Expressing support for America's Black workers and affirming the need to pass legislation to reduce inequalities and discrimination in the workforce.

IV 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 182 Expressing support for America’s Black workers and affirming the need to pass legislation to reduce inequalities and discrimination in the workforce. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 28, 2023 Mr. EVANS (for himself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. BROWN, Mr. CARSON, Mr. CARTER of Lou- isiana, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. DELUZIO, Mr. DOGGETT, Mr. GARCI´A of Illinois, Mr. IVEY, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. MOSKOWITZ, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. VEASEY, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) sub- mitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce RESOLUTION Expressing support for America’s Black workers and affirm- ing the need to pass legislation to reduce inequalities and discrimination in the workforce. Whereas a competitive economy for the United States re- quires the participation of a robust Black workforce; Whereas unjust Black labor, first through forced slave labor, and later through dangerous, undercompensated, and sometimes abusive employment, has been essential to the historic success of the American economy; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:15 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR182.IH HR182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 182 IH Whereas the Black unemployment rate is consistently higher than the overall United States unemployment rate, with the Black unemployment rate at the time of this resolu- tion’s introduction being 2 percentage points higher than overall unemployment; Whereas full-time Black workers’ median weekly earnings historically lag behind the total average median weekly earnings, and as of 2022, Black workers take home only 82.6 percent of average full-time workers’ median weekly earnings; Whereas graduation from high school and higher education institutions are directly correlated with higher incomes and stronger job security, and Black Americans lag in completion of higher education, in part due to systemic racism within America’s school systems; Whereas many States continue to have insufficient labor standards, low minimum wages, harmful right-to-work laws, inadequate unemployment systems, and a lack of State-level protections against discrimination, all of which hurt Black workers and families; Whereas Black workers have made up a proportionately large share of frontline workers and essential workers through- out the COVID–19 pandemic; Whereas Black workers face a higher likelihood of fatal and nonfatal injuries in the workplace compared to injury rates for all workers; Whereas studies show that a significant percentage of Black workers continue to face discrimination or harassment in the workplace on account of their race or ethnicity, re- sulting in decreased safety in the workplace, and dis- advantages to economic mobility for Black workers; VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:15 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR182.IH HR182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 182 IH Whereas Black workers are more likely to be union members than non-Black workers, and have long been important participants in the American labor movement and the fight for better conditions, more just compensation, and the right to organize; Whereas Black women are disproportionately affected by the same issues that affect Black men in the workforce, in- cluding making only 63 cents for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men and having higher unemploy- ment rates than Black men; Whereas expanding apprenticeships and preapprenticeships must be part of any strategy to build careers for Black youths, as apprentice and preapprentice programs have proven to be a practical and efficient method for high school and college students to improve personal economic outlooks; and Whereas educational opportunities for Black youths should encompass a broad range of options to fit the diverse needs of young people entering the workforce, including making vocational and trade schools, technical colleges, higher education institutions, community colleges, job training programs, apprenticeships and preapprenticeships, and work-study programs more af- fordable and accessible: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) supports efforts to reduce inequalities fac- 2 ing the Black workforce, including closing the wage 3 gap, closing the unemployment gap, and improving 4 access to job training programs, career skills build- 5 ing programs, and educational opportunities; 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:15 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR182.IH HR182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HRES 182 IH (2) supports the right of every American work- 1 er, regardless of race or ethnicity, to fair wages, safe 2 working conditions, collective bargaining and orga- 3 nizing rights, and protection from discrimination; 4 (3) supports the passage of legislation that 5 would improve labor conditions for Black workers, 6 including— 7 (A) the Protecting the Right to Organize 8 (PRO) Act; 9 (B) the National Apprenticeship Act; 10 (C) the Raise the Wage Act; and 11 (D) the Workforce Innovation and Oppor- 12 tunity Act; and 13 (4) recognizes the— 14 (A) historical and contemporary impor- 15 tance of the Black workforce to American pros- 16 perity and national economic security; and 17 (B) need to improve economic opportunity 18 for Black workers as necessary for both indi- 19 vidual well-being and the well-being of the Na- 20 tion. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:15 Mar 01, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR182.IH HR182 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS