Senate Concurrent Resolution 7 - Introduced SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 7 BY WAHLS A Concurrent Resolution relating to expressing support 1 for the federal Protecting the Right to Organize 2 Act. 3 WHEREAS, inequality in the United States of America 4 and Iowa has skyrocketed due to the failure of federal 5 policymakers to pass pro-worker labor laws and properly 6 administer the federal National Labor Relations Act of 7 1935, which has been dismantled for several decades to 8 make it more difficult for workers to form unions; and 9 WHEREAS, the proposed federal Protecting the 10 Right to Organize Act is the most significant worker 11 empowerment legislation since the Great Depression, as 12 it stands to give workers the free and fair choice of 13 whether to form a union, ensures workers can reach a 14 first contract quickly after a union is recognized, 15 ends employers’ practices of punishing striking 16 workers by hiring permanent replacements, and holds 17 corporations accountable with real penalties for 18 illegally retaliating against workers who organize; and 19 WHEREAS, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act 20 will help make the United States of America’s economy 21 work for working people and help raise stagnant wages 22 that only increased 9 percent from 1973 to 2013, while 23 productivity increased 74 percent over that same time 24 period; and 25 WHEREAS, previously, wages increased 91 percent from 26 1948 to 1972, while productivity increased 108 percent 27 over that same time period; and 28 -1- LSB 2831XS (1) 89 cm/rn 1/ 2

S.C.R. 7 WHEREAS, wage stagnation and runaway inequality of 1 political, social, and economic power have undermined 2 the public’s faith in our democracy; and 3 WHEREAS, through the expansion of collective 4 bargaining under the Protecting the Right to Organize 5 Act, there will be increases in pay and protections 6 for all workers, including women, people of color, 7 immigrants, and the LGBTQ community; and 8 WHEREAS, the United States of America and Iowa must 9 support unions by making the Protecting the Right to 10 Organize Act the law of the land, increasing worker 11 power and rebuilding our economy fairly for all of 12 us; and 13 WHEREAS, the United States House of Representatives 14 passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act with 15 bipartisan support on March 9, 2021, and it is now 16 before the United States Senate; NOW THEREFORE, 17 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, THE HOUSE OF 18 REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, That the General Assembly 19 finds that the federal Protecting the Right to Organize 20 Act stands to greatly increase economic opportunity 21 in Iowa and the United States of America and to 22 empower workers through the promotion and expansion of 23 collective bargaining. 24 -2- LSB 2831XS (1) 89 cm/rn 2/ 2