The reintroduction of the urgently needed legislation amidst ongoing high-profile union busting by Amazon and Starbucks has been applauded by the Worker Power Coalition, a coalition of national labor, climate, and progressive groups representing 24 Million workers
Momentum for worker rights reforms continues to quicken in wake of 2022 Midterm elections, with surprise moves by Congress to boost labor board funding following activist demands, and a definitive directive from Pres. Biden urging PRO Act passage during his State of The Union address
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) announced the re-introduction of the historic, bipartisan Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, the most ambitious labor reform bill in generations. The PRO Act would strengthen the right of workers to form a union and negotiate for better pay, benefits, and working conditions.
The Worker Power Coalition, America’s largest labor alliance with 24 million workers from national unions and progressive and climate groups, praised today’s move to reintroduce the bill, which was previously passed by the House in March 2021 with bipartisan support. The national coalition leaders are urging Senate Majority Leader Schumer and Speaker McCarthy to bring this bipartisan and commonsense pro-worker legislation to the floor for a vote to support the growing number of workers who are joining together to improve their workplaces.
As a leading voice for national labor reform, the Worker Power Coalition released a Fall 2022 battleground states poll which showed robust bipartisan support for the PRO Act – support lawmakers in both parties are responding to with this bill introduction. In the 2022 Midterm election, voters proved this by rejecting extremist candidates and voting overwhelmingly for pro-worker champions instead.
The Worker Power Coalition’s emergency organizing recently helped secure millions in new funding from Congress for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the December 2022 omnibus bill, the result of a last minute push by WPC partnering with top progressive lawmakers including U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), and Jamaal Bowman (NY-16). The surprise success boosting urgently-needed NLRB funding and the call from President Biden during his 2023 State of the Union address for PRO Act passage further underscore the strong momentum for passing labor reform.
As Starbucks and Amazon union campaigns have sparked a national wave of worker activism with new union elections up 58 percent in just the first half of 2022, there has never been a more urgent time to ensure workers have an even playing field by fixing our outdated, broken labor laws. With CEOs spending $340 million a year on union-busting tactics to intimidate and silence workers seeking to form unions, the deck has never been more stacked against workers speaking out – and the PRO Act presents the best opportunity in generations to unrig our economy for working people.
Worker Power Coalition leaders are driving the new push for the PRO Act in 2023, including national unions and progressive and climate groups such as the Communications Workers of America, Sunrise Movement, Working Families Party, Indivisible, Democratic Socialists of America the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), and dozens more advocacy, think tank, and small business organizations across the country.
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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.