THE HUMAN RIGHT TO ORGANIZE

WHEREAS, the Wagner Act afforded American workers the right to join democratic unions; and

WHEREAS, 60 years later, the exercise of this democratic right has been denied to many workers; and

WHEREAS, many companies continue to successfully use stalling tactics and expensive and sophisticated legal maneuvers to thwart workers' efforts to organize; and

WHEREAS, justice delayed is justice denied; and

WHEREAS, the right to organize and join democratic unions is a constitutional, civil and human right; and

WHEREAS, the percentage of Americans who approve of unions has increased dramatically in the 1990s while union membership continues to decline, particularly in the private sector; and

WHEREAS, shop floor democracy, shared decision making, team management and other highly effective innovations flourish when workers feel empowered and represented; and

WHEREAS, EEC experience shows that strong democratic unions encourage creativity, foster productivity, increase consumer confidence and stabilize economies:

RESOLVED, that AFT support the AFL-CIO initiative for labor law reform; and

RESOLVED, that this campaign be based on themes of civil and human rights and the American tradition of support for fairness; and

RESOLVED, that NEA and AFT be encouraged to work together to help this initiative succeed; and

RESOLVED, that AFT, AFL-CIO and NEA be encouraged to work together to ensure better enforcement of current labor laws and to seek and support legal cases that, through judicial review, could strengthen workers' civil and human rights to organize.