[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 182 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 182
Expressing support for America's Black workers and affirming the need
to pass legislation to reduce inequalities and discrimination in the
workforce.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 28, 2023
Mr. Evans (for himself, Ms. Barragan, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Bowman, Mr.
Boyle of Pennsylvania, Ms. Brown, Mr. Carson, Mr. Carter of Louisiana,
Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Deluzio, Mr.
Doggett, Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr.
Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Moskowitz, Ms. Norton, Mr. Payne, Ms.
Schakowsky, Ms. Sewell, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Ms. Tlaib, Mr.
Veasey, Ms. Velazquez, and Mrs. Watson Coleman) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the
Workforce
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for America's Black workers and affirming the need
to pass legislation to reduce inequalities and discrimination in the
workforce.
Whereas a competitive economy for the United States requires the participation
of a robust Black workforce;
Whereas unjust Black labor, first through forced slave labor, and later through
dangerous, undercompensated, and sometimes abusive employment, has been
essential to the historic success of the American economy;
Whereas the Black unemployment rate is consistently higher than the overall
United States unemployment rate, with the Black unemployment rate at the
time of this resolution's introduction being 2 percentage points higher
than overall unemployment;
Whereas full-time Black workers' median weekly earnings historically lag behind
the total average median weekly earnings, and as of 2022, Black workers
take home only 82.6 percent of average full-time workers' median weekly
earnings;
Whereas graduation from high school and higher education institutions are
directly correlated with higher incomes and stronger job security, and
Black Americans lag in completion of higher education, in part due to
systemic racism within America's school systems;
Whereas many States continue to have insufficient labor standards, low minimum
wages, harmful right-to-work laws, inadequate unemployment systems, and
a lack of State-level protections against discrimination, all of which
hurt Black workers and families;
Whereas Black workers have made up a proportionately large share of frontline
workers and essential workers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic;
Whereas Black workers face a higher likelihood of fatal and nonfatal injuries in
the workplace compared to injury rates for all workers;
Whereas studies show that a significant percentage of Black workers continue to
face discrimination or harassment in the workplace on account of their
race or ethnicity, resulting in decreased safety in the workplace, and
disadvantages to economic mobility for Black workers;
Whereas Black workers are more likely to be union members than non-Black
workers, and have long been important participants in the American labor
movement and the fight for better conditions, more just compensation,
and the right to organize;
Whereas Black women are disproportionately affected by the same issues that
affect Black men in the workforce, including making only 63 cents for
every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men and having higher
unemployment rates than Black men;
Whereas expanding apprenticeships and preapprenticeships must be part of any
strategy to build careers for Black youths, as apprentice and
preapprentice programs have proven to be a practical and efficient
method for high school and college students to improve personal economic
outlooks; and
Whereas educational opportunities for Black youths should encompass a broad
range of options to fit the diverse needs of young people entering the
workforce, including making vocational and trade schools, technical
colleges, higher education institutions, community colleges, job
training programs, apprenticeships and preapprenticeships, and work-
study programs more affordable and accessible: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) supports efforts to reduce inequalities facing the
Black workforce, including closing the wage gap, closing the
unemployment gap, and improving access to job training
programs, career skills building programs, and educational
opportunities;
(2) supports the right of every American worker, regardless
of race or ethnicity, to fair wages, safe working conditions,
collective bargaining and organizing rights, and protection
from discrimination;
(3) supports the passage of legislation that would improve
labor conditions for Black workers, including--
(A) the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act;
(B) the National Apprenticeship Act;
(C) the Raise the Wage Act; and
(D) the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act;
and
(4) recognizes the--
(A) historical and contemporary importance of the
Black workforce to American prosperity and national
economic security; and
(B) need to improve economic opportunity for Black
workers as necessary for both individual well-being and
the well-being of the Nation.
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