The AFL-CIO is bringing pressure to bear on Arizona’s senators to support the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. Huffington Post reports, Organized Labor Puts Heat On Democratic Holdouts To Support PRO Act:
The AFL-CIO labor federation says it’s spending seven figures on television and radio ads aimed at bolstering Senate support for the PRO Act, which would make it easier for workers to join unions. The ads will run in Arizona, Virginia and West Virginia ― states with moderate Democratic senators whose support, or lack of it, could determine the bill’s fate.
All members of the Senate’s Democratic caucus have co-sponsored the bill except for Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Mark Warner of Virginia. Even Sen. Joe Manchin for chrissakes!
The AFL-CIO is also targeting Alaska with the advertising. Alaska has high union membership relative to other states, and the federation may see a possible co-sponsor in moderate Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski.
Here’s the ad that’s running in Arizona:
The theme of the ad campaign is “getting a return on your hard work shouldn’t be this hard.” John Weber, an AFL-CIO spokesperson, said that in addition to local TV advertising, the federation will be running digital ads across the country urging people to call their senators.
“We’re taking nothing for granted,” Weber said in an email. “The PRO Act is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to give working people a stronger voice on the job.”
The PRO Act would make for the most dramatic overhaul of U.S. labor law in more than 70 years. The bill would ramp up penalties against employers that illegally break unions; make it harder for employers to bog down organizing campaigns through litigation; overturn “right-to-work” laws that weaken unions; and make it easier for workers to secure their first union contracts, among other significant changes.
The snowballing support behind the PRO Act has created a lot of excitement in labor circles, although the path for passage remains extremely narrow. The bill has already passed the House this year, but Democrats hold a bare 50-50 majority in the Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris casting the tie-breaking vote.
To pass their version, Senate Democrats would need to get every member of the caucus on board, then either dispense with the legislative filibuster or find a way to make the proposal work under reconciliation rules [not an option].
Much of the advocacy behind the PRO Act has been driven by the AFL-CIO and one of its member unions, the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades. IUPAT and other backers of the law have called for Democrats to end the filibuster to make its passage more possible.
Union density in the U.S. has fallen dramatically in recent decades, with only around 1 in 10 workers now belonging to a union. That’s about half of what the rate was in 1983 when the federal government first started tracking.
Labor groups and academics have complained for years that the playing field is tilted to the advantage of employers, who now aggressively beat back organizing drives with anti-union campaigns. PRO Act backers are citing the recent failed unionization effort at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama, where the retail giant hired “union avoidance” consultants, as a prime example of why labor laws should be reformed.
As I previously posted, Do Arizona’s Senators Support The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act? (excerpt):
Please tell me that our Arizona senators are not intimidated by that pseudo-intellectual political hack, Robert Robb, the former flak for the anti-union Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the “Kochtopus” Goldwater Institute, and currently the resident GQP apologist at The Arizona Republiceditorial pages.
Here is a sampling of the attempted intimidation of our senators he has been writing about the PRO Act on behalf of his former employers in the pages of The Republic. Will Sinema, Kelly vote to ax parts of AZ constitution?; and Sinema and Kelly are caught in a vise over union bill.
Robert Robb is the turd in the punchbowl at The Arizona Republic. People with long memories will remember that Arizona Republic Journalists Overwhelmingly Voted to Unionize (2019):
Editorial employees at the Arizona Republic voted to unionize on Thursday.
The vote in favor of representation by the NewsGuild-CWA (Communications Workers of America) comes as the Republic’s parent company, Gannett, finalizes a merger with GateHouse Media.
About 64 employees voted for unionization while 30 voted no, according to a preliminary tally. A total of 101 employees were eligible to vote.
About 30 employees were present as a representative from the National Labor Relations Board counted votes by hand, sources said. Executive editor Greg Burton, who sent multiple department-wide emails opposing the union, was also present.
* * *
The election follows a tense month at the Phoenix-based newspaper, where the organization’s parent company, Gannett, has mounted an aggressive anti-union campaign.
Republic employees began organizing in January, following a round of corporate layoffs that claimed the job of Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Steve Benson. The campaign intensified in August after Gannett announced the proposed merger with GateHouse.
Voting took place in the editorial board room of the Republic‘s downtown office from noon to 2 p.m. and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
The election caps off a tense month at the Phoenix-based newspaper.
After employees went public with their union drive, Gannett mounted an aggressive anti-union campaign that at its most dramatic moments made national headlines.
* * *
Republic executive editor Greg Burton made headlines then after sending a department-wide email likening organizers to murderers and child molesters. Burton accused union supporters of conducting “surveillance” on their colleagues.
Union supporters claimed the alleged surveillance referred to organizers keeping track of their co-workers’ support for their efforts, which is standard in union organizing.
Days later, a Gannett human resources employee confiscated the work phone of veteran reporter Sanders, one of the Republic‘s most vocal union supporters as part of an investigation into the alleged surveillance, an accusation Sanders vehemently denied. Sanders got her phone back the next day.
Burton’s email and the confiscation of Sanders’ phone received national attention and galvanized public support for the union drive.
Gannett and The Republic are anti-union ownership and management, but the employees are unionized. A relevant fact in considering some of the crap you read in the editorial pages.
Contact your senators and tell them you support the PRO Act. America’s middle class was built after World War II when America had strong unions with lots of union employees in good paying jobs. Republicans have been trying to destroy unions and unravel America’s middle class ever since. They have always been opposed to the rights of workers.