WASHINGTON, DC — On February 28th, the House of Representatives reintroduced the PRO Act (the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023 (H.R. 20)). The Act, if signed into law, would amend various labor laws such as the National Labor Relations Act for the purpose of expanding “various labor protections related to employees’ rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace”.
It was immediately met with both praise and condemnation for opposite ends of the political spectrum.
The House bill was introduced by the Committee on Education and the Workforce Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA-03) and Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01). The Senate companion was introduced by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
This marks the third time the PRO Act has been introduced. The PRO Act passed the House of Representatives in 2020 and 2021 but never reached the floor for a vote in the Senate, where the filibuster requires at least 60 votes to pass most bills.
The legislation (renamed in honor of former AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka) contains various provisions that could change the US labor landscape, including:
- Increased remedies for violations of workers’ rights
- Enhanced workers’ right to support secondary boycotts
- Ensuring unions can collect “fair share” fees
- Modernizing the union election process
- Facilitating initial collective bargaining agreements
In addition, the legislation would make it more difficult for employers to classify their employees as supervisors and independent contractors, who are not covered by the National Labor Relations Act, and would require greater transparency in labor-management relations.
For the bill text of the PRO Act, visit here.
Reactions
UA
The United Association of Union Plumbers and Pipefitters (UA) issued the following statement saying (in part):
For too long, working families in this country have been denied their basic rights to organize for better working conditions by bad-faith employers and unscrupulous contractors. It is long past time that Congress listens to the overwhelming majority of Americans who support workers’ rights to form a union and come together to pass the bipartisan PRO Act.
This legislation will fix the outdated National Labor Relations Act and ensure that more employers are not allowed to violate the rights of workers. The PRO Act will end the dangerous anti-worker so- called Right-to-Work laws that undermine workers’ ability to earn fair wages and collectively bargain for better working conditions; it will ensure workers can reach timely first contracts; it will end the ability of employers to undercut striking workers by hiring permanent replacements; and it will ensure all Americans, regardless of circumstance or profession, have the opportunity to form a union should they choose to do so.
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO), the largest federation of unions in the United States representing more than 12 million active and retired workers, called the PRO Act, “the key to America’s future.” A statement on their website reads in part:
Our basic labor law, which is supposed to protect the rights of workers to form a union and bargain collectively, is broken. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) of 1935 ushered in a wave of worker organizing that changed the direction of America, building the greatest middle class the world has ever known. Yet ever since its passage, corporations and their political allies have conspired to render the law toothless. In recent decades, employers have been able to violate the NLRA with impunity, routinely denying workers our basic right to join with our co-workers for fairness on the job.
ABC
Associated Builders and Contractors today released the following statement from Kristen Swearingen, ABC vice president of legislative & political affairs.ahead of the Act’s reintroduction saying in part:
Reintroduction of the PRO Act means some lawmakers are catering to union demands for legislation that clearly threatens the livelihoods of small business owners, their employees and independent contractors. This is an open attack on the franchise and self-employment business models that have fueled innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation.
The PRO Act is nothing more than an attempt to strip workers of their privacy, freedom and choice. Congress must reject this legislation and protect the rights of workers and employers across the country. Democrats in Congress are attempting to increase union membership at the expense of employees’ rights to privacy, employers’ constitutional right to free speech and opportunities for small businesses.
AGC
The Associated General Contractors of America’s chief executive officer, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement ahead of the reintroduction:
This anti-worker, anti-privacy and anti-growth measure will harm our economy at a time when many employers are struggling to cope with inflation, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages.
More broadly, the PRO Act will unleash a new era of labor unrest and strikes that the country has not seen since President Truman had to federalize the steel industry during the Korean War. Worse, the PRO Act undermines the collective bargaining process that has been the central pillar of union construction for the past half century.
By allowing secondary boycotts and other actions against firms that are not directly involved in labor disputes, the measure will force many workers to remain idle because of disagreements where they do not stand to benefit. The measure also makes it extremely difficult for entrepreneurial workers to establish their own businesses by discriminating against independent contractors.
CONTRACTOR will continue to follow this developing story.
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Gaylene Mischke