house Resolution No.79
Reps. Weiss, Pohutsky, Morse, Stone, Sneller, Ellison, Koleszar, Bolden, Rogers, Kuppa, Brabec, Steckloff, Puri, Manoogian, Cherry, Brenda Carter, O'Neal, Sabo, Hertel, Lasinski, Camilleri, Brixie, Hope, Aiyash, Young, Whitsett, Cavanagh, Anthony, Garza, Liberati, Steenland, Scott, Breen, Witwer, Haadsma, Hammoud, Clemente, Coleman, Tyrone Carter, Sowerby, Peterson, Cambensy, Shannon, Hood, Rabhi and Yancey offered the following resolution:
Whereas, Our nation's labor laws are no longer effective as a means to empower workers and protect the right to unionize. Decades of amendments to the National Labor Relations Act have favored employers and made it more difficult to form unions. The decline in union membership has corresponded with skyrocketing inequality; and
Whereas, H.R. 842 of 2021, commonly referred to as the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, is the most significant worker empowerment legislation since the Great Depression. The legislation would give workers a free and fair choice on whether to form a union, ensure workers can reach a first contract quickly after a union is recognized, end employers' practice of punishing striking workers by hiring permanent replacements, and hold bad corporations accountable with real penalties for illegally retaliating against workers who organize; and
Whereas, The PRO Act would also be effective in advancing civil rights. Expanding collective bargaining will increase protections for women, people of color, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community in areas where our laws still fall short; and
Whereas, The PRO Act would help make America's economy work for working people and raise wages that have been stagnated for decades. A typical worker's wages rose by only 9 percent from 1973 to 2013, while productivity increased by 74% over the same period; and
Whereas, Significant progress has already been made toward enacting this historic legislation. On March 9, 2021, the United States House of Representatives passed H.R. 842 of 2021; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we memorialize the Congress of the United States to enact legislation to protect workers' rights; and be it further
Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, and the members of the Michigan congressional delegation.