Protecting the Right to Organize Act

The Protecting the Right to Organize Act, also known as the PRO Act,[1][2] follows a series of past legislation passed by Congress concerning labor rights. A number of landmark bills were passed during the New Deal period, including the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt considered one of the most important Acts of Congress at the time.[3]

Following the New Deal, a number of bills were passed which restricted the activities of labor unions. Among these was the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947 (commonly known as the Taft-Hartley Act), which among other things prohibited secondary boycotts and closed shops.[4]

In 2009, the Employee Free Choice Act, another bill which would have amended the National Labor Relations Act, failed to pass.[5][6]

In the State of California, following the passage of California Assembly Bill 5, Proposition 22 was passed in 2020. Proposition 22 was intended to classify so-called gig workers for app-based companies (such as Lyft, Uber, DoorDash and Postmates) as "independent contractors" rather than full employees.[7]

The PRO Act would amend the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (also known as the Wagner Act), the Taft-Hartley Act, and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (also known as the Landrum–Griffin Act).[8]

According to the summary text of the PRO Act, it revises definitions under labor law, permits labor unions to encourage participation in secondary strikes, and prohibits employers from litigating against unions which conduct such secondary strikes:

Among other things, it (1) revises the definitions of employee, supervisor, and employer to broaden the scope of individuals covered by the fair labor standards; (2) permits labor organizations to encourage participation of union members in strikes initiated by employees represented by a different labor organization (i.e., secondary strikes); and (3) prohibits employers from bringing claims against unions that conduct such secondary strikes.[9]

The PRO Act would prevent employees seeking to join a labor union from being fired.[10] It would allow unions to override "right-to-work" laws, allowing labor unions to collect dues from all employees in a workplace, regardless of whether or not they are a member of a labor union.[11][12][10] Right-to-work laws exist in 27 U.S. states, and the PRO Act would weaken these laws.[13][14][15] It would also prohibit company-sponsored captive audience meetings used to counteract and discourage attempts at labor organization as an unfair labor practice.[16][17] It prevents an employer from holding citizenship status against an employee.[18][10] The bill would allow the National Labor Relations Board to fine employers up to $50,000 for every violation of labor law. It would also allow the NLRB to fine employers up to $100,000 in the case of repeat offenses by an employer.[8] It would bring monetary compensation to employees involved in such cases. The PRO Act would classify some workers who are classified now as "independent contractors", instead as "employees".[11] The bill would amend the National Labor Relations Act to define an employee as follows:

"An individual performing any service shall be considered an employee (except as provided in the previous sentence) and not an independent contractor, unless—

"(A) the individual is free from control and direction in connection with the performance of the service, both under the contract for the performance of service and in fact;

"(B) the service is performed outside the usual course of the business of the employer; and

"(C) the individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or business of the same nature as that involved in the service performed."[8][12]

This definitional amendment would allow for certain workers, such as those working in the gig economy, to attain the right to form a labor union or to bargain collectively.[19][10] This would potentially include those who work for app-based companies such as Uber, DoorDash, or Lyft, and overall could include hundreds of thousands or millions of workers.[2][15] However, this reclassification applies only to collective bargaining. For other considerations, such as wages or benefits, they would still be treated as independent contractors.[20] The PRO Act would alter union election rules.[21] For example, it would allow unions to hold elections through mail ballots or electronic ballots.[16] The bill would allow for workers to sue employers, and would make it easier for employees to join a union.[22]

As of March 8, 2023:

• Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938
• Adamson Act
• Paycheck Fairness Act
• Employee Free Choice Act
• Workplace Democracy Act
• Reward Work Act
• Accountable Capitalism Act
• Labor unions in the United States

• H.R. 2474: Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019 on GovTrack

• S.1306: Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019 on GovTrack

• H.R. 842: Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021 on GovTrack

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Government.