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The
Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act was introduced this
week in Congress. The PRO Act is the most significant worker
empowerment legislation since the Great Depression. It passed
the House in 2020 but was stopped by the anti-worker majority in
the Senate.
The PRO Act will:
Empower workers to exercise our freedom to organize and
bargain.
Ensure that workers can reach a first contract quickly after
their union is recognized.
End employers’ practice of punishing striking workers by
hiring permanent replacements – allowing workers to speak up for
their rights without losing their job over it.
Hold corporations accountable by allowing the National
Labor Relations Board to penalize employers who retaliate
against those exercising their legal right to collective
bargaining.
Repeal “right to work” laws – divisive and racist laws
created during the Jim Crow era – that lead to lower wages,
fewer benefits and more dangerous workplaces.
Illinois AFL-CIO President Tim Drea and Secretary Treasurer Pat
Devaney issued the following statement supporting the
legislation:
“Our labor laws are there to protect workers. They have become
woefully outdated, weakened by corporate political influence,
and so riddled with loopholes providing little protection for
workers seeking to improve their lot by joining with their
co-workers and speaking as one with a union.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed the failings of our
laws to provide workers safety and security. The best way to
insure the long-term economic health of our nation, rebuild our
middle class, close the income inequality gap, as well as bridge
racial and gender divides on the job is to give workers power to
band together concerning their livelihoods.
“We will engage our member households in a campaign across the
state to mobilize for passage in the House and Senate and
getting President Biden’s signature.”
The Illinois AFL-CIO represents 874,000 union members and nearly
2.4 million Illinoisans from union families.
[Bill Looby]
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