Should Congress make it easier for workers to Unionize?
Bill Summary
H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, seeks to make it easier for workers to organize into unions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, union membership has fallen from 20.3% in 1983 to just 10.8% in 2020. The PRO Act hopes to address this by (1) increasing penalties for violations of workers rights, (2) authorizing “solidarity strikes” where workers not affiliated with the unionization effort also go on strike, (3) authorizing unions to collect fees from non-union members, and (3) closing loopholes that allow employers to classify workers as independent contractors - who are ineligible for union membership.
Sponsor: Rep. Robert Scott (Democrat, Virginia, District 3) This bill has 209 Democratic and 3 Republican cosponsors.
View full bill text ➔
How do you feel?
You can still save your opinion to your scorecard, but since the vote has already taken place, your opinion won't be sent to your lawmakers.
Oppose
Support
Opponents say
• "[The PRO Act] would prompt gig economy companies to look for clever ways to work around the law. For example, Uber has responded to this type of labor law in European Union nations by stopping the practice of dealing directly with drivers and encouraging Uber brokers to use their service instead … The PRO Act would likely have adverse effects on some types of workers. Even before a union would organize, some work would be restructured by using brokers or substituting more technology for humans."
Source: Michael LeRoy (Professor of Labor Law at the University of Illinois)
• "This bill is being considered during an unprecedented global pandemic, in which manufacturing workers are supplying Americans with the medicine, protective equipment, and goods necessary to defeat COVID-19… It is critical that Congress consider policies that support manufacturers in the fight against COVID-19, but the PRO Act would do the opposite.” Source: The National Association of Manufacturers
• "In 2020, California’s AB 5 law (a law similar to the PRO act) took effect, imposing the ABC test (the rule in the PRO act defining independent contractors) in all aspects of California labor law. However, even California lawmakers recognized that the ABC test would hamstring many workers and included numerous exceptions to the law selected through a frenzied lobbying process … For those unfortunate many who have not received even a limited exception, the pain was widespread. From small theater companies to music festivals, legal transcriptionists, interpreters, real estate appraisers, software consultants and beyond, the examples of lost work are too numerous to track." Source: Caleb Trotter and Jim Manley (Opinion Contributors in The Hill)
• "This bill is being considered during an unprecedented global pandemic, in which manufacturing workers are supplying Americans with the medicine, protective equipment, and goods necessary to defeat COVID-19… It is critical that Congress consider policies that support manufacturers in the fight against COVID-19, but the PRO Act would do the opposite.” Source: The National Association of Manufacturers
• "In 2020, California’s AB 5 law (a law similar to the PRO act) took effect, imposing the ABC test (the rule in the PRO act defining independent contractors) in all aspects of California labor law. However, even California lawmakers recognized that the ABC test would hamstring many workers and included numerous exceptions to the law selected through a frenzied lobbying process … For those unfortunate many who have not received even a limited exception, the pain was widespread. From small theater companies to music festivals, legal transcriptionists, interpreters, real estate appraisers, software consultants and beyond, the examples of lost work are too numerous to track." Source: Caleb Trotter and Jim Manley (Opinion Contributors in The Hill)
Proponents say
• "The decades-long assault on workers’ rights – led by special interests in state legislatures, courts, and employers across the country – has suppressed union membership and eroded America’s middle class. The Protecting the Right to Organize Act is a major step toward ensuring that workers can exercise their basic right to form a union and collectively bargain for higher pay, safer working conditions, and decent benefits – including paid leave, quality health care, and secure retirement."
Source: Rep. Robert Scott (Democrat, Virginia, District 3)
• "Nearly half of all nonunion workers say they want a union in their workplace. That’s 400% higher than the current percentage of workers represented by a union. Current law places too many obstacles in the way of workers trying to organize and gives employers too much power to interfere with workers’ free choice. The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act rectifies this." Source: Celine McNicholas, Margaret Poydock, and Lynn Rhinehart (Researchers with the Economic Policy Institute)
• "The PRO Act will empower workers to exercise our freedom to organize and negotiate for better wages and working conditions. It will remove archaic barriers to organizing, increase worker protections and strengthen the institutions that hold corporations accountable. It will repeal the ‘right to work’ laws that lead to lower wages, fewer benefits and more dangerous workplaces." Source: AFL-CIO
• "Nearly half of all nonunion workers say they want a union in their workplace. That’s 400% higher than the current percentage of workers represented by a union. Current law places too many obstacles in the way of workers trying to organize and gives employers too much power to interfere with workers’ free choice. The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act rectifies this." Source: Celine McNicholas, Margaret Poydock, and Lynn Rhinehart (Researchers with the Economic Policy Institute)
• "The PRO Act will empower workers to exercise our freedom to organize and negotiate for better wages and working conditions. It will remove archaic barriers to organizing, increase worker protections and strengthen the institutions that hold corporations accountable. It will repeal the ‘right to work’ laws that lead to lower wages, fewer benefits and more dangerous workplaces." Source: AFL-CIO
- Top democrats introduce bill to protect workers’ right to organize and make our economy work for everybody (Press Release)
- The PRO Act Is Becoming Labor’s Amateur Hour (Forbes)
- Do labor laws need to be modernized with rise of gig economy? (Illinois News Bureau)
- Labor Law Reform On the Horizon: Ten Things to Watch Under the PRO Act (The National Law Review)
- AFL-CIO to explore taking a stance on eliminating filibuster (Politico)
- The PRO Act's 'ABC test' fails American workers (The Hill)
