Month: October 2022

Coalition of labor unions representing 24 million workers, environmental groups, and progressive advocacy organizations say new trends demonstrate need for Congress boost of NLRB funding to protect workers, structural changes to dangerously outdated federal labor laws 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Worker Power Coalition, a national table representing 24 million workers and dozens of progressive, labor, and environmental advocacy organizations, says the new revelations contained in yesterday’s NLRB report demonstrate an urgent need for Congress to immediately boost fundings for the agency mandated to protect workers rights – and for Senate passage of the landmark bipartisan labor reform legislation, the PRO Act. 

The new NLRB report reveals that in 2022, workers filed 2,510 union representation petitions – a 53% spike from the 1,638 petitions filed by workers in 2021 and the highest number since 2016. The report also sheds fresh insight into the scale of corporate employers attacks in response to those filings,  with Unfair Labor Practices (ULP) charges also skyrocketing this year to almost 18,000 submitted by workers – a nearly 20% surge compared to 2021. Combined, the NLRB said its caseload jumped 23 percent in 2022 and was the largest single-year increase since the 1976 fiscal year. 

Illegal union-busting tactics being used by employers like Amazon, Starbucks, Apple and Activision Blizzard continue to dominate national headlines as more and more workers try to organize for their rights, yet the NLRB lacks the funding resource to investigate widespread harassment, retaliation, and termination of workers exerting their protected right to concerted union activity. The new NLRB numbers underscore the consequences of their funding crisis precipitating across the country – and why America’s labor movement is demanding that Congress immediately act to increase funding for the NLRB so it has what it needs to carry out its mandate to protect workers’ rights. 

Worker Power Coalition National Co-Chair Sara Steffens: “Workers at companies like Amazon, Starbucks, Apple and Activision Blizzard are forming unions and leading a national wave of activism to demand better pay and job safety, but they are facing illegal retaliation and CEOs are spending millions on private union-busting firms to try to stop them. This report proves that this surge in worker organizing is the largest in more than 50 years. The NLRB’s mandate is to protect workers’ rights and encourage collective bargaining, but Congress has refused to increase funding for the agency for nearly a decade, even as multi-billion dollar companies wage ruthless union-busting campaigns to silence their workers. Enough is enough. It’s time for the Senate to wake up to this broken system and increase funding for the NLRB so that these CEOs are held accountable.”

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The Worker Power Coalition represents 24 million workers across the country and unites labor unions, grassroots organizations, businesses, worker advocates, think tanks, environmental activists, and more with the goal of strengthening labor laws, including passing the PRO Act to empower workers, strengthen their workplace protections, and increase their ability to use their voices collectively. Learn more at PassThePROAct.Org.

As legislative calendar winds down, coalition representing 24 million workers and dozens of progressive organizations turns up pressure in demands for a Senate vote on the marquee labor legislation

New 2022 poll shows 87% of young voters in battleground states more likely to back pro-worker candidates in midterm election 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Pressure is on for the U.S. Senate, as a national coalition of labor, environmental justice, and progressive organizations representing 24 million workers turns up the heat on their demand for a vote on the landmark labor reform legislation, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. As potentially illegal harassment, retaliation, and union-busting by Amazon, Starbucks, and Apple continues to make headlines, advocates say that millions of workers across the country can’t afford to keep waiting for the Senate to take action.

Over the past seven weeks, the Worker Power Coalition – a diverse coalition made up of dozens of powerhouse progressive organizations including environmental justice groups, think tanks, grassroots organizations, and major labor unions – has mobilized members across the country with rolling in-district direct actions in the top 2022 battleground swing states.

In a new Worker Power Coalition 2022 poll, 87% of young voters under 40 say that a top issue motivating them to vote is support for workers’ rights – further underscoring the strong public support for a Senate vote on the PRO Act. In fact, the new data shows that this voting bloc is fueling the ongoing surge of Democratic over-performance in this fall’s most hotly-contested Senate races. 

Worker Power Coalition delegations met with Senate Democrats in Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, New Hampshire, Nevada, and Virginia, and held actions pressing Senate Republicans in Ohio, Wisconsin, and Florida to back the bill. The multi-state mobilization campaign has been the largest organizing effort of WPC to date, and demonstrates the growing momentum and consensus amongst the left for a vote this congress on the urgently needed legislation. 

In a joint letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Democratic leadership, more than 50 progressive organizations represented in the Worker Power Coalition joined together to call on leaders to take action and hold a vote on the popular legislation. As the 2022 legislative clock ticks down, the window for a vote in this congress on the bipartisan bill, which already passed the House of Representatives, could be the best chance in generations to meaningfully reform America’s broken federal labor laws.

Sunrise Movement Executive Director Varshini Prakash: “The PRO Act is a core pillar of the Green New Deal. We can’t fairly mobilize our economy to stop the climate crisis without passing comprehensive labor law reform and guaranteeing every worker the right to organize. Schumer must use his power to bring this popular piece of legislation to the floor and demonstrate his commitment to workers all across the country.” 

Indivisible Project Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director Leah Greenberg: “In the face of right-wing extremism seeking to undermine our democracy, it gives me hope that people across the country are fighting back – including workers standing up against big corporations, exercising democracy in the workplace. People are desperate for Democratic Senators to stand side-by-side with them in this struggle and take action. Passing the Protecting the Right to Organize Act would level the playing field for these workers, and show people which side the Senate Democrats are on.”

Communications Workers of America Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens: “We must do everything possible to support the growing number of workers who are joining together to improve their workplaces. Our labor laws are outdated and broken. Employers flagrantly violate workers’ rights, hold mandatory anti-union meetings, and intimidate and even fire workers for organizing. Workers need for the Senate to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act now so they can organize for safer jobs, better working conditions, and higher pay.”

Background: 

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the need for workers to have a voice on their safety and working conditions. Now, inflation is causing economic hardship for working people around the nation. The time is now for Congress to enact common sense reforms to our labor laws and give workers a real voice at their jobs. The PRO Act is the best chance in decades to shift power away from corporate interests and to everyday Americans who work to provide for their families.

The PRO Act passed the House in March 2021 with bipartisan support and would protect workers’ rights to a free and fair election on forming a union and holding employers accountable for increasingly widespread interference, intimidation, and retaliation.

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The Worker Power Coalition represents 24 million workers across the country and unites labor unions, grassroots organizations, businesses, worker advocates, think tanks, environmental activists, and more with the goal of strengthening labor laws, including passing the PRO Act to empower workers, strengthen their workplace protections, and increase their ability to use their voices collectively.