The Democratic majority in the House of Representatives passed the most far-reaching reform of U.S. labor laws since the 1930’s: The Protecting the Right to Organize Act (the “PRO Act”) (HR 2474). In what is clearly designed as a “template” for what a Democratic Administration would enact, the PRO Act includes provisions intended to assist unions in organizing, winning, and securing a labor agreement.

The main provisions of the PRO Act would:

• Allow “card-check” certifications in which unions need only collect signatures from a majority of workers to form a unit and bypass the current secret-ballot process;
• Curtail employers’ power to dissuade workers from forming unions;
• Subject businesses to fines if they suppress worker organizing;
• Allow “secondary” boycotts, in which workers disrupt their employer’s operations by interfering with suppliers, clients, and other related firms;
• Outlaw “right-to-work” laws, which let union-represented workers withhold dues, in 27 states (Passed on 2/6/20);
• Prohibiting lockouts; and
• Allow workers to circumvent the NLRB and go to federal courts to adjudicate labor disputes.

This controversial Bill split the normally partisan House, with members of both parties voting for and against it. The Bill has little chance of passing the Senate and the President has already announced he would veto the Bill should it make it to his desk.