By: Arthur Rohman
A modern union reform bill has recently stalled in the U.S. Senate, having passed the U.S. House of Representatives 225-206 in March of 2021.[1] The bill, dubbed the “Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021” (the “PRO Act”), seems unlikely to proceed in the Senate due to partisan opposition. In 2020, a similar bill of the same name passed the U.S. House 224-194 “mostly along party lines,”[2] but was not taken up by the Senate, which was controlled by the G.O.P. at the time. Though the Democrats currently control a slight majority, the current practice of the filibuster makes it unlikely the 2021 bill will advance further, despite Presidential support for the measure.
What is the PRO Act? The proposed bill “expands various labor protections related to employees’ rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace.”[3] For example, the bill would make it illegal for employers to mandate employees’ attendance “at meetings designed to discourage union membership.”[4] Companies such as Amazon often use these meetings to combat union organizing campaigns.[5]If the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) finds a company committed an unfair labor practice (such as requiring attendance at anti-union meetings) and issues an order, the proposed bill provides for an enforcement mechanism: Companies refusing to cooperate with an NLRB order will be fined up to $10,000 per violation.[6]
Proponents say: Supporters, such as the AFL-CIO, promote the bill as the “most significant worker empowerment legislation since the Great Depression”[7]and suggest that the current labor laws under National Labor Relations Act of 1935 is unworkable in its current state.[8] For example, a study by the Economic Policy Institute found that U.S. employers interfere with 41.5% of unionization campaigns.[9]One notable proponent of the bill, President Biden, stated that “[n]early 60 million Americans would join a union if they get a chance, but too many employers and states prevent them from doing so through anti-union attacks.”[10]
Opponents say: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a lobbying group for business interests, stated that the bill would “undermine worker rights, ensnare employers in unrelated labor disputes, disrupt the economy, and force individual Americans to pay union dues regardless of their wishes.”[11] Further, the National Retail Federation, a trade association of retail stores, calls it the “worst bill in Congress,” citing, among other issues, potential increases in class action suits and interference with employers’ businesses.[12]
Why does this matter? The U.S. has recently seen a resurgent push towards unionization in multiple key industries. As of the publication of this post, Starbucks has seen two of their Buffalo locations unionize[13] and will be facing many union elections in the near future. Amazon has an ongoing union vote at its Bessemer location—the second vote at that same location after a court found Amazon had unfairly interfered with the first election.[14] Even the previously un-unionized game development space has seen a unionization effort at Activision-Blizzard.[15] Additionally, recent union-run strikes in major industries have seen some notable success: The 2021 John Deere strike[16]and the 3-month 2021 Kellogg’s strike[17] ended upon employees obtaining a more favorable collective bargaining agreement.
The provisions in the PRO Act penalizing employers that interfere with elections would likely increase the success of union campaign efforts. If the current trend of unionization continues, the privileges, powers, rights and responsibilities of unions will impact more employees.
[1] H.R. 842, 117th Cong. (1st Sess. 2021).
[2] Eli Rosenberg, House passes bill to rewrite labor laws and strengthen unions, Wash. Post (Feb. 6, 2020), https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/02/06/house-passes-bill-rewrite-labor-laws-strengthen-unions/.
[3] Summary: H.R. 842, 117th Cong., https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/842.
[4] Id.
[5] Don Gonyea, House Democrats Pass Bill That Would Protect Worker Organizing Efforts, NPR (Mar. 9, 2021), https://www.npr.org/2021/03/09/975259434/house-democrats-pass-bill-that-would-protect-worker-organizing-efforts.
[6] H.R. 842, 117th Cong. §107 (1st Sess. 2021).
[7] The PRO Act is the Key to America’s Future,AFL-CIO, https://aflcio.org/pro-act.
[8] Id. The PRO Act would take effect is by modifications to the NLRA.
[9] Celine McNicholas et al., U.S. employers are charged with violating federal law in 41.5% of all union election campaigns, EPI (Dec. 11, 2019), https://www.epi.org/publication/unlawful-employer-opposition-to-union-election-campaigns/.
[10] Statement by President Joe Biden, On the House Taking Up the Pro Act, The White House (Mar. 9, 2021), https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/03/09/statement-by-president-joe-biden-on-th e-house-taking-up-the-pro-act/.
[11] Stop the PRO Act, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, https://www.uschamber.com/major-initiative/stop-the-pro-act.
[12]10 reasons to hate the worst bill in congress, NRF, https://nrf.com/blog/10-reasons-hate-worst-bill-congress.
[13] Noam Scheiber, Union wins election at a second Buffalo-area Starbucks, N.Y. Times (Jan. 10, 2022), https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/10/business/starbucks-union-election-buffalo.html.
[14] Alina Selyukh, Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama vote for second time in union effort, NPR (Feb 4, 2022), https://www.npr.org/2022/02/04/1077089349/amazon-union-vote-alabama.
[15] Kari Paul, Activision Blizzard employees form first of its kind Game Workers Alliance Union, The Guardian (Jan 21, 2022), https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jan/21/activision-blizzard-employees-union.
[16] Chris Isidore, Strike at John Deere to end as UAW members ratify contract offer, CNN (Nov. 21, 2021), https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/17/business/john-deere-uaw-strike-vote/index.html.
[17] Scott Nueman, Kellogg’s union members ratify a new contract, ending a nearly 3-month strike, NPR (Dec. 21, 2021), https://www.npr.org/2021/12/21/1066326419/kelloggs-union-members-ratify-a-new-contract-ending-a-nearly-3-mon th-strike.
