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U.S. House Passes PRO Act


Last Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to approve the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (the “PRO Act”), an ambitious piece of pro-union legislation that Democrats are seeking to move through Congress.

One of the key parts of the PRO Act is it would scrap right to work laws in the approximately 27 states that have these laws in place.  (For those needing a refresher, right to work laws stipulate that workers cannot be forced to join a union as a condition of employment; however unions are still required to represent all employees during the collective bargaining process...including representation those employees that are not union members and do not pay union dues.)  Unions strongly oppose right to work laws and with Democrats now having majority control of the House, the expected vote on this legislation is not necessarily a surprise.

However, for those hoping the PRO Act makes it across the finish line, two things to consider:  1) the legislation will likely falter in the Senate where Republicans hold majority control and 2) there is no indication that President Donald Trump would sign the legislation, even if the Senate somehow managed to pass it.  With that being said, several Democratic Senators running for President, including Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren have voiced their support for the legislation.  Following the caucus last Monday in Iowa, might one of these candidates use their support of the PRO Act (especially now that it has moved over to the Senate for debate and a possible vote) to help boost their appeal to Democratic voters?


For additional information:  https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.natlawreview.com/article/congress-passes-labor-friendly-pro-act%3famp

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