2021 Adopted Resolutions

In Support of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act

Resolution Number: 78

WHEREAS, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935 provides workers the right to join unions and collectively bargain for wages and benefits; and

WHEREAS, the NLRA is the cornerstone of workers' rights in the United States and helped build the middle class; and

WHEREAS, by joining together in a union, working people secure a voice on the job, the power to act collectively, the power to negotiate a fair return on work, the ability to hold bad-acting employers accountable, and the power to address discrimination and harassment; and

WHEREAS, the National Labor Relations Act and our nation's labor laws have been gutted by adverse court decisions and legislative reforms making it more difficult for working people to come together and join a union; and

WHEREAS, the wage and wealth gap between the rich and poor has reached a 50-year high, and research shows that the decline in union membership is a direct cause of the rise in economic inequality; and

WHEREAS, the rise in economic inequality and poverty has far-ranging repercussions on issues facing cities, including affordable housing, public safety, public health, environmental protection, quality education, infrastructure and more; and

WHEREAS, it is in our cities and our nation's best interest to alleviate poverty by providing good, safe and secure employment to all, and protecting the democratic rights of all workers; and

WHEREAS, on March 9, 2021, the United States House of Representatives voted to pass H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021 (PRO Act); and

WHEREAS, as of March 11, 2021, the PRO Act was received in the United States Senate and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions; and

WHEREAS, the PRO Act expands various federal labor law protections related to employees' rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace; and

WHEREAS, the PRO Act will help make America's economy work for working people, and raise stagnant wages that have only increased a mere 9% from 1973 to 2013, while productivity has increased 74% over that same time period; and

WHEREAS, through the expansion of collective bargaining under the PRO Act, there will be increases in pay and protections for women, people of color, immigrants, and the LGBTQ community in areas where our non-discrimination laws are still falling short,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) supports the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and other federal legislation to protect public employee collective bargaining.