<div class="xtend"><a id="pl.1.1"></a><var>1.1</var>A resolution<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.2"></a><var>1.2</var>memorializing Congress to support the Employee Free Choice Act relating to workers' <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.3"></a><var>1.3</var>rights to form and join unions.<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.4"></a><var>1.4</var>WHEREAS, in 1935, the United States established, by law, that workers must be free <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.5"></a><var>1.5</var>to form unions; and <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.6"></a><var>1.6</var>WHEREAS, the freedom to form or join a union is internationally recognized by the 1948 <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.7"></a><var>1.7</var>Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a fundamental human right; and <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.8"></a><var>1.8</var>WHEREAS, the free choice to join with others and bargain for better wages and benefits is <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.9"></a><var>1.9</var>essential to economic opportunity and good living standards; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.10"></a><var>1.10</var>WHEREAS, unions benefit communities by strengthening living standards, stabilizing tax <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.11"></a><var>1.11</var>bases, promoting equal treatment, and enhancing civic participation; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.12"></a><var>1.12</var>WHEREAS, union workers receive better wages and benefits, with union workers earning <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.13"></a><var>1.13</var>29 percent more than workers without a union, 35 percent are more likely to have health <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.14"></a><var>1.14</var>insurance, and they are four times more likely to have a guaranteed defined-benefit pension; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.15"></a><var>1.15</var>WHEREAS, unions help raise workers' pay and narrow the income gap for minorities and <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.16"></a><var>1.16</var>women by increasing median weekly earnings by 31 percent for union women workers, 31 <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.17"></a><var>1.17</var>percent for African-American workers, 50 percent for Latino workers, and nine percent for <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.18"></a><var>1.18</var>Asian-American workers; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.1.19"></a><var>1.19</var>WHEREAS, workers across the nation are routinely denied the freedom to form unions and <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.20"></a><var>1.20</var>bargain for a better life with 25 percent of private-sector employers illegally firing at least one <br />
         		<a id="pl.1.21"></a><var>1.21</var>worker for union activity during organizing campaigns; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.1"></a><var>2.1</var>WHEREAS, 77 percent of the public believes it is important to have strong laws protecting <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.2"></a><var>2.2</var>the freedom for workers to make their own decision about having a union, and 58 percent of <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.3"></a><var>2.3</var>workers would join a union if they had the chance; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.4"></a><var>2.4</var>WHEREAS, in 45 percent of successful organizing campaigns, employers often refuse to <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.5"></a><var>2.5</var>bargain fairly with newly unionized workers by dragging out the first contract bargaining for <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.6"></a><var>2.6</var>up to two years; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.7"></a><var>2.7</var>WHEREAS, each year millions of dollars are spent to frustrate workers' efforts to form <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.8"></a><var>2.8</var>unions, and most violations of workers' freedom to choose a union occur behind closed doors, <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.9"></a><var>2.9</var>with 78 percent of employers forcing employees to attend mandatory antiunion meetings; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.10"></a><var>2.10</var>WHEREAS, when the right of workers to form a union is violated, wages fall, race and <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.11"></a><var>2.11</var>gender pay gaps widen, workplace discrimination increases, and job safety standards disappear; <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.12"></a><var>2.12</var>and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.13"></a><var>2.13</var>WHEREAS, a worker's fundamental right to choose a union free from coercion and <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.14"></a><var>2.14</var>intimidation is a public issue that requires public policy solutions, including legislative remedies; <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.15"></a><var>2.15</var>and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.16"></a><var>2.16</var>WHEREAS, the Employee Free Choice Act has been introduced in the United States <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.17"></a><var>2.17</var>Congress in order to restore workers' freedom to join a union; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.18"></a><var>2.18</var>WHEREAS, the Employee Free Choice Act will safeguard workers' ability to make their <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.19"></a><var>2.19</var>own decisions on joining a union without coercion, provide for first contract mediation and <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.20"></a><var>2.20</var>arbitration, and establish meaningful penalties when employers violate workers' rights; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.21"></a><var>2.21</var>WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota supports the Employee Free <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.22"></a><var>2.22</var>Choice Act which would authorize the National Labor Relations Board to certify a union as <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.23"></a><var>2.23</var>the bargaining representative when a majority of employees voluntarily sign authorizations <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.24"></a><var>2.24</var>designating that union to represent them; and <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.25"></a><var>2.25</var>WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota supports the Employee Free Choice <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.26"></a><var>2.26</var>Act which would provide for first contract mediation and arbitration of a first contract; and<br />
         		<a id="pl.2.27"></a><var>2.27</var>WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of Minnesota supports the Employee Free Choice <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.28"></a><var>2.28</var>Act to establish meaningful penalties for violations of a worker's freedom to choose a union; <br />
         		<a id="pl.2.29"></a><var>2.29</var>NOW, THEREFORE, <br />
         		<a id="pl.3.1"></a><var>3.1</var>BE IT RESOLVED by the Legislature of the State of Minnesota that it urges, the President <br />
         		<a id="pl.3.2"></a><var>3.2</var>and the Congress of the United States to pass the Employee Free Choice Act to protect and <br />
         		<a id="pl.3.3"></a><var>3.3</var>preserve for America's workers their freedom to choose whether or not to form a union. <br />
         		<a id="pl.3.4"></a><var>3.4</var>BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of State of the State of Minnesota is <br />
         		<a id="pl.3.5"></a><var>3.5</var>directed to prepare copies of this memorial and transmit them to the President of the United <br />
         		<a id="pl.3.6"></a><var>3.6</var>States, the President and the Secretary of the United States Senate, the Speaker and the Clerk <br />
         		<a id="pl.3.7"></a><var>3.7</var>of the United States House of Representatives, the chair of the Senate Committee on Health, <br />
         		<a id="pl.3.8"></a><var>3.8</var>Education, Labor, and Pensions, the chair of the House Committee on Education and Labor, and <br />
         		<a id="pl.3.9"></a><var>3.9</var>Minnesota's Senators and Representatives in Congress so that they may be informed of the stand <br />
         		<a id="pl.3.10"></a><var>3.10</var>of the Minnesota Legislature in this matter.<br />
         		
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