SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 24

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2008

INTRODUCED BY

Michael S. Sanchez

A JOINT MEMORIAL

URGING THE NEW MEXICO CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION TO SUPPORT THE FEDERAL EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT.

     WHEREAS, in 1935 the United States established by law that workers must be free to form unions; and

     WHEREAS, the free choice to join with others and bargain for better wages and benefits is essential to economic opportunity and good living standards; and

     WHEREAS, unions benefit communities by strengthening living standards, stabilizing tax bases, promoting equal treatment and enhancing civic participation; and

     WHEREAS, states in which more people are union members are states with higher wages, better benefits and better schools; and

     WHEREAS, unions help raise workers' pay and narrow the income gap for minorities and women by increasing median weekly earnings by thirty-one percent for union female workers, thirty-six percent for African American workers, forty-six percent for Latino workers and eight percent for Asian American workers; and

     WHEREAS, workers are also more likely to have health coverage and guaranteed defined-benefit pensions in union jobs;

and

     WHEREAS, eighty percent of private-sector union workers have employer-provided health insurance compared with only forty-nine percent of nonunion workers and sixty-eight percent of union workers have defined-benefit pension plans compared with fourteen percent of nonunion workers; and

     WHEREAS, workers across the nation are routinely denied the freedom to form unions and bargain for a better life, with twenty-five percent of private-sector employers illegally firing at least one worker for union activity during organizing campaigns; and

     WHEREAS, seventy-seven percent of the public believes it is important to have strong laws protecting the freedom of workers to make their own decisions about having a union, and sixty percent of workers would join a union if they had the chance; and

     WHEREAS, employers often refuse to bargain fairly after workers form a union by dragging out first-contract bargaining for up to two years in forty-five percent of successful campaigns; and

     WHEREAS, each year millions of dollars are spent to frustrate workers' efforts to form unions, and ninety-two percent of private-sector employers force employees to attend mandatory anti-union meetings; and

     WHEREAS, when the right of workers to form a union is violated, wages fall, race and gender pay gaps widen, workplace discrimination increases and job safety standards disappear; and

     WHEREAS, a worker's fundamental right to choose a union without coercion and intimidation is a public issue that requires public policy solutions, including legislative remedies; and

     WHEREAS, the federal Employee Free Choice Act received majority support in both houses of congress in 2007 but was defeated by a minority of senators; and

     WHEREAS, the Employee Free Choice Act will safeguard workers' rights to make their own decisions about forming a union, provide for first-contract mediation and arbitration and establish meaningful penalties when employers violate workers' rights;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it support the Employee Free Choice Act, which would authorize the national labor relations board to certify a union as the bargaining representative when a majority of employees voluntarily signs authorization cards designating that union to represent them; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature of the state of New Mexico provide for first-contract mediation and arbitration and establish meaningful penalties for violations of a worker's freedom to choose a union; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature of the state of New Mexico urge congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act to protect and preserve for America's workers their freedom to choose for themselves whether or not to form a union; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the New Mexico congressional delegation and to the governor.

- 4 -