WHEREAS, the federal government is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the nation, including in core Teamster industries such as transportation and warehousing; and

WHEREAS, many of the employers who receive taxpayers’ money through federal contracts fail to respect their workers’ rights under federal law, including the rights to organize without retaliation, to be paid fairly, and to be protected from injury; and

WHEREAS, many employers in the transportation industry, including major federal contractors, violate their workers’ labor rights by misclassifying these workers as independent contractors; and

WHEREAS, President Obama has issued an Executive Order on “Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces” which will for the first time ensure that contractors with severe labor violations are held accountable for their actions; and

WHEREAS, the contracting lobby has mobilized against this federal Executive Order and persuaded its Republican allies in Congress to introduce legislation depriving the millions of workers who are employed by Defense Department contracts from coverage by the Order.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED at this 29th International Convention that the Teamsters are committed to fighting for full implementation of the Fair  Pay and Safe Workplaces Executive Order and for the fundamental principle that employers who receive federal taxpayers’ money should comply with federal labor law; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the IBT will work with its allies in Congress to push back against the Republican caucus’s attack on the Fair Pay Order; and

FINALLY, BE IT RESOLVED that this Union will investigate and publicize labor law violations committed by federal contractors wherever such violations injure the rights of workers in IBT industries.