HJ0077 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0077 LRB095 12828 DRJ 38498 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling in National Labor Relations Board v. Kentucky River Community Care, Inc., et al., the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a series of decisions, known collectively as "Oakwood", that expanded the definition of "supervisor" to include charge nurses; and

WHEREAS, The NLRB based its decision on the fact that charge nurses have the ability "to assign and responsibly to direct" other co-workers in their daily duties; and

WHEREAS, The NLRB concluded that an employee who has the ability to assign co-workers for as little as 10 to 15 percent of his or her time can still be classified as a supervisor; and

WHEREAS, The 10 to 15 percent threshold is so low that a worker who assigns co-workers to tasks only one hour a day or on one shift every 2 weeks and is assigned tasks by others the remaining hours of the shift or days in the week could still be deemed a supervisor; and

WHEREAS, The ability to assign and direct co-workers is an essential function for virtually all lead workers in every industry and is not exclusive to supervisory employees; and

WHEREAS, Supervisors are explicitly excluded from the protections in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), including the right to organize and bargain collectively over wages and working conditions, without facing employer reprisals; and

WHEREAS, The Oakwood decision calls into question the right of charge nurses to remain in or join unions, potentially stripping away rights of registered nurses in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Without bargaining unit protections, lead workers could be stripped of numerous benefits, including the right to overtime pay, seniority bidding, and job security based on the "just cause" requirement; and

WHEREAS, This decision focused on nurses, but the rationale could be extended to other lead workers in all industries and a recent report by the Economic Policy Institute estimated that this decision could result in the loss of union rights for up to 8,000,000 workers nationwide; and

WHEREAS, Confusion over the meaning of supervisor, in the wake of the Oakwood decision, has led the NLRB to hold dozens of cases, including 60 involving union elections; and

WHEREAS, Union members have demonstrated their outrage against the Oakwood decision in states across the country; and

WHEREAS, The Re-Empowerment of Skilled and Professional Employees and Construction Tradeworkers (RESPECT) Act has been introduced in Congress by Representatives Robert Andrews (D-New Jersey) and Don Young (R-Alaska) in the House and Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut) in the Senate, and enjoys bi-partisan support; and

WHEREAS, The RESPECT Act would overturn the NLRB decision by specifying that a supervisor must engage in supervisory acts, in the interest of the employer, for the majority of his or her time and by deleting the reference to the ability to assign or direct; and

WHEREAS, The RESPECT Act would protect the rights of nurses to engage in collective bargaining, and collective bargaining rights for nurses are critical to the public interest because they are advocates for improved patient care and safety; and

WHEREAS, The RESPECT Act would protect all workers from being misclassified as supervisors to ensure that lead workers in every industry can remain in and join unions to advocate for safer workplaces, work together for better wages and benefits, and have a voice at work; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois General Assembly calls on the Congress of the United States to support and pass and the President to approve the bi-partisan RESPECT Act; and be it further

RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be delivered to the President of the United States and each member of the Illinois congressional delegation.