WHEREAS, public- and private-sector union workers are our friends, neighbors, taxpayers, and constituents, and through their efforts, they enable us to meet our commitments to all citizens of our counties of Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Rockland, Sullivan and Ulster, and;

WHEREAS, the rights of our citizens to unionize to positively affect working conditions, wages, benefits, and our communities as a whole is an important right, and;

WHEREAS, historically, labor unions are responsible for the civilized working conditions we take for granted, including 40-hour work weeks, laws pertaining to child labor, health and safety conditions, overtime pay, and health insurance and pension coverage, and;

WHEREAS, the rights of workers to organize and form unions has directly led to the growth and success of the middle class in the United States, and;

WHEREAS, a coordinated attack on middle-class protections and rights has commenced in state capitals through the country at a time when elected officials should be working to create jobs and strengthen their state economies rather than paying back corporate sponsors and attacking political enemies;

WHEREAS, as a central part of our democracy, labor unions are the bulwark of assuring a strong middle-class society, and no democracy denies public- or private-sector employees the right to organize and participate in a union and to negotiate at arm’s length and in good faith with their employer, and;

WHEREAS, collective bargaining is neither a weapon nor a bludgeon but rather an enlightened method to resolve disagreements in good faith, and;

IT IS THEREFORE RESOLVED by the Hudson Valley Area Labor Federation that:

Resolved: Those workers in states and municipalities in this country, regardless of economic sector and job title or responsibility, must have a basic right to organize and bargain collectively for a fair and just outcome.

Resolved: This body expresses its strong support for the rights of workers, including but not limited to the right to form a union and to collectively bargain in good faith with an employer.

Resolved: We as a society must end this War on Workers, and recognize that a strong middle class is the only way to ensure the United States remains a strong economic engine.

Read this 3rd day of March, 2011 by HVALF AFL-CIO President Paul Ellis-Graham at the Hudson Valley Labor Solidarity Rally in Support of Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana Public Workers in support of their right to collectively bargain.

At 5:10 pm a motion was made by Billy Riccaldo, Vice President of HVALF AFL-CIO. The motion was seconded by Adrian Huff, Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 445.

The Resolution passed unanimously.

Resolution of the HVALF AFL-CIO Supporting the Right of All Workers and Calling on the end of the war on Workers.pdf