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April 2023


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PRO Act Returns With Bipartisan Support for Workers' Rights, Strong Unions
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A bipartisan group of lawmakers reintroduced a federal bill Feb. 28 to
strengthen workers' organizing and bargaining rights and steepen penalties
against law-breaking employers, including personal liability for violations by
corporate directors and officers.

Informally known as the PRO Act since it was first introduced in 2019, the
updated bill is called the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize
(PRO) Act of 2023, named for the AFL-CIO president who died suddenly in 2021.

Drawing a direct line between strong unions and a strong middle class, the
bill's provisions mark the most significant progress for workers since the badly
eroded National Labor Relations Act became law in 1935. The NLRA, which codified
workers' rights and directed the federal government to facilitate the growth of
unions, has been under attack by Congress and the courts ever since.

Rep. Bobby Scott, ranking member of the House Committee on Education and the
Workforce, said the new legislation would go a long way toward repairing the
damage and putting more money in workers' pockets.

"Over the last year, the American economy has recovered at a record pace, thanks
to the hard work and resilience of our nation's workers," Scott said, stressing
that unions are essential to ensure that workers reap their fair share of the
rewards.

"We must focus on building our economy from the bottom up and the middle out,"
he said. "As a historic number of Americans put their support behind labor
unions, Congress has an urgent responsibility to ensure that workers can join a
union and negotiate for higher pay, better benefits and safer workplaces."

Scott, a Virginia Democrat, and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania
Republican, jointly introduced the bill (H.R. 20), which had 205 co-sponsors
within a week. A Senate version was introduced by Vermont independent Bernie
Sanders.

"The PRO Act will protect American workers and ensure that employers are held to
fair standards," Fitzpatrick said. "I'm proud to support this landmark
legislation that bolsters American workers' right to organize."

Among the PRO Act's provisions are:

 * Meaningful penalties for violating workers' rights. The National Labor
   Relations Board finally would have the authority to levy fines on employers
   for breaking labor law, with penalties up to $100,000 for repeat offenders in
   cases of illegal firings and serious economic harm. The bill also would allow
   the board to hold corporate executives and officers personally liable if they
   participate in violating workers' rights or are aware of violations and fail
   to prevent them.
   
   
 * Removing roadblocks to initial bargaining. The bill would set a timeline for
   negotiations and, as needed, mediation and arbitration. Employers would no
   longer get away with dragging their feet on first contracts — delays aimed at
   derailing new unions.
   
   
 * Ending captive-audience meetings. Employers would risk major backfire for
   forcing workers to listen to anti-union rhetoric or otherwise interfering
   with a representation election. In those cases, the bill would empower the
   NLRB to set aside an election defeat, certify the bargaining unit and order
   the employer to negotiate.
   
   
 * Clearing the path to justice. Unfair labor practice charges can take months
   or even years to resolve when workers are fired or otherwise punished for
   exercising their rights. The bill would require the NLRB to seek immediate
   injunctions in federal court to reinstate workers while their cases are
   pending — action that the current board, led by President Joe Biden's
   appointees, has been taking on its own since 2021.
   
   
 * The power to override right-to-work laws. On the books in 28 states, these
   laws allow freeloading workers to benefit from representation without paying
   dues, draining unions of the resources they need to fight for members. Under
   the PRO Act, unions could bargain with management for the right to collect
   dues from all workers in a unit.
   
   
 * Bolstering the right to strike and to support outside acts of solidarity. The
   bill clarifies that workers taking part in intermittent work stoppages have
   the legal right to do so, and it prohibits employers from permanently
   replacing striking workers. It also reinforces the First Amendment rights of
   workers to join outside strikes and boycotts without penalty.
   
   
 * Closing loopholes in labor law that erode workers' rights. Many employers
   routinely misclassify workers as independent contractors to avoid paying fair
   wages and benefits, or as supervisors to dodge overtime. The bill would make
   those practices illegal. It also would establish a "joint employer" standard
   so that workers employed by franchises or subcontractors would have the right
   to bargain collectively with all companies that control the terms and
   conditions of their jobs.

While passing the bill without a pro-worker majority in the U.S. House will be a
steep uphill battle, International President Kenneth W. Cooper said he welcomes
the debate.

"This is a conversation that needs to be on the table at all times because we
know that people are listening," Cooper said. "Polls show that nearly three out
of four Americans today support unions — a record number — because they
understand how much unions can change the lives of workers and their families
for the better.

"But the enemies of unions have been chipping away at our rights for
generations, and they're going to keep at it until America's labor laws have
real teeth again, which is what the PRO Act would do," he said. "It is the
roadmap to better lives for millions more Americans."

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, a member of Portland, Ore., Local 125, put it this
way:

"The PRO Act is how we level the playing field. It is how we stop the
intimidation, the lies. This is how we let workers, not wealthy corporations,
decide for themselves if they want the power of a union," she said.




AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, an IBEW member of Portland, Ore., Local 125,
champions the PRO Act at a news conference on Capitol Hill after the bill was
introduced for a third time in the U.S. House and Senate.








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