Recognizing the importance of defending the right of working people to organize and form unions at this moment, U.S. Representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, reintroduced the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act yesterday.   

The PRO Act will: 

• Prevent employers from threatening job losses to prevent unionization;
  

• End prohibitions on collective and class action litigation, allowing workers to negotiate better wages and working conditions;  

• Restrict employers from permanently replacing striking employees;  

• Allow unionized employees to more directly support the organizing efforts of other workers and curtail the misclassification of workers as independent contractors; and  

• Strengthen protections for employees exercising their rights by creating a mediation and arbitration process for new unions; holding employers more accountable for labor law violations; protecting against captive audience meetings; and streamlining the National Labor Relations Board procedures. 

This comes at a time when there is strong bipartisan support for unions. In a recent poll with Data for Progress, a significant majority of surveyed likely voters said they believe in the power of unions and want companies to sign union neutrality agreements (63%) and project labor agreements (73%).  

Following the announcement, the BlueGreen Alliance released a statement from Executive Director Jason Walsh: 

“The best way to build a strong and equitable future for all is to ensure working people can band together to bargain for safe, healthy work environments and good wages and benefits. This bipartisan legislation is Congress’s chance to protect workers’ rights and give them the power they need to protect their jobs and negotiate better working conditions. We strongly support the PRO Act and will continue to work to make this important bill the law of the land.”