As Union Organizing Continues to Surge, IFPTE Requests Members of Congress Cosponsor and Pass the PRO Act to Strengthen Workers Rights, Labor Law

Although the American public’s approval of labor unions is at the highest point since 1965 and union organizing is surging across the country, our broken labor laws desperately need to be updated to support workers’ democratic right to form and join unions and bargain collectively. To that end, IFPTE is asking Members of Congress to cosponsor the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), which is expected to be introduced in the coming days.

The PRO Act will be introduced in the House by Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and is among the highest of priorities for IFPTE and the American labor movement. The legislation would update the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (also known as the Wagner Act), which Congress passed to promote worker-led union organizing, collective bargaining, and economic prosperity. While the growth of labor unions in the mid-20th Century was a driving force behind building the American middle class, corporations and opponents of unions have been able to weaken U.S. labor law and undermine Americans’ right to form labor unions and join together to collectively bargain with their employers.

The PRO Act passed was passed with bipartisan support in the House of Representatives in 2021 by a 225 to 206 margin. This legislation has been renamed to honor the legacy of labor leader Richard Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO from 2009 until his death in 2021. IFPTE is committed to building bipartisan support for the passage of the PRO Act in the 118th Congress.

Read IFPTE’s letter to Representatives and Senators here.