Full Text of SJR0022 095th General Assembly
SJ0022 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 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
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| WHEREAS, The freedom to form or join a union is a
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| fundamental human right; and
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| WHEREAS, Unions benefit communities by strengthening tax | 13 |
| bases,
promoting equal treatment, and enhancing civic | 14 |
| participation; and
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| WHEREAS, Fifty-seven million United States workers have | 16 |
| indicated
that they would join a union if given the | 17 |
| opportunity; and
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| 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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| 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
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| WHEREAS, Each year, 20,000 of America's workers are | 6 |
| illegally
threatened, coerced, or terminated for attempting to | 7 |
| form a union; and
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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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| 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
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| 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.
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