Proposed Resolution at ALA-APA
This resolution will be proposed in New Orleans for the Allied Professional Association portion of our meeting. We will only vote on the Resolved phrases, not the other material. I wanted to make you aware of this.
Rob
RESOLUTION ONSUPPORT FOR FREEDOM TO FORM UNIONS: THE EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT
WHEREAS, the right to form a union is a fundamental human right; and
WHEREAS, workers must have freedom to form unions and bargain collectively without employer interference; and
WHEREAS, the United States has a deplorable record with respect to protection of these important rights, as documented by Human Rights Watch;[1] and
WHEREAS, realizing that failure to protect freedom to form unions is exacting a heavy economic, social and political price from workers and communities throughout our nation, including but not limited to suppressed wages, decreased job quality, worsened economic inequality, erosion of support for public education, the unraveling of public and private safety net protections, the denial of justice and democracy in the workplace, and decreased political participation;[2] and
WHEREAS, realizing that the majority of library employees work in the public sector and therefore are covered by state collective bargaining laws which in many cases are even less protective of workers rights than the National Labor Relations Act; and
WHEREAS, the American Library Association has an established policy within the 2005-2006 ALA Handbook of Organization, ALA Policy Manual, 54. Library Personnel Practices, 54.11 Collective Bargaining which affirms the right of eligible library employees to organize and bargain collectively.Therefore be it resolved that the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association:
1. Urges members of Congress to co-sponsor and actively support the Employee Free Choice Act; when adopted, this landmark legislation will provide important, badly needed and long overdue protection for the fundamental human right of America’s workers to form unions and bargain collectively without employer interference; and
2. Urges the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to refrain from further attacks on workers’ rights, such as new restrictions on voluntary recognition agreements (VRAs); VRAs offer a vital alternative to an NLRB election process that has become a vehicle for employers and anti-union consultants to suppress the freedom to form unions; where libraries are concerned, these agreements also improve library services by reducing conflict during workers’ campaigns to form unions; and
3. Urges employers in both the public and private sector, especially within libraries and archives but also in all sectors of the economy and throughout the nation, to uphold and respect the fundamental human right of their employees to form unions and bargain collectively.
4. Adopts the language contained within said ALA Policy 54.11 and adds said language to the APA Policy Handbook as an APA policy statement.5. Instructs its staff to send copies of this resolution and policy to the President of the United States, the Secretary of Labor, and every member of Congress and to publicize it through print, online and other media of the Association.
1. Human Rights Watch, Unfair Advantage: Workers’ Freedom of Association in the United States Under International Human Rights Standards, www.hrw.org/reports/2000/uslabor.
2005-2006 ALA Handbook of Organization
ALA Policy Manual
54. LIBRARY PERSONNEL PRACTICES
54.10 Collective Bargaining
The American Library Association recognizes the principle of collective bargaining as one of the methods of conducting labor-management relations used by private and public institutions. The Association affirms the right of eligible library employees to organize and bargain collectively with their employers, or to refrain from organizing and bargaining collectively, without fear of reprisal.