AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler issued the following statement on the reintroduction of the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act:
Americans believe in the power of unions, and tens of millions of working people would become union members tomorrow if they could. But American labor law is broken, weighted on the side of the bosses and against the workers. In too many workplaces, in too many industries across the country, big corporations and billionaire CEOs still retaliate against us for organizing. They refuse to negotiate our contracts, force us to sit through hours of anti-union propaganda and engage in illegal union-busting every day. Now they have an unelected, unaccountable union-buster trying to illegally fire tens of thousands of our fellow workers in federal jobs and an administration rolling back the workplace protections.
The PRO Act is long overdue, and the American people agree. We urge the elected leaders of both parties to move this critical legislation forward so that all workers have the chance to stand together and build better lives for themselves and their families.
We know it won’t be easy, but the labor movement never backs down from a righteous fight. And in today’s economy, where our workers’ hard-earned paychecks are covering less of what they need while still facing unsafe conditions and a lack of respect on the job, there’s no fight more righteous than ensuring that every single worker who wants a union has a fair shot to join or form one.
Contact: Mia Jacobs, 202-637-5018