U.S. House, Senate Lawmakers Reintroduce PRO Act

Last week, lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate introduced H.R. 20/S. 567, the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023, which is the latest iteration of Democrats’ efforts to amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and other labor statutes.

Prior versions of the proposed legislation were approved by the House in 2020 and 2021, but stalled in the Senate.

According to the fact sheet released by the bill’s sponsors, among other things, the PRO Act would, among other things:

• Authorize the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to immediately seek an injunction to reinstate employees terminated in retaliation of participating in organizing activity and to enforce its own rulings;
• Preclude an employer from permanently replacing an employee who participates in a strike;
• Authorize employers and unions to enter an agreement that allows unions to collect dues from the workers they represent;
• Allow workers to pursue their unfair labor cases in court even if the NLRB’s General Counsel declines to prosecute the case; and
• Authorize the NLRB to assess monetary penalties for violations of the NLRA and impose personal liability on corporate officers who have been found to have participated in violations of workers’ rights or have knowledge of and fail to prevent the violations.

The metals and broader manufacturing industry have opposed previous versions of this bill since it would infringe on the rights of workers, threaten essential businesses, and create adversarial relationships between employers and employees.