[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 620 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 620
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding
legislative provisions in the Protecting the Right to Organize Act and
American Jobs Act to void the State right-to-work laws that protect
workers from being required to join and pay forced dues to a union to
get or keep a job.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 3, 2021
Mr. Bishop of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. Perry, Mr. Austin Scott
of Georgia, Mr. Wittman, Mr. Rouzer, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Graves of
Louisiana, Mr. McHenry, Mr. Good of Virginia, Mr. Tiffany, Mr. Timmons,
Mr. Joyce of Pennsylvania, Mr. Gaetz, Mr. Issa, Mr. Budd, Mr. Allen,
Mrs. Miller-Meeks, Mr. Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Donalds, Mr. Weber
of Texas, Mrs. Bice of Oklahoma, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Cole,
Mrs. Lesko, Mr. Norman, Ms. Letlow, Mrs. Greene of Georgia, Mr. Biggs,
Mr. Mann, Mr. Lamborn, Mr. Carl, Ms. Herrell, Ms. Cheney, Mr. Guest,
Mr. Baird, Mr. Banks, Mr. McClintock, Mr. Steube, Mr. Guthrie, and Mr.
Roy) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the
Committee on Education and Labor
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding
legislative provisions in the Protecting the Right to Organize Act and
American Jobs Act to void the State right-to-work laws that protect
workers from being required to join and pay forced dues to a union to
get or keep a job.
Whereas given State right-to-work (RTW) laws in 27 States, specifically Alabama,
Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North
Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota,
Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming,
are essential to safeguarding the political freedom of workers and
growing those States economies;
Whereas RTW laws attract business expansion and incentivize economic investment;
Whereas a report by NERA 360 consulting for the Chamber of Commerce in May 2018
found that--
(1) private sector employment grew by 27 percent in RTW States between
2001 and 2016, compared to 15 percent in non-RTW States;
(2) on average, the annual unemployment rate in RTW States was 0.4
percentage points lower than in non-RTW States, which means that if non-RTW
States had had the same unemployment rate as RTW States in 2017,
approximately 249,000 more people would have been employed;
(3) output has also grown faster in RTW States, rising by 38 percent
between 2001 and 2016, compared to 29 percent in non-RTW States;
(4) four of the top five States with the largest growth in real per
capita output over this period are RTW States;
(5) real manufacturing output rose by over 30 percent in RTW States
between 2001 and 2016 compared with 21 percent in non-RTW States;
(6) personal income in RTW States rose 39 percent in RTW States between
2001 and 2016, 33 percent more than in non-RTW States, which rose just 26
percent; and
(7) as of 2017, about four percent of private sector workers in RTW
States belonged to unions, compared with about nine percent in non-RTW
States;
Whereas a study by the National Institute for Labor Relations Research
demonstrates that RTW laws have significant beneficial effects on a
State's standard of living, enjoy greater economic vitality than do
States where union dues and ``fees'' are compulsory, enjoyed a higher
growth in per capita income for decades, and have faster growth in
manufacturing and nonagricultural jobs and capital expenditures, lower
unemployment rates, and fewer work stoppages;
Whereas congressional enactment of the Taft Hartley amendments of 1947 to the
National Labor Relations Act established unequivocally that States have
the power to enact RTW laws;
Whereas these Taft Hartley State RTW provisions have been in force and the law
of the land for 75 years;
Whereas during this time, more than half the States, 27 in all, have chosen to
enact RTW laws, demonstrating broad public support for such laws;
Whereas the fact that nearly a fifth of all State RTW laws--Indiana's,
Michigan's, Wisconsin's, West Virginia's, and Kentucky's--were adopted
since the beginning of 2012 demonstrates that public support for RTW
laws continues to strengthen;
Whereas any action by Congress to compel membership in or payment of dues to
unions by overriding State RTW laws would constitute violations of the
1st, 9th, 10th, and 14th Amendments to the Constitution;
Whereas RTW laws protect workers by letting them choose where their money goes
and by requiring unions to earn the support and trust of their
employees;
Whereas the PRO Act and provisions in the American Jobs Act undermine, encroach
upon, weaken, and supersede State RTW laws that protect workers'
constitutional rights and grow our Nation's economy; and
Whereas forced unionization violates the basic freedom of individuals, forces
individuals to subsidize political activities they disagree with, and
does little more than line the pockets of union bosses and their
political enablers: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives should not void State
right-to-work laws by enacting the Protecting the Right to Organize
Act, provisions in the American Jobs Act, or any other measure.
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