Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019
Floor Speech
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Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Chair, I rise in strong support today of the PRO Act. I talk to people every day who take tremendous pride in the work that they do, and, yet, many of these workers are facing terrible injustices on the job; poorly paid; inadequately insured; harassed; and often in workshops that are dangerous and discriminatory.
Mr. Chairman, no one should have to go to work and face injustice and be afraid to speak up. That is just not right.
The PRO Act makes it clear that we are putting power back into the hands of workers; and that we are ensuring and expanding workers' rights to organize. Let's be clear that that benefits everybody. Unionized women earn wages that are 23 percent higher. Black workers' wages are 14 percent higher, and Latinx workers' wages are 21 percent higher than in nonunionized workplaces.
Young unionized workers more often have health insurance, higher pay, and a retirement plan. That is why workers' approval for unions keeps rising.
Mr. Chairman, every worker deserves a fair and safe workplace, and that is what the PRO Act does.
Mr. Chair, I include in the Record a petition signed by over 63,000 community members in support of the PRO Act. February 4, 2020. Re Delivery of signatures regarding the U.S. House of Representatives' floor vote on the Protecting the Right to Organize Act. Chairman Bobby Scott, House Education and Labor Committee, Washington, DC.
Dear Chairman Bobby Scott: Please accept over 63,000 signatures from community members across the country on behalf of a coalition of 11 advocacy, climate, labor, and trade organizations advocating for the passage of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. We ask that your office enter this letter and the accompanying signatures into the public record. We thank you, Chairman Scott, for your introduction and support of this historic legislation.
Our coalition believes that working class and middle class families in the United States deserve income security and should be able to organize their co-workers to demand living wages and healthy working conditions.
In a time when the richest Americans' wealth growth has increased by over 200 percent while wages remain stagnant for the rest of us, we urge the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the PRO Act. Sincerely,
AFL-CIO, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), Climate Hawks Vote, Courage Campaign, CREDO Action, Daily Kos, Economic Policy Institute Policy Center, Friends of the Earth Action, National Employment Law Project, People For the American Way, Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch.
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Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Chair, I also include in the Record a letter from the CWA on how unions reduce income inequality. Communications Workers of America, Washington, DC, February 5, 2020.
Dear Representative: On behalf of the officers and 700,000 members of the Communications Workers of America (CWA), I am writing to urge you to vote for H.R. 2474, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, when it comes before the House this week and to oppose any amendments that would weaken the bill. For CWA, this is the most important vote that has come before the House of Representatives in years and our members are watching it closely.
The huge surge in economic inequality over the past quarter-century is related directly to many workers' lack of a strong voice on the job. Over that time, wages have stagnated for workers across the economy, while income has skyrocketed for CEOs and the wealthiest 1%. By 2012, the wealthiest 1% made 22.5% of national income, while the bottom 90% of families made less than half of national income--just 49.6%.
During that same time period, union density has declined substantially. Since the early 1980s, the overall unionization rate has been cut in half. This harms workers who are unable to form unions directly, but it also hurts other workers, as research by the Economic Policy Institute shows that higher union density increases wages for all workers.
Moreover, the harm to workers caused by the lack of an organized voice on the job is not limited simply to compensation. Workers who form unions have stronger protections against discrimination and retaliation, enhanced job security, better retirement benefits, and more effective ways of combating practices that jeopardize their health and safety on the job.
Unfortunately, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) does not currently include protections strong enough to ensure that workers are able to effectively exercise their right to organize, bargain collectively, and have a strong voice on the job. The NLRA's penalties are ineffective and insufficient, amounting to little more than a vague threat of a slap on the wrist to employers who violate the NLRA. As a result, workers are routinely illegally disciplined or even fired for exercising their NLRA rights, with little to no consequence for the bad actors.
Just as concerning is what is actually permitted under the NLRA. Employers can hold ``captive audience'' meetings, in which executives can and do force workers to attend hours- long meetings in which management berates and intimidates workers who want to organize. Employers can and do also fail to negotiate fair first contracts, preventing workers who form unions from ever securing a collective bargaining agreement. As a result, many workers are deterred from fighting to exercise their rights in the first place.
The PRO Act would strengthen the NLRA and, in so doing, empower workers across the country. The PRO Act would:
Strengthen remedies for workers who face illegal retaliation, including swift temporary reinstatement for workers who are illegally suspended or fired, real financial penalties, and the clarification of their ability to have their day in court;
Clarify coverage of the NLRA to prevent the misclassification of workers as independent contractors;
Protect the integrity of union elections against coercive captive audience meetings;
Ensure that the National Labor Relations Board's orders are enforced in a timely manner;
Protect workers' right to strike for basic workplace improvements;
Ensure that workers and employers are able to reach fair deals for a first contract by establishing mediation and arbitration procedures;
Strengthen the ability of workers and companies to negotiate contracts that include fair share fees that cover the basic costs of representation and bargaining;
Safeguard the rights of all workers to engage in employment-related class action litigation.
The PRO Act would ensure that workers' right to a voice on the job would be protected. In doing so, it would help combat skyrocketing economic inequality and strengthen the middle class. Therefore, I strongly urge you to vote for the PRO Act. CWA will include votes on this bill and any amendments that would undermine the bill in our Congressional Scorecard and this is the single highest priority vote for CWA and our members of the 116th Congress.
Thank you in advance for your consideration. Sincerely, Dan Mauer, Director of Government Affairs, Communications Workers of America (CWA).
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Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this bill today.
Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Byrne).
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