Padilla Cosponsors Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Protect the Rights of American Workers to Organize
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) joined Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and a bipartisan group of Senate and House colleagues in introducing the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), comprehensive labor legislation to protect the rights of workers to stand together and bargain for fairer wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces. The legislation was renamed in honor of former AFL-CIO President Richard L. Trumka.
The American people’s support for unions is surging. According to a 2024 Gallup poll, 70 percent of Americans approve of labor unions — remaining at near record highs. Despite this growing support, billionaire- and special interest-funded attacks on the rights of workers, unions, and labor laws have eroded union density and made it harder for workers to organize. The share of American workers who are union members has fallen from roughly one in three workers in 1956 to a new low of around one in 10 in 2024. The PRO Act restores fairness to the economy by strengthening the federal law that protects the right of workers to join a union and bargain for higher pay, better benefits, and safer workplaces.
The legislation is led by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Representative Bobby Scott (D-Va.-03), alongside Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.-08), House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.-05), and Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.). It is cosponsored by every Democratic Senator.
“As Donald Trump and Elon Musk take a chainsaw to the federal workforce and longstanding labor guardrails, the right to unionize is under attack,” said Senator Padilla. “Every worker deserves access to the protections offered by unions, which help level the playing field and fight against corrupt corporate power grabs by Trump’s billionaire donors. Unions help workers achieve improved working conditions, living wages, and broader benefits. I am committed to ensuring Congress does its part to protect workers and make it easier for them to bargain for fair compensation for their work. That starts with finally passing the PRO Act.”
“Never before in the history of our nation have income and wealth inequality been greater than today. Workers are falling further and further behind. In response, millions of Americans have expressed their desire to join a union,” said Senator Sanders. “However, the billionaire class is fighting with all its might to put down attempts by workers to exercise their constitutional right to unionize. That includes the decision by President Trump to illegally fire National Labor Relations Board Member Gwynne Wilcox and effectively shut down the NLRB. Without a functioning NLRB, corporate bosses can illegally fire unionizing workers, flagrantly violate labor laws and render free and fair union elections near impossible. Supporting the immediate reinstatement of Member Wilcox and the swift passage of the PRO Act would be major steps toward building real worker power. The PRO Act is long overdue and I am proud to be introducing this bill in the Senate.”
“Americans believe in the power of unions and tens of millions of working people would become union members tomorrow if they could. But American labor law is broken, weighted on the side of the bosses and against the workers. In too many workplaces, in too many industries across the country, big corporations and billionaire CEOs still retaliate against us for organizing. They refuse to negotiate our contracts, force us to sit through hours of anti-union propaganda, and engage in illegal union-busting every day. Now they have an unelected, unaccountable, union-buster trying to illegally fire tens of thousands of our fellow workers in federal jobs and an administration rolling back the workplace protections. The PRO Act is long overdue, and the American people agree. We urge elected leaders of both parties to move this critical legislation forward so that all workers have the chance to stand together and build better lives for themselves and their families,” said AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler.
Large corporations and the wealthy continue to reap the rewards of a growing economy while working families and middle-class Americans are left behind. From 1979 to 2023, annual wages for the bottom 90 percent of households increased just 44 percent, while average incomes for the wealthiest 1 percent increased more than 180 percent.
Unions are critical to increasing wages and creating a strong economy that rewards hardworking people. Through the power of collective bargaining, the typical union worker earns 16 percent more than the typical non-union worker.
Specifically, the PRO Act would protect the right to organize and collectively bargain by:
- Bolstering remedies and punishing violations of the rights of workers through authorizing meaningful penalties for employers that violate their rights, strengthening support for workers who suffer retaliation for exercising their rights, and authorizing a private right of action for violation of the rights of workers.
- Strengthening the rights of workers to join together and negotiate for better working conditions by enhancing their right to support secondary boycotts, ensuring unions can collect “fair share” fees, modernizing the union election process, and facilitating initial collective bargaining agreements.
- Restoring fairness to an economy rigged against workers by closing loopholes that allow employers to misclassify their employees as supervisors and independent contractors and increasing transparency in labor-management relations.
Organizations endorsing the PRO Act include the AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Autoworkers (UAW), United Steelworkers (USW), Communications Workers of America (CWA), National Nurses United (NNU), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO (DPE), National Postal Mail Handlers Union (NPMHU), American Federation of Teachers (AFT), International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART), the American Federation of Musicians, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers, Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA), Transport Workers Union (TWU), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), and the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT).
Senator Padilla is a longtime advocate for protecting workers’ rights and fighting for their safety. Padilla recently introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to ensure that truckers are compensated fairly for the hours that they are on the clock, including overtime. Last month, Padilla joined every Democratic senator and a bipartisan group of 213 Representatives in urging President Trump to immediately reinstate National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Member Gwynne Wilcox and restore the NLRB’s ability to protect the rights of American workers to organize and collectively bargain. In 2023, Padilla announced the Asunción Valdivia Heat, Illness, Injury and Fatality Prevention Act to protect the safety and health of workers who are exposed to dangerous heat conditions in the workplace. He also cosponsored a pair of bills to hold companies who engage in union busting activities accountable and to protect striking workers’ access to health care. Additionally, he introduced the Fairness for Farm Workers Act, legislation to update the nation’s labor laws to ensure farm workers receive fairer wages and compensation. Padilla previously cosponsored the Nationwide Right to Unionize Act, legislation that would support the right to unionize by prohibiting states from banning union security agreements through “right-to-work” laws.
A one-pager on the bill is available here. A section-by-section summary of the bill is available here.
Full text of the bill is available here.
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