American workers and the progressive movement won important gains in Democrats’ inflation bill recently passed by Congress, which lowers costs for working families and makes historic investment in green energy. But until the Senate finally passes the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, millions of American workers will continue to struggle in an economy rigged against them and tilted in favor of giant corporations.
A new Worker Power Coalition 2022 poll of battleground state voters highlights that the PRO Act is popular with both Democrats and Republicans, but its approval rating is off the charts with young voters who back the legislation with 85% support.
A national wave of worker activism is growing across the country, with more workers coming together every day to exercise their rights to form a union and use their power to demand the good pay, benefits, and job safety they have earned and deserve. As momentum grows and more workers demand change that will transform our economy for the better, this is something to celebrate.
But Starbucks, Apple, Amazon, Target, Trader Joe’s and many more mega corporations are waging ruthless union-busting campaigns to try to silence these workers and not nearly enough is being done to stop these violations of workers’ rights and hold these CEOs accountable. These practices would carry heavy penalties under the PRO Act, already passed by the House in March 2021 with bipartisan support.
In addition to passing the PRO Act, Congress must pass the No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act and increase funding for the National Labor Relations Board, which is charged with holding companies accountable for violating the rights of workers. These two measures would make a huge impact in the fight to rein in giant corporations and put power back in the hands of workers.
We must act now to support the new wave of workers organizing across the country in the face of CEOs continuing to use union-busting tactics like mandatory anti-union meetings, intimidating and even firing workers for organizing. That’s why we are calling for the Senate to prioritize passing the PRO Act so that American workers can organize for safer jobs, better working conditions, and the higher pay they need to provide for their families.
The Worker Power Coalition is calling for Senate Democratic leadership to put the PRO Act at the top of the priority list for action this month, so that Congress and President Biden can deliver on their promise to voters to strengthen the rights and protections that all American workers need on the job.
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