SANCTITY OF CONTRACTS

WHEREAS, public school systems and colleges and universities throughout the United States are suffering severe reductions in funding; and

WHEREAS, collective bargaining agreements are being abrogated by boards of education and boards of higher education because of such reductions in funding; and

WHEREAS, the imposition or threatened imposition of payless furloughs is a prime example of such abrogation; and

WHEREAS, across-the-board pay cuts have been imposed; and

WHEREAS, the courts have been consistent in upholding the right of public employers to abrogate collective bargaining agreements for budgetary reasons:

RESOLVED, that the Convention of the American Federation of Teachers condemns court decisions which uphold the right of public employers to abrogate collective bargaining agreements; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will give full support to state and local organizations and their efforts to obtain reversals of these rulings and to obtain state legislation protecting the rights of workers under expired agreements during negotiations for successor agreements; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT initiate and support federal legislation binding all public employers to meet contractual obligations under duly negotiated bargaining agreements.