IN SUPPORT OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING

WHEREAS, the rights of collective bargaining, including the right to strike is a fundamental right of all workers; and

WHEREAS, any attack on the collective bargaining rights of one category of employees is an attack on the basic foundation of the entire labor movement; and

WHEREAS, teachers and other public employees have been enjoined, harassed, dismissed, and otherwise mistreated in their attempts to organize and bargain collectively with their employers; and

WHEREAS, continued efforts on the part of teachers and other public employees to change intolerable conditions through union organization and collective bargaining are sometimes limited by regressive legislation and/or judicial decisions; and

WHEREAS, Congressman F. Thompson (D-N.J.) has introduced H.R. 77, which would extend National Labor Relations Act coverage to public employees:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers continue to support legislation which would guarantee the constitutional right of teachers and other public employees to organize, bargain collectively, and insure the right to strike; and

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers urge all locals to notify their congressional representative of support for H.R. 77.