WHEREAS:
The rapid growth of the contingent workforce has resulted in a fundamental restructuring of jobs in America. There are an estimated 35 million contingent workers, or one out of every four workers in the civilian workforce. The increasing number of temporary, contract, intermittent and part-time workers now comprise between 25 percent and 30 percent of the workforce; and
WHEREAS:
The work climate for contingent workers often relegates them to non-union jobs with no security, few or no benefits, and no dignity. Contingent workers often perform the same work as their full time counterparts and comprise all types of classifications and job functions from professional to clerical to blue-collar; and
WHEREAS:
Some employers use contingent workers to avoid federal obligations under the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Americans With Disabilities Act, the Employment Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), unemployment compensation, and affirmative action and other relevant regulations; and
WHEREAS:
Current employment policies are designed for full-time workers with permanent attachments to the labor force.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:
That AFSCME will work to organize and represent the interests of part-time and temporary workers to bring them the benefits of collective bargaining and workplace representation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:
That AFSCME initiatives include:
- participation in lobbying efforts to secure passage of civil rights laws that provide for increased rights for part-time and temporary employees in affirmative action and comparable worth legislation.
- negotiation of equitable wages and pro-rated benefits for contingent workers.
- continue to study the shift to temporary, part-time work and the effects on the American workforce to bring these workers the benefits of labor standards and labor law protections.
- work for passage of a national health care system that ensures equitable coverage for part-time and contingent workers.
- mandate unemployment insurance eligibility standards that do not penalize part-time workers for their employment status.
- create measures that would allow contingent workers to carry pension credits to their next job.
SUBMITTED BY:
INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE BOARD