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This bill — the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2019 — would strengthen protections for workers’ right to organize a union and collectively bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer working conditions. It would also bolster remedies for and punishing violations of workers’ rights, such as through the misclassification of workers as independent contractors.

The bill would authorize the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to:

Assess monetary penalties for each violation in which a worker is wrongfully terminated or suffers economic harm;
Immediately seek an injunction to reinstate employees who are wrongfully terminated when they exercise their rights;
Allow workers to seek justice in the courts, rather than solely through the NLRB General Counsel, to enforce their NLRA rights; and
Prohibit employers from requiring workers to attend meetings designed to persuade them against unionizing.

This bill would seek to enhance workers’ right to strike for higher wages and better working conditions by:

Removing prohibitions on workers acting in solidarity with workers at other companies, protect workers who engage in peaceful protest actions with their fellow workers, and prohibit companies from permanently replacing workers who participate in a strike;
Overturning the Supreme Court’s decision in Epic Systems v. Lewis by clarifying that employers can’t force employees to waive their rights to engage in collective or class-action litigation;
Allowing employers and unions to enter into contracts allowing unions to collect fair-share fees that cover the costs of collective bargaining and administering the agreement; and
Requiring mediation and arbitration to settle disputes between companies and newly certified unions.

Employers would be prohibited from misclassifying their employees as supervisors or independent contractors and prevent workers from being denied remedies due to their immigration status. It would ensure that employees have the right to collectively bargain with all of the companies that control the terms of their employment and which are necessary partners for meaningful collective bargaining. This bill would also require employers to post notices informing workers of their rights under the NLRA and to disclose contracts with consultants hired to persuade employees on how to exercise their rights.

","official_title":"To amend the National Labor Relations Act, the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, and for other purposes.","short_title":"Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019","popular_title":null,"short_summary":"Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019 This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act and related labor laws to extend protections to union workers. Specifically, it revises the definition of "employee" and "supervisor" to prevent employers from classifying employees as exempt from labor law protections, expands unfair labor practices to include prohibitions against replacement of or discrimination against workers who participate in strikes, makes it an unfair labor practice to re...","summarized":true,"cost":null,"cost_commentary":"A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.","impact":"Workers; labor unions; employers; right-to-work laws; National Labor Relations Board (NLRB); and Epic Systems v. Lewis.","argument_for":"Although Americans are becoming increasingly interested in and supportive of labor unions, union membership is at its lowest point ever. This is due to the lack of laws supporting labor unions and the proliferation of right-to-work laws. By strengthening labor unions, this bill will protect workers and raise workers’ wages.","argument_against":"This bill would force workers to join unions regardless of whether they want to do so and hurt opportunities for people working as independent contractors. 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Make your voice heard about the issues you care about. ","page_title":"Business Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/business/black_business-1429042053.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/business/grey_business-1429042053.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/business/white_business-1429042053.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false},{"id":"unions","name":"Unions","slug":"unions","description":"Vote on the latest federal legislation regarding Unions. Make your voice heard about the issues you care about.\r\n","page_title":"Unions Legislation - Vote on Bills, Stay informed, Hold Your Reps Accountable","icons":{"black":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/unions/black_unions-1429042063.svg","grey":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/unions/grey_unions-1429042063.svg","white":"https://assets.causes.com/issue/icon/unions/white_unions-1429042063.svg"},"cover_image_url":null,"is_following":false}],"users":[{"name":"David","vote_count":192,"photos":{"large":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png","small":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png","tiny":"https://assets.causes.com/user/avatar/default-with-hat.png"},"links":{"following":"/api/users/emQ2wrl9/following","followers":"/api/users/emQ2wrl9/followers"},"about_me":null,"twitter_id":null,"facebook_id":null,"youtube_id":null,"google_plus_id":null,"website":null,"slug":null,"issue_count":0,"is_following":null,"influence_score":10,"influence_level":10,"follower_count":0,"following_count":0,"position_count":139,"id":"emQ2wrl9","partner_id":null}],"bill_position":{"flagged":false,"id":"cd30a4b6-a40e-4ad6-8d00-e5998f3182ca","argument_for":null,"argument_against":"The world keeps changing. We need to invent with new classifications that fit the new world rather than holding things back. Of course we want to protect workers because - believe it or not the more money they make the faster the economy grows. But we have a modern day solution.","show_argument_for":false,"show_argument_against":true,"upvote_count":0,"upvotes_for_count":null,"upvotes_against_count":0,"has_upvoted":false,"endorsement_count":0,"links":{"self":"https://www.causes.com/positions/cd30a4b6-a40e-4ad6-8d00-e5998f3182ca"},"body":"The world keeps changing. We need to invent with new classifications that fit the new world rather than holding things back. Of course we want to protect workers because - believe it or not the more money they make the faster the economy grows. 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Increasing Penalties for Misclassification of Employees as Contractors & Strengthening Workers' Right to Strike