IFPTE Applauds the Introduction of the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act

Union Calls on Congress to Support Working Americans’
Right to Form and Join Unions and Pass the PRO Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The executive officers of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) welcomed the reintroduction of the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act. The bill is being introduced in the House of Representatives as bipartisan legislation, numbered H.R. 20, with House Education and Labor Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) as the lead sponsors. The Senate bill is being introduced by Senate Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and is a priority for House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and President Joe Biden.   

IFPTE President Matthew Biggs:

“The members and leaders of IFPTE are committed to making sure Congress passes the PRO Act and restores the legal protections for working people to freely form a union and bargain with their employers for fair wages, benefits, and working conditions. We thank Representative Brian Fitzpatrick and Representative Bobby Scott for their leadership on the bipartisan reintroduction of the bill and we applaud Senator Bernie Sanders for reintroducing the Senate version of the bill and for his commitment to holding corporations accountable for openly violating the National Labor Relations Act.

For far too long America’s labor laws have been weakened and blatantly disregarded by corporations, which has harmed the American middle class by breaking the link between productivity increases and wage growth over the last 40 years. Regardless, workers recognize the power of joining together with their coworkers to make their workplaces better. Public support for labor unions is the highest it has ever been in half a century and we’re witnessing a sharp increase in the number of union organizing campaigns. IFPTE will continue to build on this momentum and work toward bipartisan Congressional passage of the Richard L. Trumka PRO Act.”  

IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson:

“All too often, the union members and professional employees that IFPTE supports during and after organizing campaigns face unfair obstacles and tactics that violate the law and frustrate organizing drives and bargaining of first contracts. The Richard L. Trumka PRO Act is a comprehensive approach to restoring our private sector labor laws so that employers cannot engage in delaying tactics in the union election process or first contract negotiations, nor misinform and intimidate workers through captive audience meetings. The PRO Act also repairs the NLRB’s ability to enforce labor laws so that workers are better protected from employers who violate the legal right to organize and bargain collectively.  

Unions not only raise wages and benefits for union members but also raise wages and working conditions for all workers, narrow the economic disparities in the labor market, and improve economic prosperity for all workers. Simply put, the PRO Act will give Americans a fair opportunity to have a voice at work and deliver economic benefits for working families and their communities and local economies.”

Across the United States and Canada, IFPTE represents 90,000 highly skilled workers in the federal, public, and private sectors. IFPTE is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO and the CLC. More information can be found at www.IFPTE.org.

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Download a PDF of this press release here.

Read a fact sheet about the PRO Act here and detailed a section-by-section summary of the PRO Act legislation here.