The City of York Pennsylvania 50W King Street PO Box509 York PA 17405 www.yorkcity.org

Mayor John S. Brenner

PROCLAMATION
EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT

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

WHEREAS: The freedom to form or join a union is internationally recognized by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a fundamental human right; 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: Union workers receive better wages and benefits, with union workers earning 29 percent more than workers without a union. 35 percent more likely to have access to health insurance, and are four times more likely to have access to a guaranteed defined-benefit pension; and

WHEREAS: Unions help raise workers' pay and narrow the income gap for minorities and women, by increasing median weekly earnings by 31 percent for union women workers, 31 percent for African-American workers, 50 percent for Latino workers, 9 percent for Asian American workers; and

WHEREAS: Workers across the nation are routinely denied the freedom to form unions

and bargain for a better life, with 25 percent of private-sector employers illegally firing at least one worker for union activity during organizing campaigns; and

WHEREAS: 77 percent of the public believes it is important to have strong laws protecting the freedom for workers to make their own decision about having a union, and 58 percent of workers would join a union if they had the chance; and

 

WHEREAS: Employers often refuse to bargain fairly with workers after forming a union

by dragging out first contract bargaining for up to two years in 45 percent of successful campaigns; and

WHEREAS: Each year millions of dollars are spent to frustrate workers' efforts to form unions, and most violations of workers' freedom to choose a union occur behind closed doors, with 78 percent of employers forcing employees to attend mandatory anti-union meetings; and

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