Dear Representative:
I am writing to ask you to become an original co-sponsor of the bipartisan Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which will soon be introduced by Representatives Bobby Scott and Brian Fitzpatrick. The PRO Act strengthens workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain – so that they can join together and forge a better deal for themselves. The bill restores the original intent of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), ensuring working people have a voice on the job to negotiate for higher wages, better benefits, safer workplaces and protection against discrimination.
For too long, union-busting employers have been permitted to stand in the way of workers’ freedom to organize. According to the Economic Policy Institute, more than 60 million workers wanted to join a union last year but couldn't. As a result, millions of workers are left without a voice, unable to exercise their bargaining power, resulting in historic levels of income inequality and a lack of upward mobility.
The rigged economy is a policy choice. It’s time to change that policy and let workers freely organize and bargain.
The PRO Act amends the NLRA to make real its promise of the right to join or form a union and collectively bargain. It would modernize the NLRA by bringing its remedies in line with other workplace laws. It imposes financial penalties on companies and individual corporate officers who violate workers’ rights and allows workers to bring cases to federal court. It also makes union elections fairer by prohibiting employers from forcing workers to attend anti-union “captive audience” meetings, a common tactic whereby employers present anti-union propaganda to pressure workers to vote against the union.
Under the bill, once workers vote to form a union, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) would be authorized to order the employer to commence bargaining a first contract. These orders would be enforced in district courts to ensure swift justice, avoiding the complex and drawn-out process in the federal appeals courts. In addition, the bill would ensure employees are not deprived of our right to a union because an employer deliberately misclassifies us as supervisors or independent contractors.
Too often, when workers choose to form a union, employers stall the bargaining process to avoid reaching an agreement. The PRO Act would establish a process for mediation and arbitration to help the parties achieve a first contract. This important change would make the freedom to negotiate a reality for the countless workers who form unions but never get to enjoy the benefits of a collective bargaining agreement due to employers' intentional delays.
The PRO Act would recognize that employees need the freedom to picket or withhold our labor in order to push for the workplace changes we need. The bill would protect employees' right to strike by preventing employers from hiring permanent replacement workers. It also would allow unrepresented employees to engage in collective action or class-action lawsuits to enforce basic workplace rights, rather than being forced to arbitrate such claims alone. Finally, the bill would eliminate “right-to-work” laws and allow unions and companies to make fair share agreements. Right-to-work laws, supported by wealthy special interests, are designed to undercut workers’ bargaining power, giving more power to corporations and lowering wages and eroding pensions and health care coverage in states where they have been adopted.
Unrigging the economy depends upon strengthening the collective power of workers to negotiate for better pay and working conditions. We urge you to be an original co-sponsor of the PRO Act and help us build an economy that works for all, not just the wealthy and well-connected.
To co-sponsor the bill, please contact Dhrtvan Sherman ([email protected]). For more information, please contact Mason Pesek ([email protected]).
Sincerely,
Jody Calemine
Director, Government Affairs