Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand held a video press conference to call for the passage of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. This comprehensive labor legislation would strengthen workers’ rights to organize and bargain for fairer wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces and would penalize corporations that engage in unfair labor practices.
“Unions built this country and provide a pathway to the middle class,” said Senator Gillibrand. “They create fairer, safer, and more equitable workplaces and help ensure that our economy works for everyone. As New Yorkers fight to organize their workplaces, this bill would help protect them from being unfairly let go or retaliated against for exercising their sacred right to organize. This legislation is long overdue. I’m calling on the Senate to pass the PRO Act as soon as possible and I’ll keep fighting until it becomes law.”
The PRO Act would fight union busting and protect workers by:
- Establishing solutions and implementing safeguards against violations of workers’ rights through penalizing employers who violate workers’ rights, supporting workers who suffer retaliation for exercising their rights, and authorizing a private right of action for violations of workers’ rights.
- Reinforcing workers’ right to join together and negotiate for better working conditions by overriding harmful “Right to Work” laws, modernizing the union election process, and facilitating initial collective bargaining agreements.
- Rehabilitating an unequal economy that was built to work against workers by addressing ambiguous wording that allows employers to misclassify their employees as supervisors and independent contractors and increasing transparency between workers and management.