2002 Resolution - 001

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SUBJECT: Opposition to "Right-to-Work" Policies
Date of Resolution: May 1, 2002
Introduced by: UAN Executive Council
Action: Resolution adopted on June 27, 2002

WHEREAS, "Right-to-work" assures no nurse a job, protects no nurse against employer bias or management retaliation, and undermines a nurse's right to union representation and her ability to build a strong union that bargains fair wages and benefits, and

WHEREAS, "Right-to-work" encourages some nurses to ride the backs of their union sister and brother nurses by benefitting from the good wages, benefits and job protections negotiated by union members without sharing the costs of winning and maintaining those gains, and

WHEREAS, "Right-to-work" is really "right-to-shirk" the mutual obligations nurses share at the workplace, and

WHEREAS, Right-to-work laws encourage nurse employers to "race to the bottom" in pay, benefits, and employment security, and

WHEREAS, Right-to-work laws lower the average pay of all workers and thus really mean "Right-To-Work-For-Less," and

WHEREAS, Of the 15 states with the lowest average annual pay, 10 are "right-to-work" states, and

WHEREAS, "Right-to-work" states have historically paid lower wages and benefits to registered nurses than free states, and

WHEREAS, UAN registered nurses enjoy an average wage premium substantially higher than registered nurses in "right-to-work" states,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the UAN National Labor Assembly goes on record as opposing "right-to-work" legislation in states where such legislation exists, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the UAN National Labor Assembly opposes the activities of "right-to-work" groups who promote this anti-union strategy, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the UAN National Labor Assembly encourages registered nurses to compare compensation levels of free states versus "right-to-work" states to determine the union premium, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the UAN National Labor Assembly oppose all initiatives to enact new "right-to-work" legislation, and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the UAN National Labor Assembly instructs the UAN to take steps appropriate to oppose such efforts by "right-to-work" groups.

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