AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

WHEREAS, there are many barriers to equal access to jobs, promotions, and other employment opportunities despite the fact that the Civil Rights Act is 22 years old; and

WHEREAS, effective affirmative action programs are as needed in 1986 as they were in 1964 to ensure that minorities and women take their rightful places in our economic system; and

WHEREAS, the Reagan administration is leading the reactionary efforts in the courts to end affirmative action and is taking steps to weaken Executive Order 11246; and

WHEREAS, the administration seeks to use the civil rights laws to thwart the full political and economic participation of women and racial minorities in our society rather than as a means of furthering that goal:

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers reaffirm its unwavering support for affirmative action and condemn the administration's effort to end such programs; and

RESOLVED, that we endorse the policy resolution on affirmative action adopted by the Sixteenth Constitutional Convention of the AFL-CIO recognizing that while "Title VII protects bona fide, nondiscriminatory seniority systems that provide important protection to all workers regardless of race or sex, the Civil Rights Act also permits workers in free collective bargaining to negotiate affirmative action plans, including plans that modify such seniority systems"; and

RESOLVED, that the American Federation of Teachers call upon all its locals to cooperate with our traditional civil rights allies in continuing and vigorous efforts to preserve and advance affirmative action and to advance the cause of affirmative action through collective bargaining.