The Pendulum Is Finally Swinging Back for Organized Labor
Decades of systemic undermining of worker rights have left employees, whether or not they belong to unions, in a position where they have less say in their jobs for less money.
It’s important to note that this trend is parallel and connected with efforts to undermine public education, civil rights, and the electoral process. (But that’s a story for another day)
Four years of the Former Guy left many segments of the population less inclined to accept the gradualist approach to progressive change. It’s now obvious that the right’s claims of wanting a bipartisan approach is nothing more than a stalling tactic.
The Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which has already passed the House of Representatives, is a wide-reaching overhaul of labor laws making it easier for workers to form unions, including by expanding collective bargaining rights to independent contractors.
Current law allows employers to stall union elections and contract negotiations long with measures to counteract contemporary practices allowing employers to coerce and intimidate workers seeking to unionize.
Here’s a handy-dandy chart showing specifically how major problems in labor law would be addressed by the PRO Act.
Having successfully imposed a set of corporate-written labor laws in California by spending $200+ million to convince people that a potentially organized labor force would destroy the gig economy, anti-labor forces are hoping to generate opposition to the PRO Act by repeating many of the same talking points.
Please, please, don’t fall for this crap. The fact is that everybody’s wages and benefits improve in an atmosphere more favorable to unions. Wages and benefits --union or not-- have declined relative to productivity and GDP growth over the past forty years.
And if you’re one of those people who wouldn’t like being represented, good for you. Nothing in this bill changes your right to choose employers who won’t offer better pay or benefits.
The Act would expand protections under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) to cover more workers. This 85 year old measure was passed with the intent to “encourage collective bargaining, and to curtail certain private sector labor and management practices, which can harm the general welfare of workers, businesses, and the U.S. economy.”
Workers who are deemed to be independent contractors are not covered in the PRO Act.
BUT… Employers would NOT be allowed to suddenly reclassify workers as contractors when faced with the prospect of workplace demands or union organizing.
States laws determining whether workers are employees or independent contractors for purposes of determining state income tax status or eligibility for workers’ compensation or unemployment benefits are not changed by the PRO Act..
https://youtu.be/8RXYbC-yjkw
April 28th is Workers' Memorial Day, an international day of remembrance and action for workers killed, disabled, injured, or made unwell by their work. The date coincides with the 1970 passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which, by 1971, created the enforcement and regulatory agency OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration).
Back in those days, Republicans recognized the role of labor in society. The landmark bill passed with bipartisan support. Even Republican President Richard Nixon, who was less than labor-friendly, hailed the bill and signed it.
The OSH Act states that every worker has the right to a workplace that is “free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.” These days, “recognized hazards” are all-too-often considered impediments to profitability, and employers cut corners with amazing regularity.
Wage theft --not paying people for work they perform-- creates more economic damage than property theft. Companies in many states avoid penalties and fines by closing up shop and reopening with another name. People at the bottom of the economic ladder, often immigrants, are often too afraid to report employer abuse.
Unions in San Diego and around the country are marking the day as the kickoff to a campaign to build support for the PRO Act. For more information, visit this link.
As is true with all large institutions, many labor unions have had to face a legacy of being corrupt, along with being havens for racism and sexual harassment. The story of how members of the local chapter of the United Food and Commercial Workers took on both their union’s and much of the local Democratic Party’s leadership is proof that change is afoot.
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Lead image credit: The FredLetter.com