WHEREAS:
America is a country founded on the principles of freedom, including the freedom of association; and

WHEREAS:
The right to form a union and collectively bargain is recognized as a fundamental right in free countries across the world; and

WHEREAS: 
A country that does not honor the labor rights of its citizens cannot hope to maintain decent wages, benefits and working conditions; and

WHEREAS:
The fundamental right to form a union is routinely trampled by employers in the United States because millions of public employees do not have even basic legal rights and millions more private sector employees are covered by a law which fails to protect them from employers who violate their rights and even encourages illegal behavior by virtue of its weakness; and

WHEREAS:
The Bush administration has systematically worked to further weaken enforcement of the National Labor Relations Act over the last eight years; and

WHEREAS:
Massive efforts by AFSCME and the rest of the labor movement resulted in passage of the Employee Free Choice Act in 2007 in the U.S. House of Representatives, only to see the bill die because of anti-worker and employer opposition in the U.S. Senate and a threatened veto by President Bush; and

WHEREAS:
Enactment of the Employee Free Choice Act is crucial to creating a level playing field where workers can form unions without fear of retaliation by their bosses.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That AFSCME will endorse and elect worker-friendly candidates in the 2008 congressional and presidential elections and make support for the Employee Free Choice Act the top consideration in our endorsements; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME commit with the AFL-CIO and other labor unions to securing signatures from at least 10 percent of our membership on a petition demanding fair labor laws and that we work with the rest of the labor movement to collect one million pledges nationally; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED: 
That all AFSCME affiliates will mobilize their membership and lobby Congress for passage of the act.
 
 
SUBMITTED BY: Todd Singer, President
Phyllis Wingate, Secretary
AFSCME Council 13
Pennsylvania