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City Council
Filed (End of Session)
Committee on Civil Service and Labor
Hearing Held by Committee
Committee on Civil Service and Labor
Laid Over by Committee
City Council
Referred to Comm by Council
City Council
Introduced by Council

Res. No. 741

 

Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, A.2486/S.5479, which requires every procurement contract entered into by a state agency to contain a statement from the contractor that no forced labor was used.

 

By Council Members Miller, Gentile, Johnson and Constantinides

 

Whereas, According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations agency dedicated to human and labor rights, an estimated 20.9 million people were victims of forced labor globally in 2012, of whom 14.2 million were exploited in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, construction, and domestic work; and

Whereas, The ILO defines forced labor as "all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily”; and

Whereas, According to Free the Slaves, an advocacy group that co-authored the report Hidden Slaves: Forced Labor in the United States with the Center for Human Rights at the University of California, Berkeley, forced labor has been found in 90 cities in the United States; and

Whereas, New York State has a moral responsibility to ensure the humane treatment of workers and to protect law-abiding contractors from being undercut by those who violate human and labor rights; and

Whereas, New York State Assembly Member Harry Bronson and State Senator Leroy Comrie introduced A.2486/S.5479, respectively, an act to prevent billions of taxpayer dollars from contributing to forced labor; and

Whereas, The act requires that every procurement contract contain a statement from the contractor that no equipment, materials, or supplies provided under the terms of the contract were provided by forced labor, prison labor, or child labor; and

Whereas, Contractors who provide goods contrary to their statements denying the use of forced labor will have their contracts voided and be fined the greater of one thousand dollars or 20% of the products’ value; and

Whereas, In addition, contractors providing false statements will be prohibited from bidding for New York State business for not more than 360 days; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, A.2486/S.5479, which requires every procurement contract entered into by a state agency to contain a statement from the contractor that no forced labor was used.

LS# 3634

6/1/2015

LW