BILL NUMBER: S903

SPONSOR: BRISPORT
 
TITLE OF BILL:

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment
to section 17 of article 1 of the constitution, in relation to employ-
ee's collective bargaining rights

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one resolves to add the word "strike" to an employee's rights
under section 17 of article 1 of the state constitution.

Section two resolves to refer the same to the next legislative session
following a general election of members of the Assembly.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Along with the rights to organize and choose representatives for the
purposes of bargaining, the right to strike is a fundamental right
belonging to all workers, but it is not included in our constitution.
              

Strikes are responsible for many of the benefits employees in all
sectors enjoy today, including the 40-hour work-week, weekends, and the
eight-hour work-day. The history of strikes and industrial actions in
New York and the United States is the history of the advancement of our
society's standard of living. Therefore to deny any worker the right to
withhold his or her labor is to deny employees use of the tool by which
our society has become more just and humane.

Section 17 of article 1 of the constitution begins with the statement:
"Labor of human beings is not a commodity nor an article of commerce and
shall never be so considered or construed." However, the right to with-
hold one's labor is not protected. Under current law, farmworkers and
public sector workers are prohibited from striking, which has led to the
unfair diminution of the rights enjoyed by farmworkers and public sector
workers in New York. Notably, farmworkers are overwhelmingly Latino/a,
and the public sector has historically been an important employer of
women and people of color. According to estimates by the Economic Policy
Institute in 2019, "nearly half of all Black women (48%) and more than
one-fifth (21%) of Black men in the workforce are employed in education,
health services, or public administration-the primary industries of
state and local government."  Among New York City's 350,000 full-time
municipal workers, 62% are people of color and 59% are women according
to the city's 2019 workforce profile report. For these reasons, codify-
ing the right to strike is also an opportunity to empower working-class
women and people of color in New York.

No employee should be denied this fundamental right.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2021-22: S9191.


 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill is effective immediately after concurrent passage in the
Assembly and Senate in two consecutive legislative sessions and subse-
quent ratification by voters through a ballot referendum.