UE Convention Resolutions
Collective Bargaining
Rights for Public Employees
Public employees of state and local governments throughout the U.S. provide vital services such as healthcare, sanitation, and education. But millions of them are denied collective bargaining rights under the law, particularly in the South. This is especially true where public services are decimated by natural disasters, such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Not having the legal right to collectively bargain puts public-sector workers at a distinct disadvantage to secure better working conditions for themselves and a better living standard for their families. Also, collective bargaining gives public workers a forum to secure better quality services for our communities. Constant vigilance is required to maintain these hard-won rights in states where collective bargaining has been established in the public sector.
We in UE are proud that the International Workers Justice Campaign, initiated by UE Local 150, is leading the way in repealing the prohibition of collective bargaining in North Carolina. In so doing, we are forging unity between the trade union movement and the African-American movement. The work of our statewide unions in North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia, with their multiracial membership and leadership, represents a powerful weapon for social progress.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THIS 70th UE CONVENTION:
- Calls for UE to initiate and endorse coalitions and campaigns to win collective bargaining rights for public employees;
- Urges UE to work with state legislatures in states where UE has public-sector members with collective bargaining to strengthen these rights for all public workers – including the right to strike;
- Supports the formation of a UE National Public Workers’ Commission to bring together public workers from UE locals to share experiences, engage in common training, and develop plans for organizing the public sector;
- Expresses its support for the labor education and work associated with the International Worker Justice Campaign, and calls on all UE locals to continue to support this struggle by holding demonstrations and sending fax and e-mails to the government of North Carolina demanding the repeal of General Statute 95-98;
- Calls for the development of political action materials to educate elected officials about the need for collective bargaining for public employees;
- Calls for continued work at the international level to explore international law to challenge the violation of workers’ rights in the public sector, especially in the South;
- Calls on the union at all levels to support OSHA protection for public sector employees.