House Passes Landmark Legislation Championed by Bonamici to Protect Workers' Right to Organize

Press Release

Today the House passed major legislation to strengthen workers' rights. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Chair of the Education and Labor Committee's Civil Rights and Human Services Subcommittee, co-sponsored the legislation and spoke in favor of it on the House floor.

The bipartisan Protecting the Right to Organize Act (H.R. 2474) will help workers by establishing substantive and enforceable penalties for unlawful tactics employers take to discourage workers from organizing a union. The legislation closes loopholes in labor law that allow workers to be misclassified, provides them with the protections of the National Labor Relations Act, and prohibits employers from interfering in union elections.

Video of Bonamici speaking in support of the bill can be viewed here.

"In Northwest Oregon and across the country, the labor movement has helped fight income inequality, raise wages, improve working conditions, and expand benefits," Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici said on the House floor. "More workers would join a union if given the choice, but many fear retaliation for supporting or engaging in organizing efforts. Under current law, tactics to intimidate, coerce, or fire workers involved in union organizing are illegal, but the penalties aren't strong enough to effectively deter employers.

"We should be making it easier, not harder, for workers to form unions and collectively bargain. I am an original cosponsor of Chairman Scott's Protecting the Right to Organize Act. Under this bill, employers who break the rules will finally be held accountable. Today, by supporting the bipartisan PRO Act, we can support workers, restore fairness, and help to make sure our economy works for everyone."

The PRO Act has been supported by numerous groups, including: AFL-CIO, SEIU, Communication Workers of America, United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, United Steelworkers, UAW, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, National Nurses United, AFT, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, BlueGreen Alliance, Economic Policy Institute, National Employment Law Project, NAACP, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, LULAC, League of Conservation Voters, Natural Resources Defense Council, National Wildlife Federation, Friends of the Earth, Sierra Club, Toxics Action Center, IUPAT, Coalition of Labor Union Women, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Taskforce on Tradeswomen Issues, and National Women's Law Center.

As Chair of the Civil Rights and Human Services Subcommittee, Bonamici has been a leader for workers' rights in Congress. Earlier this year she helped pass the bipartisan Protecting Older Workers Against Discrimination Act in the House and advanced the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act in the Education and Labor Committee. She has also advocated for better protections for tipped workers, preventing workplace violence against health care workers, and an end to forced arbitration clauses that harm workers. In 2019, she helped lead the House in passing legislation to increase the federal minimum wage, and address the equal pay gap.

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