and the Board of Directors at Ford Motor Company.