ny constitution fresh squeezed 96
Provisions

I.17 of 1939 • Labor not a commodity; hours and wages in public work; right to organize and bargain collectively.

APPROVED

The Text

Labor of human beings is not a commodity nor an article of commerce and shall never be so considered or construed.
No laborer, workman or mechanic, in the employ of a contractor or sub-contractor engaged in the performance of any public work, shall be permitted to work more than eight hours in any day or more than five days in any week, except in cases of extraordinary emergency; nor shall he be paid less than the rate of wages prevailing in the same trade or occupation in the locality within the state where such public work is to be situated, erected or used.
Employees shall have the right to organize and to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing.


A Few Facts

• Joined the Constitution in 1939

• In Article I: Bill Of Rights

• Has 120 words

• Was proposed by the Constitutional Convention

• Went to NYS voters as proposed amendment 6 of 1938

• Is a new addition

Credits

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