The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, introduced on Feb. 4, will free Americans to build better lives and curtail the scorched-earth campaigns that employers wage to keep unions out at any cost. The PRO Act, backed by President Biden and pro-worker majorities in the House and the Senate, will impose stiff financial penalties on companies that retaliate against organizers and require the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to fast-track legal proceedings for workers suspended or fired for union activism. It also empowers workers to file their own civil lawsuits against employers that violate their labor rights. The legislation will bar employers from permanently replacing workers during labor disputes, eliminating a threat that companies often use to thwart organizing campaigns. And the PRO Act will empower the NLRB to force corporations into bargaining with workers if they interfere in union drives. That means an end to the mandatory town hall meetings that employers regularly use to disparage organized labor and hector workers into voting against unions. A growing number of Americans, many of whom saw unions step up to protect members during the COVID-19 pandemic, seek the safe working conditions and other protections they can only achieve by organizing.
Tom Conway, Salon