Those of you following my Twitter know how crucial I think the #PROAct is for the future of America's working class, so you can imagine how excited I am that the House passed it yesterday! To celebrate, here's a thread explaining why the bill's so key for workers in Gif form
The key underlying point is that the #PROAct gives workers more power on the job and control over our own destiny.
The #PROAct bans intimidating, undemocratic, mandatory "captive audience" meetings that companies use to terrify workers and scare folks away from organizing
The #PROAct codifies Obama-era NLRB election rules to make sure that companies can't drag a union certification election on for months to use divide-and-conquer tactics and break worker solidarity
When a company hires an outside anti-union consultant to help the company persuade workers not to organize (a hundreds of millions of $$$/year industry), it increases disclosure of those payments and activities so that workers can hold them accountable
The #PROAct also rejects efforts by companies to misclassify workers as supervisors or independent contractors and therefore block them from having any right to organize
In addition, the #PROAct ensures that companies can't dodge accountability for violating the rights of workers by hiring a middle-man to hire workers, yet still controlling the terms and conditions of workers' employment
The #PROAct also establishes strong penalties against companies that illegally fire or retaliate against workers for exercising their right to organize
The #PROAct requires the NLRB to seek an injunction if there's reason to believe that a company wrongfully fired a worker, so that the worker doesn't have to wait for the whole court process to play out for years before getting relief.
Once workers decide to join together in a union and vote to organize, the #PROAct prevents companies from stalling and sets up an arbitration process as a backstop to make sure that workers can get a first contract in a timely way
The #PROAct codifies the "Purple Communications" decision made under the Obama-era NLRB to protect workers' ability to use their work e-mail for collective action without facing penalties
The #PROAct extends solidarity and levels the playing field by ensuring that companies are not allowed to illegally fire or discipline undocumented workers who organize and face no penalty at all, as is currently the case under the terrible SCOTUS "Hoffman Plastics" decision
For workers left with no choice but to go on strike to defend their jobs and working conditions, the #PROAct bans permanent replacement of strikers, so workers know the company won't be able to target organizers and eliminate their jobs
Plus, the #PROAct makes it easier for workers to have each other's backs if one group of workers is forced to go on strike by allowing secondary strikes and boycotts, so that workers can more easily stand up for each other and prevent companies from pitting us against each other
The #PROAct allows workers and companies to negotiate contracts that include "fair share" fees, so that all workers covered by a contract pay their fair share. This slows so-called "right-to-work" laws formed to divide black workers from white workers acslaw.org/expertforum/va…
Trump, the most anti-worker president in decades, threatened to veto the #PROAct.
7 House Democrats sided with corporations over workers and voted to block the crucial reforms in the #PROAct:
@RepCuellar, @RepCunningham, @RepKendraHorn, @RepBenMcAdams, @RepLucyMcBath, @RepStephMurphy, @RepSchrader
@RepCuellar, @RepCunningham, @RepKendraHorn, @RepBenMcAdams, @RepLucyMcBath, @RepStephMurphy, @RepSchrader
Luckily, 5 House Republicans did the right thing and voted to have workers' backs by supporting the #PROAct: @RepBrianFitz, @RepJohnKatko, @RepChrisSmith, @CongressmanJVD, @repdonyoung
Mitch McConnell of course won't allow the Senate to take up the #PROAct (just like he and Susan Collins, Joni Ernst, Cory Gardner, Martha McSally, David Perdue, Thom Tillis and the whole crew have done with bills to raise the minimum wage, lower prescription drug costs, etc.)
Now, some hard work starts. We need a pro-worker House, a pro-worker Senate, and a pro-worker President next year so that we can get the #PROAct enacted and it'll really be time to party!
