WHEREAS:

Throughout the United States employers are terminating production and closing plants without appropriate concern for the employees who must seek new training or employment and even relocation; and,

WHEREAS:

A variety of legislation exists which requires employers to provide as much advance notice as possible to their employees about such closings, and to provide appropriate assistance such as retraining allowances, relocation support, and severance payments; and,

WHEREAS:

In spite of the clearly unique nature of such payments they are often treated as regular income and therefore siphoned off for taxes without providing the special assistance to the workers that was intended.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

The International Executive Board, noting the problems faced by AFSCME Local 327 Communication Equipment Workers, Inc., of Baltimore, in an impending Western Electric plant closing, urges that the appropriate Committees of Congress carefully examine the equities in tax treatment of plant closing allowances; and,

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT:

AFSCME will pursue all appropriate legislative and administrative remedies to the end that the purposes of termination allowances shall be insofar as possible fully achieved for the workers involved.