Access to Safe Contraception Act of 2022

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his leadership.

Madam Speaker, I rise enthusiastically to support the PRO Act and its protection against executives and companies who violate workers' rights, its support for collective bargaining, and also its access to fair elections with unions.

I rise to support my amendment, number 9. The Jackson Lee amendment is direct. The amendment explicitly extends whistleblower protections to employees, both employers, and unions, under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. I am grateful to the unions and to the committee for working with this very important amendment.

It extends whistleblower protection to all employees of employers or of unions to encourage and empower them to come forward and make known that something is wrong.

Ms. Lawson, who was in a fight for $15, worked for a fast food industry. She was sexually harassed. She needs that kind of protection. So this amendment is very strong and adds to this very strong initiative.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of Jackson Lee Amendment No. 9 included in the Chairman's En Bloc Amendment to H.R. 842, the ``Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021,'' or ``PRO Act,'' which protects the basic right to join a union by (1) empowering workers to exercise their right to organize; (2) holding employers accountable for violating workers' rights; and (3) securing free, fair, and safe union elections.

The LMRDA of 1959 protects union members through a ``bill of rights'' for union members, requires extensive reporting of union finances, and mandates transparency of arrangements between employers and anti-labor consultants.

I am pleased that the PRO Act includes reforms to the LMRDA that clarify that employers must disclose arrangements with consultants on indirectly persuading employees on how to exercise their labor rights.

Examples of indirect persuasion include planning employee meetings, training employer representatives, and identifying employees for disciplinary action or targeting.

The Jackson Lee Amendment No. 9 makes a simple common-sense improvement to the bill.

The identical version of this amendment was made in order by the Rules Committee in the 116th Congress and adopted by the House on February 6, 2020, by a roll call vote of 404-18.

Specifically, the amendment explicitly extends whistleblower protections to employees of both employers and unions under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.

This is a fair and balanced amendment.

Supreme Court decisions like Janus v. AFSCME, 585 U.S.__138 S. Ct. 2448, 201 L. Ed. 2d 924 (2018), and many others, have severely weakened the ability for unions to be able to organize and bargain collectively, or to discharge an essential mediating function upon which a vibrant democracy depends.

The PRO Act protects the workers who are trying to organize.

But the Jackson Lee Amendment No. 9 extends whistleblower protections to all employees, of employers or of unions, to encourage and empower them to come forward and make known something wrong or unlawful that they have learned or observed.

Let me give you an example.

Last year, I met Kimberly Lawson, who is part of the Fight for $15.

She also came to see me to advise me of the problems she has had with sexual harassment on her job in the fast-food industry.

She told me, on the record, that if we could pass the PRO Act, she would not be alone trying to raise our hourly wage or face sexual harassment without a union to help her.

Madam Speaker, this whistleblower protection is important because it gives workers like Ms. Lawson the ability to be able to report what is happening to them without losing or jeopardizing their jobs and the ability, like Ms. Lawson, to support her children on the income of a single mother.

Our economy needs a strong middle class, and unions are essential to rebuilding America's middle class and improving the lives of workers and their families.

When workers have the power to stand together and form a union, they have higher wages, better benefits, and safer working conditions.

Protecting workers' rights to organize will help rebuild the middle class and improve the quality of life for workers and their families.

Unions are essential to rebuilding America's middle class and improving the lives of workers and their families because they deliver higher wages, better benefits, and safer working conditions.

Unions deliver bigger paychecks for both union and nonunion workers.

Over the last eight decades, unions have consistently provided workers with a 10- to 20-percent higher wage.

The benefits of union membership are so strong that even the children of union workers enjoy greater economic mobility.

When union density is high, even nonunion workers receive higher wages.

Unions provide workers with a voice on the job to bargain for better wages and safer working conditions.

While the entire economy has suffered from massive job loss during the pandemic, union workers suffered fewer job losses because they were able to bargain with employers on how to respond to the pandemic.

Unions deliver greater access to affordable health care and a more secure retirement.

Private sector workers covered by a union contract are 27 percent more likely to be offered health insurance through their employer.

More than 9 in 10 unionized private sector workers have access to a retirement plan, compared to just 65 percent of nonunion workers.

Unions narrow both the racial wealth gap and the gender pay gap.

About two-thirds (65 percent) of workers age 18 to 64 who are covered by a union contract are women and/or people of color.

Union members of color have almost five times the median wealth of their nonunion counterparts.

Unions are one of the most effective solutions for closing the gender pay gap.

I urge all members to join me in supporting Jackson Lee Amendment No. 9 by voting for the En Bloc Amendment to H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, of 2021.

I want to remind us that, in the early 1900s, women worked in factories where they died. They simply died because there were no provisions, no protections; and they died with drastic fires and other devastating actions.

Madam Speaker, I ask support of this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter of support for the Jackson Lee amendment from the Government Accountability Project. It reads that they think that this is an especially important initiative to be added. I ask that in support.

Government Accountability Project,

Washington, DC, March 8, 2021.

Hon. Sheila Jackson Lee,

Member of Congress, House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Lee: Thank you for your leadership

through legislation to add whistleblower protection rights to

the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959.

That law strives for union accountability to its members and

in management relations. Your bill reflects best practice

rights that Congress has passed 16 times since 2005 in laws

throughout the private sector. However, the reality is that

not only employers abuse power and undermine worker rights.

This legislation protects those who seek accountability

within and by organizations whose mission is to protect

employees.

As summarized below, your legislation would honor best

practices by--

prohibiting retaliation against applicants, employees or

former employees who are perceived as disclosing or assisting

to disclose violations of the Act's provisions;

protecting both front line and management employees from

retaliation;

extending identical protection to those who refuse to obey

orders to violate the law;

providing an administrative remedy at the U.S. Department

of Labor, with the right to a jury trial in federal court if

there is not a timely decision;

governing enforcement with realistic Whistleblower

Protection Act legal burdens of proof; and

so employees do not lose by winning, providing ``make

whole'' remedies for those who prevail, including cancelation

of all career damage, compensatory damages and costs

including attorney fees.

Unless there are loopholes in the political mandate for

accountability, this legislation should not be controversial.

It merely applies almost identical legal rights in the labor-

management context that Congress has enacted since 2005 for

financial, food safety, consumer protection, energy, medical

insurance and transportation whistleblowers. Thank you for

your leadership. Please consider Government Accountability

Project on call for further assistance.

Sincerely,

Tom Devine,

Legal Director.

Madam Speaker, I ask support of the Jackson Lee amendment in the en bloc amendment No. 1.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 842, the ``Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021, or ``PRO Act,'' which protects the basic right to join a union by (1) empowering workers to exercise their right to organize; (2) holding employers accountable for violating workers' rights; and (3) securing free, fair, and safe union elections.

Our economy needs a strong middle class, and unions are essential to rebuilding America's middle class and improving the lives of workers and their families.

The erosion of America's middle-class is a direct result of decades- long assault on workers' rights, funded by wealthy special interests.

When workers have the power to stand together and form a union, they have higher wages, better benefits, and safer working conditions.

Workers seeking to organize a union frequently face a surge of intimidation and retaliation from wealthy special interests.

After decades of anti-worker attacks, union membership is at historic lows and inequality is at historic highs.

It is imperative that we begin to recognize that the American people support unions--over 64 percent of Americans and millennials appreciate the idea of having representation for better quality of life and work.

When workers have the power to stand together and form a union, they have higher wages, better benefits, and safer working conditions.

Protecting workers' rights to organize will help rebuild the middle class and improve the quality of life for workers and their families.

Unions are essential to rebuilding America's middle class and improving the lives of workers and their families because they deliver higher wages, better benefits, and safer working conditions.

Workers with strong unions have been able to set industry standards for wages and benefits that help all workers, both union and nonunion.

Over the last eight decades, unions have consistently provided workers with a 10- to 20-percent higher wage.

The benefits of union membership are so strong that even the children of union workers enjoy greater economic mobility.

Unions provide workers with a voice on the job to bargain for better wages and safer working conditions, and never has it been more important that all workers have a voice in the workplace and access to a union.

While the majority of workers who are currently working onsite at their workplaces believe they face considerable risk of COVID-19 infection, Black and Hispanic workers are more likely to fear risks from work than are White workers.

In fact, Black workers make up one in six of all front-line industry workers, putting them and their family members at greater risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19.

Without unions, many workers are forced to work without personal protective equipment or access to paid leave or premium pay.

When nonunion workers have advocated for health and safety protections or wage increases, they have often been retaliated against or even fired for doing so.

Workers' lives and the health and safety of working families depends on their ability to have a say in how they do their jobs.

While the entire economy has suffered from massive job loss during the pandemic, union workers suffered fewer job losses because they were able to bargain with employers on how to respond to the pandemic.

Unions deliver greater access to affordable health care and a more secure retirement.

Private sector workers covered by a union contract are 27 percent more likely to be offered health insurance through their employer.

More than 9 in 10 unionized private sector workers have access to a retirement plan, compared to just 65 percent of nonunion workers

Unions narrow both the racial wealth gap and the gender pay gap.

The right to a union and collective bargaining is also directly relevant to our urgent national conversation around racial inequality in its various forms, including economic disparities by race.

Unions and collective bargaining help shrink the Black-White wage gap, and this means that the decline of unionization has played a significant role in the expansion of the Black-White wage gap over the last four decades, and that an increase in unionization could help reverse those trends.

About two-thirds (65 percent) of workers age 18 to 64 who are covered by a union contract are women and/or people of color.

Union members of color have almost five times the median wealth of their nonunion counterparts.

Unions are one of the most effective solutions for closing the gender pay gap.

Madam Speaker, here are 36 reasons why Americans should be thankful for unions and remain committed to ensuring there will always be a strong organized labor movement in the United States:

1. Weekends

2. All breaks at work, including your lunch breaks

3. Paid vacation

4. FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act)

5. Sick leave

6. Social security

7. Minimum wage

8. Civil Rights Act Title VII (prohibits Employer Discrimination)

9. 8-Hour workday

10. Overtime pay

11. Child labor laws

12. Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA)

13. 40 Hour Work Week

14. Worker's Compensation (Worker's Camp)

15. Unemployment Insurance

16. Pensions

17. Workplace Safety Standards and Regulations

18. Employer Health Care Insurance

19. Collective Bargaining Rights for Employees

20. Wrongful Termination Laws

21. Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967

22. Whistleblower Protection Laws

23. Employee Polygraph Protect Act (Prohibits Employer from using a lie detector test on an employee)

24. Veteran's Employment and Training Services (VETS)

25. Compensation increases and Evaluations (Raises)

26. Sexual Harassment laws

27. Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

28. Holiday Pay

29. Employer Dental, Life, and Vision Insurance

30. Privacy Rights

31. Pregnancy and Parental Leave

32. Military Leave

33. The Right to Strike

34. Public Education for Children

35. Equal Pay Acts of 1963 & 2011 (Requires employers pay men and women equally for the same amount of work)

36. Laws Ending Sweatshops in the United States

I urge all members to join me in supporting H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, of 2021.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 188, I call up the bill (H.R. 842) to amend the National Labor Relations Act, the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021, or the PRO Act.

The American economy needs a strong middle class. Labor unions play an essential role in rebuilding our middle class and improving the lives of workers and their families. There is clear evidence that workers who organize a union have higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces.

Regrettably, union membership has dropped over the last 50 years from nearly one-third of all workers in the mid-20th century to just over 10 percent of workers today. The decline of unions and workers' bargaining power are major reasons why income inequality has soared and wages have stagnated for hardworking people.

But this decline in union membership is not a product of workers' choices. A recent survey by MIT found that nearly half of nonunion workers say that they would vote to join a union if given the opportunity.

The gap between worker preferences and union membership is the result of an 85-year-old labor law that lacks the teeth to enforce workers' rights when employers unlawfully retaliate against them for organizing. The National Labor Relations Act, the NLRA, is far too weak to defend workers against intensifying antiunion attacks from special interests.

That is why we must pass the PRO Act. The legislation strengthens workers' rights by making significant upgrades in the NLRA since it was enacted 85 years ago.

First, the PRO Act provides new tools to protect workers from antiunion intimidation and retaliation. It then introduces meaningful penalties for companies that violate workers' rights and closes loopholes they use to exploit workers.

Finally, the PRO Act strengthens safeguards to ensure that workers can hold free, fair, and safe union elections.

Mr. Speaker, it is time for Congress to stand up for workers and ensure that they can exercise their right to join together and negotiate for higher wages, better benefits, and a safe workplace. I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici), the chair of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Human Services.

Mr. Speaker, during the last Congress we held three hearings and considered 35 amendments.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan), who is a member of the Committee on Education and Labor and the co-chair of the new Labor Caucus.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal) who is a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor and is the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin), a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. Speaker, could you advise how much time is available on each side?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Mrvan), a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Omar), a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), a member of the Committee on Education and Labor and chair of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Wild), a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Espaillat), a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Bowman), the vice chair of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman's amendment was made in order, so we will be considering it.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Adams), the chair of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jones), a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Mr. Speaker, reference was made to union officials at the UAW. They were caught and prosecuted under present law. The Trump administration that prosecuted them did not make any recommendations for changes in the law.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms. Titus).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Mrs. Trahan).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell), the co-chair of the Labor Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Garcia).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Ryan).

Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining on each side?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. DeSaulnier), the chair of the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions of the Education and Labor Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Norcross), a distinguished member of the Committee on Education and Labor.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).

Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, each of us can agree that hard work in this country should pay off. Yet, for far too long, we have allowed wealthy special interests to pad the profit margins by stripping workers of their rights.

Madam Speaker, we often voice our support for workers. Today, we have the opportunity to match our words with action by taking a historic step to ensure that they can stand together and negotiate for higher pay, better benefits, and safer workplaces.

I want to recognize all the workers and advocates, especially my colleagues on the Committee on Education and Labor, for their leadership on this legislation.

There is an extensive legislative history underpinning this bill, including three hearings and a markup in the 116th Congress. The views of the committee are outlined in the committee report from the last Congress.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a Statement of Administration Policy in support of the PRO Act and a statement by President Biden on the House taking up the PRO Act.

Statement of Administration Policy

H.R. 842--Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021--Rep. Scott, D-

VA, and 212 cosponsors

The Administration strongly supports House passage of H.R.

842, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2021,

which would strengthen the Federal laws that protect workers'

right to organize a union and collectively bargain for better

wages, benefits, and working conditions.

America was not built by Wall Street. It was built by the

middle class, and unions built the middle class. Unions put

power in the hands of workers. They give workers a stronger

voice to increase wages, improve the quality of jobs and

protect job security, protect against racial and all other

forms of discrimination and sexual harassment, and protect

workers' health, safety, and benefits in the workplace.

Unions lift up workers, both union and non-union.

The policy of the United States Government, stated clearly

in the National Labor Relations Act, is to encourage union

organizing and collective bargaining. However, due to anti-

union efforts by many employers for decades, lax enforcement

of existing labor laws, and the failure to restore and

strengthen labor laws to address the real-world of labor-

management relations, only 6.3% percent of private-sector

U.S. wage and salary workers were union members in 2020.

H.R. 842 would strengthen and protect workers' right to

form a union by allowing the National Labor Relations Board

(NLRB) to assess penalties on employers who violate workers'

right to organize and ensuring that workers who suffer

retaliation for exercising these rights receive immediate

relief.

The PRO Act also defends workers' right to strike--a

fundamental economic right--and to engage in boycotts and

other acts of solidarity with workers at other companies

without penalty. It clarifies that employers may not force

employees to waive their rights to join together in

collective or class action litigation. The bill also closes

loopholes in Federal labor law by barring employers from

misclassifying workers as independent contractors and

preventing workers from being denied remedies due to their

immigration status. It establishes an expansive joint

employer standard, allowing workers to collectively bargain

with all the companies that control the terms and conditions

of their employment. The bill allows unions to collect fair-

share fees to cover the cost of collective bargaining and

administering a union contract for all workers who are

protected by the contract's terms. H.R. 842 restores workers'

access to fair union elections and ensures the results are

respected.

The Administration strongly encourages the House to pass

H.R. 842, and looks forward to working with the Congress to

enact this critical legislation that safeguards workers'

rights to organize and bargain collectively. The PRO Act will

strengthen our democracy and advance dignity in the

workplace.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 188, I rise to offer amendments en bloc No 1.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Murphy).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Newman).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Ms. Bourdeaux).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin), a member of the committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Torres).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, these amendments will provide whistle-blower protection for workers, expose violations of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, require the Department of Labor to make employment arrangements and payments to union avoidance firms available and more accessible, clarify that nothing in the bill would expand the National Labor Relations Board's jurisdictional standards, direct the NLRB to establish a system of electronic voting in representation elections, clarify that nothing in the bill will be construed to amend the definition of employer or employee in any provisions of State law, direct the GAO to produce a study of the use of sectoral bargaining in peer nations, require that workers are informed of their rights under the bill in a language that they actually speak, direct the GAO to produce a study of the impact of the PRO Act's changes to the definitions of employee and employer, adds a 120-day timeline for the arbitration process when workers and employers are unable to reach a first bargaining agreement, and confirms that the bill will not affect existing provisions for worker privacy.

These amendments make meaningful improvements to the bill.

Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on en bloc 1, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 188, I rise to offer amendments en bloc No. 2.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.

Madam Speaker, we have heard a lot about complaints about the dues but what we don't hear are complaints about the higher salaries, safer workplaces, and better benefits that are accrued by virtue of investments from the unions. They enjoy those benefits, so it is not unreasonable to expect people to pay a fair share of those costs.

Now, fair share does not include the political activities, does not include the annual holiday parties, but those services that the union is obligated by law to provide, negotiating salaries, negotiating a safe workplace, individualized representation when necessary, whatever they do for union members they have to do for nonunion members, a fair share of those expenses is not unreasonable.

Madam Speaker, I hope that we would defeat these amendments that would undermine that idea, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Pocan.)

Madam Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.

Madam Speaker, over 500 attorneys, including 244 Members of the American Bar Association, submitted a letter in support of the persuader rule. It does not require the disclosure of legal representation but only of persuader activities.

Employers hire union avoidance persuaders to consult with them, according to the Department of Labor in 2016, and between 71 and 87 percent of union elections persuaders produce antiunion literature and materials, write speeches and statements, and identify prounion employees for discipline or reward. The employees often do not know that their employer has retained such consultants in its campaign against the union. It is one of the things that they ought to have to disclose.

So, Madam Speaker, I hope that we will defeat this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, as a group, these amendments would erode workers' rights, slow down elections, allow workers to freeload, or even prohibit employers from agreeing not to interfere with the election. I would hope that we would defeat these amendments, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the radical, partisan, and utterly shameful PRO Act.

This unnecessary bill is an assault on American workers, employers, and the economy. Democrats are pushing this sweeping legislation without holding a single committee hearing or markup.

Is this the new standard for the people's House?

It silences the minority and their constituents by denying a thorough examination of yet another extreme and

damaging Democrat legislative scheme. It is disgraceful.

The pro-union bosses' act that Democrats have disingenuously titled the PRO Act is a left-wing wish list of union boss priorities, which undermines the rights of workers by forcing them to pay into a union system, whether or not they want to be represented by a union.

Many workers would not choose to funnel billions of their hard-earned dollars to left-wing groups like Planned Parenthood, the Clinton Foundation, the Progressive Democrats of America.

This misguided bill also stunts economic recovery by hitting employers over the head with an estimated $47 billion in new annual costs. But it is not just employers who will pay the price. This bill will reclassify gig economy workers as employees, costing tens of thousands of workers their jobs and eliminating the flexibility so many rely on to care for their family members; a priority even more critical during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The appalling list of bad policy provisions in this bill goes on, and we will hear more about them during this debate. The bottom line is this, the PRO Act is a sorry excuse for legislation, and the partisan process under which it is being considered is equally embarrassing. I urge all Members to reject the PRO Act.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Mrs. Miller).

Mr. Speaker, the Democrats continue to look backward, 100 years backward. Just before COVID hit, we had the greatest economy in our country ever, the lowest unemployment for women, minorities, everyone, without the PRO Act.

No procapitalist can support this bill. This is part of a socialist agenda.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Murphy).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Fitzgerald).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Cawthorn).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Miller-Meeks).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Harshbarger.)

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Spartz).

Mr. Speaker, we know that hyperbole is the strong suit of Democrats, but how anyone can say that giving freedom to workers to join or not join a union is trampling the rights of workers takes hyperbole to new heights.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer).

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time remains on each side?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Fulcher).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Steel).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Kim).

Mr. Speaker, I am using my inside voice.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Banks).

Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Indiana an additional 15 seconds.

Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, this bill is an effort by Democrats to cave to big labor and special interest groups' demands at the expense of the American workforce and the economy. Once again, Democrats are attempting to ram through radical, partisan legislation.

H.R. 842 is radical, backward-looking legislation, which will diminish the rights of workers and employers while harming the economy and providing a political gift to labor union special interests.

I thank my Republican colleagues for their hard work in fighting for American workers and job creators. I urge all of my colleagues to consider the serious damage that the passage of this bill would do, and I urge a ``no'' vote.

Madam Speaker, I reiterate, just before COVID hit, we had a booming, booming economy without this legislation. This will harm the economy, harm the American workers, and do great injustice to well-meaning employers who risk every day their capital and their energy to create jobs.

Madam Speaker, this bill deserves a ``no'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the Democrat en bloc amendments. My Democrat colleagues are rushing a radical piece of legislation to the House floor without holding a single committee hearing or markup. Rushing sweeping, one-sided legislation to the floor without any prior debate or consideration this year silences Members of the minority. This is an outright assault on the legislative process and serves only to hide the Democrats' socialist agenda.

There are 20 new members on the Education and Labor Committee on both sides of the aisle, not to mention the dozens of new Members of the House, and their constituents deserve to have their elected representatives examine this dangerous bill.

Additionally, the last time the Education and Labor Committee held a hearing on any version of the PRO Act was July 2019. Since that time, a worldwide pandemic has devastated large sectors of the American economy. In light of this fact alone, Congress should hear from affected stakeholders before passing a radical sweeping bill.

Even more concerning than the muzzle imposed by this sham legislative process on the minority party and business owners around the country is the underlying bill's silencing and disenfranchisement of workers. This far-reaching legislation is nothing more than a union boss wish list aimed at rewarding Democrats' big labor allies at the expense of American workers.

Union membership in the United States has been decreasing for over 60 years, and continues to plummet due to the modern economy and unions' own failings. But instead of increasing transparency and accountability to serve their members better, labor union leaders are demanding House Democrats pass the PRO Act to tilt the scales in their favor. Democrats are doing exactly that, no matter the cost.

Madam Speaker, I would like to remind my colleagues that Federal law already protects the right of employees to organize, and Republicans respect that right. But any reforms to U.S. labor laws should help workers flourish in the modern economy. Unfortunately, the extreme bill before us today helps union bosses at the expense of workers.

The slate of Democrat amendments included in this en bloc amendment are ploys disguised as policy intended to provide political cover to the Democrat Members who are uncomfortable voting for the job- destroying underlying bill, and, in many cases, the amendments included make the bill even worse.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this partisan en bloc amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, as the party that claims to champion the working class, Democrats have certainly missed the mark with this bill.

H.R. 842 will force employers to hand over workers' private, personal information to union organizers without workers having any say in the matter or making sure their information will not be shared with others. This would make it even easier for union organizers to target, harass, and intimidate workers.

H.R. 842 also overturns all State right-to-work laws. These 27 State laws allow workers to decide for themselves whether to join a union and pay dues.

If the PRO Act becomes law, workers will be forced to take money from their paychecks and give it to labor unions even if they don't want to be represented by a union. This is astonishing since we know that from 2010 to 2018 unions spent $1.6 billion in member dues on hundreds of left-leaning groups such as Planned Parenthood, the Clinton Foundation, and the Progressive Democrats of America without consulting their members.

The PRO Act will also undermine workers' right to vote by secret ballot by imposing a biased card-check scheme in which workers could be unionized without the union winning a secret ballot election. Every Member of Congress is elected by secret ballot, and House Democrats elect their own caucus leadership by secret ballot; yet they want to deprive American workers of that same protection by passing the PRO Act.

The bill also deprives individuals of entrepreneurial opportunities, the ability to set their own hours, and the flexibility to care for children and family members by creating burdensome and discredited legal standards for determining joint employment and independent contractor status. The PRO Act means the elimination of the franchise industry and sharing economy as we know them.

The bottom line is the underlying bill is shameful, and so is the process under which it is being considered. The Democrats' en bloc package of amendments does nothing to change that. H.R. 842 is radical, backwards-looking legislation which will diminish the rights of workers and employers while harming the economy and providing a political gift to labor union special interests.

We are better than this.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote against this en bloc package, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Republican en bloc amendments.

Madam Speaker, of the 58 amendments submitted by Republicans, unfortunately only nine were made in order, and I remind my colleagues that no committee markup was held on the bill, which prevented any amendments from being considered prior to today.

The Republican amendments highlight the radical and flawed approach H.R. 842 takes which would completely unbalance American labor law in favor of unions while diminishing worker freedom.

I will briefly mention several of the amendments which are included in this en bloc package: Mr. Allen's amendment strikes the provision that overturns 27 right-to-work laws which ensure workers do not have to join or pay dues to a union if they choose not to.

Mr. Comer's amendment strikes the provision that would require attorney and consultants to disclose to the Federal Government the agreements they have with employers even if the attorney or consultant never has any contact with employees.

Mr. Fitzgerald's amendment protects worker paychecks by requiring that unions receive express consent to spend their money on activities unrelated to collective bargaining, such as politics.

Mr. Good's amendment highlights the often coercive nature of so- called neutrality agreements entered by an employer and union during an organizing drive.

Representative Keller's amendment removes the provision that would allow intermittent strikes which would be incredibly disruptive to small businesses, and the amendment also removes the provision that would prohibit employers from replacing workers permanently to keep businesses open.

Representative Walberg's amendment would give employers a reasonable amount of time to prepare for a free election hearing which is especially important for small businesses who have no HR personnel or in-house attorney.

Mr. Wilson's amendment would ensure that workers across the country do not have to join or pay dues to a union if that is their choice.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Comer).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Fitzgerald).

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Keller).

Madam Speaker, could I inquire as to how much time is remaining?

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).

Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my Republican colleagues for offering these thoughtful amendments, which would protect the interests and rights of workers and employers alike. They negate some of the worst aspects of the PRO Act.

My colleagues on the other side of the aisle said that the PRO Act gives workers the right to form a union. That right has been around since the 1930s, Madam Speaker. Workers are already free to form a union, and Republicans do nothing to try to stop that freedom.

What the underlying bill does, however, is take away the freedom not to belong to a union. That is a fundamental freedom in this country, and we ought not to be taking that away from the American workers.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on the Republican en bloc amendments and a ``no'' vote on the underlying bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Over the years, Republicans and wealthy corporate interests have chipped away at labor rights, stripping workers of their power and worsening economic inequality in the process.

Since March 2020, as the pandemic has ravaged our communities, billionaires' wealth has grown by $1.3 trillion. Meanwhile, millions of Americans are still unemployed, and working families are struggling to pay for food, rent, medical bills, and other basic necessities.

It is time to put an end to antiunion activities. They are illegal power grabs by antilabor special interests that put profits over the needs of working people.

On our path to economic recovery, unions will offer us a way to build back our middle class stronger than ever before. Let's pass this bill to give more power to American workers, reduce economic inequality, and support working families.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the letter from The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights in support of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021.

The Leadership Conference

on Civil and Human Rights,

Washington, DC, March 8, 2021.

Vote Yes on H.R. 842, the Protecting the Right to Organize

Act of 2021.

Dear Representative, On behalf of The Leadership Conference

on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse

membership of more than 220 national organizations to promote

and protect the civil and human rights of all person in the

United States, we urge you to vote YES on H.R. 842, the

Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2021.

Protecting the right to collectively bargain is a top

priority for the civil and human rights community, and The

Leadership Conference will include your vote on H.R. 842 in

our Voting Record for the 117th Congress.

Economic security is inextricably linked to civil and human

rights, and enabling working people to exercise the right to

form unions and engage in meaningful collective bargaining is

one of the most effective, efficient, and comprehensive ways

to promote economic security for individuals and their

families. Unions allow working people to have a stronger

voice to advocate for fair wages, safer working conditions,

and better workplace standards. A working person covered by a

union contract earns, on average, 11.2 percent more in wages

than a nonunionized worker in the same sector with similar

education and experience, and the gains are even more

pronounced for workers of color. Black workers, for example,

earn 14 percent more than their non-union counterparts, and

Latino workers earn 20 percent more. Unions also help close

race and gender wage gaps, and unionized workers enjoy safer

workplaces, stronger health care benefits, more predictable

work schedules, greater access to paid sick days, and better

retirement benefits.

The benefits of unions have become even more pronounced

during the COVID crisis. Too many essential workers during

this pandemic have lacked basic protections on the job,

leading to thousands of working people becoming infected with

the coronavirus, some dying as a result. Many sites of

coronavirus outbreaks during the pandemic were at workplaces

that offered low-pay and limited, if any, benefits to

workforces with large concentrations of people of color,

women, and immigrants--communities, who because of decades of

systemic discrimination, have fewer resources to withstand a

health emergency. Working people with a union, however, were

better able to negotiate enhanced health and safety measures,

premium pay, and paid sick leave during this crisis. Research

also shows that unionized workers have felt less fearful

speaking out about health and safety hazards on the job.

Despite the right to form unions and collectively bargain,

attacks on unions have led to a decline in the share of

working people covered by collective bargaining agreements

over the past 40 years, a trend that has mirrored the rise in

income inequality in America. It is clear, however, that

working people want to join unions. There is a 400 percent

gap between the percentage of working people who say they

want a union--48 percent--and the percentage of unionized

workers, around 12 percent. Workers want unions because they

have seen how having a collective voice allows them to win

better pay and benefits, stronger health and safety

protections, and more fairness on the job. The PRO Act would

streamline the process for forming a union, ensure that new

unions are able to negotiate a first collective bargaining

agreement, and hold employers accountable when they violate

workers' rights.

Though the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was meant to

encourage collective bargaining, in the 80 years since its

passage, nearly every amendment to the law has made it harder

for working people to form unions. This allows employers to

take advantage of weaknesses in the law to undermine the

rights of working people, including firing pro-union workers,

holding mandatory meetings to bash unions, and refusing to

bargain a first contract after a union is formed. These

hostile behaviors, which occur at the expense of the

employee, are often without consequence for the employer. The

PRO Act seeks to remedy this imbalance by bolstering workers'

rights and creating accountability for employers that engage

in anti-union behavior.

The PRO Act would reform existing labor laws and protect

the right to join a union by:

Imposing stronger remedies when employers interfere with

workers' rights. The PRO

Act would institute civil penalties for violations of the

NLRA and would also require the National Labor Relations

Board (NLRB) to go to court for an injunction to immediately

reinstate terminated workers if the NLRB believes an employer

has illegally retaliated against workers for union activity.

The PRO Act would also give workers the right to go to court

on their own to seek relief, bringing labor law in line with

other workplace laws that allow for a private right of

action.

Strengthening workers' right to join a union and

collectively bargain over working conditions. The PRO Act

would prohibit employers from holding mandatory anti-union

meetings and engaging in other coercive anti-union tactics.

The law would establish a process for reaching a first

agreement when workers organize, employing mediation, and

then, if necessary, binding arbitration. The PRO Act would

also allow employers and unions to agree upon a ``fair

share'' clause requiring all workers who are covered by the

collective bargaining agreement to contribute a fair share

fee towards the cost of bargaining and administering the

agreement, even in so-called ``right-to-work'' states. The

PRO Act will also help level the playing field for workers by

repealing the prohibition on secondary boycotts and

prohibiting employers from firing workers during lawful

strikes.

Unrigging the rules that are tilted against workers. The

PRO Act tightens the definitions of independent contractor

and supervisor to help prevent misclassification and make

sure that all eligible workers can unionize if they choose to

do so. The PRO Act also makes clear that workers can have

more than one employer, and that both employers need to

engage in collective bargaining over the terms and conditions

of employment that they control or influence. To create

transparency in labor-management relations, the PRO Act would

require employers to post notices that inform workers of

their NRLA rights and to disclose contracts with consultants

hired to persuade workers on how to exercise their rights.

Through organizing, bargaining, litigation, legislative,

and political advocacy, unions and the labor movement have

played a significant role in advancing the rights and

interests of people of color and women in the workplace and

in our society overall. Unions can best play this role when

the right of workers to organize and bargain is fully

protected and can be freely exercised.

Working people in America need--and have a right to enjoy--

the benefits that result from collective bargaining and union

membership. We urge you to vote yes on H.R. 842, the

Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2021, to help ensure

that working people are paid fairly, treated with dignity,

and have a voice on the job.

Sincerely,

Wade Henderson,

Interim President and CEO.

LaShawn Warren,

Executive Vice President for Government Affairs.

Mr. Speaker, I stand in favor of the PRO Act. And what a perfect acronym it is, because this bill is, indeed, proworker, procapitalism, proeconomic recovery, profamily, prowomen, just pro- American.

I am proud to represent a State with a large union presence, a large organized labor presence that has over 161,000 union members, just as I am proud to vote for this bill.

We have seen firsthand how unions enable workers to have better pay, better benefits, better working conditions. Unions also help address the gender wage gap and promote diversity. Indeed, they are the tide that lifts all ships; yet, across the country, the right to unionize has come under assault.

In the face of these attacks, the PRO Act is the strongest upgrade to workers' collective bargaining rights in nearly a century.

It will empower workers to exercise their rights and hold employers accountable when they try to stand in the way.

I include in the Record a letter from UNITE HERE also in support of the PRO Act.

Unitehere!,

Office of the President,

Las Vegas, NV, March 9, 2021.

Re Support the PRO Act (H.R. 842).

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative: I urge you to support the Protecting

the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, H.R. 842. Like President

Biden, the workers we organize in the casino, hotel, and food

service industries believe the union is the path to the

middle class. The PRO Act will remove many obstacles to

joining a union and achieving a union contract through

collective bargaining. It will give millions of workers a

real opportunity to lift up themselves and their families

into the American middle class.

One of the most significant provisions of the PRO Act is to

introduce meaningful, enforceable penalties for breaking

federal labor law. President Biden has spoken forcefully for

the need to hold corporate executives personally accountable

for interfering in union elections and violating other labor

laws. We should hold corporate decision makers personally

responsible in order to protect employees against illegal

anti-union actions just as we hold executives responsible in

order to protect investors against illegal financial

reporting practices under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

In Las Vegas, workers at the Station Casinos chain have

fought for over a decade to unionize. These workers--cooks,

food servers, bartenders, cocktail servers, porters, hotel

housekeepers--have seen their efforts thwarted every step of

the way by Station Casinos. The company and its two

billionaire owners have faced little consequence for the

company's long-running anti-union campaign of threats,

intimidation, promises, and other interference in employees'

efforts to exercise their right to join a union as well as

Trumpian refusals to recognize workers' democratic decisions

to unionize without costly litigation. The experience of

Station Casinos workers shows exactly why it is vitally

important to pass the PRO Act to provide for real penalties

to corporate and executive wrongdoing when it comes to worker

rights.

In September 2012, the National Labor Relations Board ruled

that Station Casinos broke the law dozens of times in its

initial response to worker organizing at its Las Vegas

casinos. As a remedy, the NLRB required the company to post a

notice at all its properties promising not to do so again.

Given this mere slap on the wrist by the government, it is

perhaps unsurprising that Station Casinos would continue to

use certain of the same tactics to oppose unionization that

it promised it would not engage in.

Notwithstanding their employer's opposition, Station

Casinos workers persevered and won NLRB-conducted

representation elections at several of the companies'

properties. They did so amidst Station Casinos' ongoing anti-

union campaign: at Boulder Station, 67% of workers voted Yes

to joining the union in September 2016; 78% voted Yes for the

union at Green Valley Ranch Casino in November 2017; 83%

voted Yes at Palms Casino in April 2018; 82% voted Yes at

Sunset Station in June 2019; 85% voted Yes at Fiesta Rancho

Casino in June 2019; and 57% voted Yes at Fiesta Henderson

Casino in September 2019.

But these election victories have not led to bargaining

victories. Station Casinos refused to accept the results of

several of these landslide results. Instead it mounted a

time-consuming litigation campaign through the NLRB and, in

two instances, the courts, seeking to overturn workers'

democratic choices. It did so despite public statements that

it would respect the results of NLRB elections.

Even after Station Casinos stopped litigating election

results and started to negotiate with the union, it has made

massive unilateral changes in what the Union alleges is an

effort to frustrate the possibility of reaching collective

bargaining agreements. While the Union expects that the

NLRB's Acting General Counsel's office will do everything in

his power to address these alleged unfair labor practices, he

still has no better remedies available to him than when

Station Casinos was first cited with lawbreaking in 2012.

Years of facing no real consequences culminated in a

frenzied campaign by Station Casinos to stop workers at its

largest property, Red Rock Resort, from voting for the union

in December 2019. The company's action was so brazen and

egregious that the NLRB is currently seeking a rare federal

court injunction against it. But it should not have gotten to

this point for there to be potentially real consequences for

a company that repeatedly breaks federal labor law.

Recidivism should have consequences.

Station Casinos has been able to attack its employee's

federal rights to organize and collectively bargain for years

with impunity because the company and its decision makers--

ultimately its billionaire owners--have not had to pay,

literally and figuratively, for management's breaking the

law, denying workers' right to organize, and refusing to

recognize the democratic decision to unionize.

The PRO Act would begin to change this unfair situation by

putting real teeth into the National Labor Relations Act,

including permitting the NLRB to impose personal liability on

corporate directors and officers who participate in

violations of workers' rights or have knowledge of and fail

to prevent such violations. This and other changes are

necessary to change the anti-union behavior of those who are

insulated from the consequences of lawbreaking by their

enormous amount of legal and other resources at their

disposal.

Real monetary penalties and personal liability--including

jail time, as President Biden has argued--are what will make

corporate decision makers understand that it is the national

policy of the United States, enshrined in the National Labor

Relations Act, to encourage unionization and collective

bargaining. With the PRO Act, we can begin to modernize our

legal system to advance American workers' rights to organize

and collectively bargain in accordance with that national

policy.

I urge you to vote Yes on the PRO Act.

Sincerely,

D. Taylor,

President.