Bill Text: HI SR129 | 2021 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Urging The United States Senate And President Joseph R. Biden To Enact The Protecting The Right To Organize Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-06-21 - Certified copies of resolutions sent, 06-21-21. [SR129 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2021-SR129-Amended.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	129
THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING THE UNITED STATES SENATE AND PRESIDENT JOSEPH R. BIDEN TO ENACT THE PROTECTING THE RIGHT TO ORGANIZE ACT.

 

 

     WHEREAS, from 1980 to 2014, wages for the bottom half of income earners in the United States grew by one percent, while wages for the top one percent of income earners grew by two-hundred five percent as a result of policy and court decisions that have stripped workers of the power to stand together and bargain for fairer wages, meaningful benefits, and proper working conditions; and

 

     WHEREAS, the erosion of the standard-of-living of the working class in the United States has contributed to a divided society and pushed some individuals to embrace racism and xenophobia; and

 

     WHEREAS, unionized workers earn over thirteen percent more than comparable nonunionized workers and receive fairer wages, better benefits, and have better working conditions; and

 

     WHEREAS, special-interest attacks on state and federal labor laws have eroded union membership among workers from thirty-three percent in 1956 to just ten percent in 2018; and

 

     WHEREAS, on February 6, 2020, the United States House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019, H.R. 2474, 116th Cong., 2d Sess. (2019-2020) (PRO Act of 2019); and

 

     WHEREAS, the PRO Act of 2019:

 

     (1)  Empowers workers to enforce their labor rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in court and permits the National Labor Relations Board to assess meaningful monetary penalties for violations of the NLRA against corporations and corporate officers;

 

     (2)  Prohibits employers from interfering with union elections, including the act of requiring workers to attend meetings that are intended to dissuade them from forming a union;

 

     (3)  Enhances worker rights to support boycotts, strikes, and similar acts of solidarity;

 

     (4)  Clarifies that employers are prohibited from forcing employees to waive their rights to engage in collective or class-action litigation;

 

     (5)  Allows employers and unions to enter into agreements that allow unions to collect fair-share fees that cover the costs of collective bargaining and administration of the applicable collective bargaining agreement;

 

     (6)  Facilitates timely first contracts between employers and newly formed unions by requiring mediation and arbitration to settle disputes;

 

     (7)  Closes loopholes in existing federal law that allow employers to exclude employees from becoming union members by misclassifying them as supervisors or independent contractors; and

 

     (8)  Prevents workers from being denied remedies due to their immigration status; and

 

     WHEREAS, passage of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act is crucial to restoring a healthy balance between the rights of labor and management and raising the standard-of-living of the working class; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, that the United States Senate and the President of the United States are respectfully urged to enact the Protecting the Right to Organize Act as expeditiously as possible; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, and members of Hawaii's congressional delegation.

Report Title:

Protecting the Right to Organize Act; Congress; President