Government affairs

The Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act (H.R. 20/S. 567) was reintroduced in Congress on Feb. 28. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) introduced the bill in the Senate, and Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) introduced the legislation in the House.

The PRO Act would strengthen protections under the National Labor Relations Act, ensuring workers of their right to organize and bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions. The bill also would create a mediation and arbitration process to ensure that corporations and newly formed unions reach a first contract, authorize unions and employers to negotiate agreements that allow unions to collect fair-share fees that cover the costs of representation, and protect the integrity of union elections against coercive “captive audience” meetings.

Additionally, the PRO Act would streamline the National Labor Relations Board’s procedures to effectively prevent violations by establishing penalties on corporations that violate workers’ rights, and by combatting the misclassification of workers as supervisors and independent contractors.

The PRO Act passed in the House in the 117th Congress but was not considered in the Senate.

“Every worker in this country deserves the right to organize and bar-gain for a better workplace and benefits,” NALC President Brian L. Renfroe said. “NALC is fortunate to be an open shop with more than 93 percent of let-ter carriers choosing to be members of our union. We do not take our right to organize for granted, and NALC calls on Congress to pass this bipartisan legislation that supports and protects the entire American workforce.”