* FINAL VERSION - Concurred
Resolution:D039
Title:Fix Our Broken Labor Laws
Topic:Labor
Committee:09 - National and International Concerns
House of Initial Action:Deputies
Proposer:The Rev. William E. Exner

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That the 76th General Convention of the Episcopal Church urge the Congress of the United States to pass, and the President to sign into law, labor law reform legislation designed to better protect employees seeking to engage in collective bargaining, to simplify and streamline the procedures by which employees may choose to organize, and to assist employers and employees in reaching agreement. Said legislation should contain the following elements:

1. Provide workers the choice of seeking union recognition either through an election, or through a majority sign-up on cards which are then verified by the National Labor Relations Board.

2. Adopt more effective remedies for violations of employees' rights, comparable to the remedies for discrimination provided by existing civil rights laws.

3. Where the employers and unions are unable to reach agreement on their first collective bargaining agreement within a reasonable period of time, resolve the dispute by submitting it to mediation and if mediation is unsuccessful, then to binding arbitration; and be it further

Resolved, That church members and the Office of Government Relations communicate the position of the Episcopal Church on this issue to the President and Members of Congress, and advocate passage of federal legislation consistent with this Resolution.


EXPLANATION

The Episcopal Church supports the right of workers to organize unions and to bargain collectively for better wages, hours and working conditions. The Executive Council in 1991 expressed alarm at reprisals taken against workers who seek to organize union, issuing the following statement:

"The Executive Council deplores reprisals taken against workers who exercise their rights to initiate collective bargaining as protected by federal and state statutes; calls upon corporate and business leaders to respect the letter and the spirit of the National Labor Relations Act; supports all working Americans, whether organized into unions or not, in the struggle to restore fairness in the workplace; and calls upon our congregation and local communities to reach out to working people who have been denied their jobs, their respect and their livelihoods, joining with them in their struggle for justice and fair compensation."

Some 60 million U.S. workers say they would join a union if they could, based on research conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates in December 2006. But when workers try to gain a voice on the job by forming a union, employers routinely respond with intimidation, harassment and retaliation. According to a survey of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) election campaigns in 1998 and 1999 by Cornell University scholar Kate Bronfenbrenner, private-sector employers illegally fire employees for union activity in at least 25 percent of all efforts to join a union.
Employees not fired fear losing their jobs if they support union representation. According to the Bronfenbrenner survey, management forces employees to attend group anti-union presentations in 92 percent of all union campaigns. Another study revealed that 79 percent of workers believe that workers are "very" or "somewhat" likely to be fired for trying to form a union.

If employers do break the law, current penalties are so ineffective that companies often treat them as a cost of doing business. For example, the penalty for threatening the jobs of union organizers is to post a notice promising not to do it again. And if an employer illegally fires, demotes, or suspends a worker for trying to unionize - the penalty is to reinstate her to her previous post and pay back wages, minus any she earned in the interim. And it often takes years of legal wrangling to resolve these cases, which means workers often move on to new jobs because they can't afford to wait for reinstatement. If the penalties were similar to those of federal civil rights laws, workers could be awarded cash damages and violators could be fined, which would strengthen enforcement efforts.

The Employee Free Choice Act would reform the nation's basic labor laws by requiring employers to recognize a union after a majority of workers sign cards authorizing union representation. It also would provide mediation and arbitration for first-contract disputes and establish stronger penalties for violation of the rights of workers seeking to form unions or negotiate first contracts.


* Note: The final language, as well as the final status of each resolution, is being reviewed by the General Convention office. The Journal of the 76th General Convention and the Constitution and Canons will be published once the review process has been completed.