PRO Act

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Screenshot from the Democratic Socialists of America PRO Act website

The Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act) would take away the state's ability to have Right-to-Work Laws, which allow workers to decide whether to be in a union and pay union dues. The Worker Power Coalition was created to push the PRO Act.[1]

In 2021, the Democratic Socialists of America stated that their "highest national priority" was to pass the PRO Act:

"DSA’s highest national priority through May Day is to pass the PRO Act (Protect the Right to Organize), which would strengthen unions, the power of the working class to organize on the job, and our collective capacity to win a just transition to a green economy for all."[2]

"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."[3]

About the PRO Act

Excerpt from the Democratic Socialists of America's PRO Act website in an article titled "About the PRO Act":[4] [5]

PRO Act Ends “Right To Work”
"Don’t let the name fool you. “Right to Work” laws have nothing to do with securing your right to work. Instead, “Right to Work” laws are designed to weaken unions by allowing workers to gain all the benefits of being in a union like higher wages, job security, and representation before management without paying union dues...Right to Work laws hurt the environment too; they are prevalent in almost every state with a large fossil-fuel industry. As a direct result, just around 10% of workers in the fossil-fuel industry are in a labor union..."
PRO Act Legalizes Secondary Strikes
"Secondary strikes are one of the most powerful tools workers have against capitalist bosses. Instead of shutting just one business down with a strike, workers can unite to shut down many. Secondary strikes, also known as indirect strikes, or solidarity strikes, are when one union goes on strike to support another union...Secondary strikes are critical for winning sweeping demands like a Green New Deal. Legalizing secondary strikes will allow workers to unify their demands, using waves of strikes across sectors and industries to bring the economy to a halt and force capitalists to bargain on our terms...With strong unions and secondary strikes, we can turn climate strikes into general strikes–and win a Green New Deal."
Green Jobs Will Be Union Jobs
"To prevent climate collapse, we need to move from a resource-intensive, consumption-based economy built on inequality, to a sustainable economy built to guarantee the public good. We need a new wave of not just green jobs, but good green jobs....Green jobs include jobs building and maintaining green infrastructure, like renewable energy and mass transit. Yet for the most part, green capitalists are just like any other capitalist: they fear the collective power of organized workers and do anything in their power to undermine unionization at the workplaces.
Who Would Benefit?
"Unionizing these sectors [agricultural workers, food services and private sector workers] would empower workers who are heavily exploited due to their citizenship status: 69% of undocumented immigrant workers hold jobs that are deemed essential...The PRO Act would also help close the racial wealth gap. Private sector union decline has exacerbated racial inequality, especially between black workers and white workers. Expanding unions for private sector workers will improve the incomes of all workers, and benefit workers from marginalized groups like BIPOC (black, Indigenous and people of color) most of all.

The Precursor to the PRO Act: the Employee Free Choice Act

The PRO Act represents the latest effort by the AFL-CIO and its allies to override state authority in legislating union-related matters.

Under Barack Obama, "Democrats pursued many of the same policies as the PRO Act via a bill called the Employee Free Choice Act...but his administration failed to see the legislation across the finish line despite Democratic majorities in both chambers, choosing instead to spend its political capital on other White House priorities like health care."[6]

In 2008, AFL-CIO made passing the Employee Free Choice Act a "top priority". Excerpt:[7]

"For more than five years, the AFL-CIO and our affiliates have been preparing for this moment. During the 110th Congress, the House passed the Employee Free Choice Act by a lopsided margin, with over 230 members signed up as co-sponsors. A majority of Senators, but not the required sixty, voted to cut off debate and pass the bill in the Senate. Last month, nearly two months ahead of schedule, the Million Member Mobilization met its goal of signing up over one million supporters of the Employee Free Choice Act. We intend to add more supporters in the weeks and months ahead and they will form the core of our activist base, sending e-mails and letters to Congress and participating in other public demonstrations of support.
Building on the successful Million Member Mobilization, the AFL-CIO and its affiliates resolve to build a grass roots campaign that will engage every part of our labor movement. As has been said so often, no part of the labor movement can be strong unless the whole labor movement is permitted to grow, and the Employee Free Choice Act is a key to that growth. That is why we are so proud of the tremendous support the Million Member Mobilization received from unions in every sector, including the building trades, public sector and transportation.
We will need the leadership of every affiliate union, every state federation, every local labor council and every local union – as well as the Change to Win unions and the National Education Association.
Starting in November, the leaders of every state labor movement will meet to develop state-specific plans with concrete goals for how many union members they will reach, and how many contacts they will make with their Representatives and Senators. The state plan will map out a member education strategy, using materials provided by the national AFL-CIO, as well as aggressive outreach to allies and partners.
The state level campaign to pass the Employee Free Choice Act will require targeting every incumbent and every newly elected Member who spoke in favor of the bill during the 2008 campaign. The campaign will focus most intensely on states where our efforts can be most effective.
The 2009 issues mobilization effort, beginning with the Employee Free Choice Act, is going to require resources – and staffing. The AFL-CIO intends to redeploy dozens of our own field staff and communications staff to cover the target states. The affiliates of the AFL-CIO must also release staff to cover these same states, as we did with Labor 2008...

Communist Party USA on the PRO Act

Communist Party USA on PRO Act

Communist Party USA Promotes PRO Act

On August 22, 2021, Kooper Caraway, Angel Wells, and Steve Valencia took part in a discussion about the PRO Act for Communist Party USA from a post titled "The Marxist Classes: The fight for the rights of the working class".[8]

The Communist Party’s 2024 election platform

The Communist Party USA’s 2024 election platform posted at People's World November 1, 2024 endorses the PRO Act:[9],[10]

"Pass the PRO Act: The Protecting the Right to Organize Act is a significant piece of labor legislation that expands workers’ rights and strengthens labor unions. It enhances protections for workers who want to join or form a union, ensuring they are free from retaliation and intimidation by employers.
It makes it easier for workers to form unions and negotiate collective bargaining agreements. It would protect the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and streamline the process for resolving labor disputes and unfair labor practices. It would also correct the misclassification of workers as independent contractors, which can deny them benefits and protections.
The CPUSA supports its immediate passage in the new Congress.
Overturn anti-union right-to-work laws: Right-to-work laws are state statutes prohibiting union security agreements between employers and unions. Specifically, they prevent unions from requiring that employees join or pay dues to a union as a condition of employment.
In 2023, Michigan became the first state to overturn its right-to-work laws in 60 years. While a state-by-state effort is needed, we should prioritize a national solution by passing the PRO Act, which would override right-to-work laws nationally and allow unions and employers to negotiate fair share agreements prohibited under such laws.
This would ensure that unions are fairly compensated for representing all workers in negotiating contracts that cover union and non-union members.

CPUSA 'Embraces' AFL-CIO's 'Workers First Agenda'

The Communist Party USA praised the AFL-CIO's "Workers First Agenda" in relation to the PRO Act. Excerpt:[11],[12]

"The extraordinary united fight in the elections now must continue on in the streets and in local legislative bodies to force Congress to act in favor of all those in the multi-racial working class.
We embrace the Workers First Agenda put forward by the AFL-CIO, including the PRO Act to remove barriers to workers organizing into unions, massive green infrastructure job creation, and racial justice equity.
We embrace the People's Agenda of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Poor People's Campaign including legislation to dismantle racism, restore and expand the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act, enact statehood for the District of Columbia, create a just immigration system, hold corporations accountable, and shift funds from military to human needs."

PRO Act is 'cornerstone of the AFL-CIO’s 'Workers First Agenda'

Screenshot from AFL-CIO website promoting the PRO Act

From the AFL-CIO's website:[13]

"The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act is a generational opportunity and the cornerstone of the AFL-CIO’s Workers First Agenda.[14] It motivated working people this past election cycle to mobilize for a pro-worker trifecta in the U.S. House, Senate and White House. And working people won a mandate. The PRO Act was introduced by Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.) and Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (Va.), and it is landmark worker empowerment, civil rights and economic stimulus legislation, and an essential part of any plan to build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic and recession.

DSA was 'Founding Member' of the 'PRO Act focused Worker Power Coalition'

Former Democratic Socialists of America National Director Maria Svart bragged that DSA was a "founding member" of the "PRO Act focused Worker Power Coalition":[15]

"Despite the pandemic, we found ways to run national campaigns. DSA’s Green New Deal strategy summit planned a December 2020 day of action and 85 May Day 2021 actions to launch the Protecting the Right to Organize campaign. DSA members and new volunteers made over a million phone calls to voters in key states, while chapters organized on the ground pressure. We flipped two Senators and were a founding member of the PRO Act focused Worker Power Coalition."

Green New Deal Campaign Commission

The Green New Deal Campaign Commission carries on and deepens the campaigns for the PRO Act/Green New Deal for Public Schools. The Green New Deal Campaign is a national-level campaign that spans all DSA chapters.

The 2023 Steering Committee (SC) is made up of volunteers from different chapters. Members are recommended by other members and approved by the National Political Committee (NPC).
Members are Cara Tobe Co-Chair / Louisville, Marc Krause Co-Chair / Los Angeles, Nafis Hasan Philadelphia, Jeff Glass Austin, Soleil Smith Chicago, Sarah Arkebauer, St. Louis, Poornima Tata, West Suburban Illinois, Johnathan Guy East Bay, Nicole M., New York City, Ashik Siddique, Metro DC, National Political Committee, Matt Haugen, Pittsburgh, Katie H, New York City.
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Eleven members comprise the new Steering Committee (SC) of DSA’s Green New Deal Campaign Commission (GNDCC). The 2021 GND Priority Resolution, passed at this year’s convention, tasks the SC with coordinating DSA’s national Green New Deal campaign work — designing external campaign strategy, recruiting and cultivating organizers, establishing internal campaign infrastructure and acting as national representatives of DSA in climate and labor coalitions, with the ultimate goal of winning an ecosocialist Green New Deal consistent with DSA’s GND Principles.
This year's PRO Act and GND for Public Schools Campaigns were only the beginning of our work. For the next two years, SC plans on building on that work of mass, labor-oriented campaigns to make DSA a major influence on national — and international — climate policy.
New members are Nafis Hasan (Philly); Sarah Arkebauer (St. Louis); Jeff Glass (Austin); Fares Abdullah (at large, CA); Daniel Goulden (NYC); Poornima Tata (West Suburban IL); Devin Collins (Jacksonville); Marc Krause (Los Angeles); Johnathan Guy (East Bay); Nadia Schwartz Tykulsker (NYC); Abhiyant Singh (NYC); and our co-chairs are NPC members Gustavo Gordillo and Ashik Siddique.

Uniting To Win

Uniting To Win is an extension of New York City Democratic Socialists of America, the New York City chapter of Democratic Socialists of America. Uniting to Win added "Leading the largest ever national DSA mobilization through the PRO Act, which united dozens of chapters and thousands of members in a DSA-led campaign for the first time" as one of their "organizing accomplishments".[16]

Katherine Tai on Biden's 'Worker-Centered Trade Policy'

In June, 2021, Katherine Tai "participated in an AFL-CIO town hall to lay out her vision for a worker-centered trade policy that supports the Biden-Harris Administration’s Build Back Better agenda."[17]

In her speech, Katherine Tai recognized AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Liz Shuler, stressed the need for people to get the Wuhan coronavirus vaccine, stressed the need to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, referenced Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Katherine Tai stressed that in order to "build back better," "the Protecting the Right to Organize Act – the PRO Act – needs to become law." Unions are good for "workers of color," who "need the support of organized labor."

"By bringing workers from all backgrounds and experiences to the table, we will create inclusive trade policy that advances economic security and racial and gender equity. We want to lift up women, communities of color, and rural America – people that have been systematically excluded or overlooked.
Last week I joined Senator Sherrod Brown and some of his constituents in Ohio for a virtual roundtable. We talked about their priorities and the changes we can make to trade policy that will help their businesses and towns. I hope to have many more conversations like this in the weeks and months to come.
Our goal is to improve worker representation in trade policy in the United States and in multilateral organizations. The WTO, for example, doesn’t adequately hear from workers, and we want to change that. We’ll keep asking for this in other international organizations, such as APEC and the OECD, too.
We know that when workers have a seat at the table in their workplace, wages go up, retirement benefits go up, workplaces are safer, and discrimination and harassment get addressed. We want trade to deliver the same results.
The USMCA agreement is a good example of what can happen when labor is at the table. It’s not perfect, but because we collaborated closely with President Trumpka and many of the union leaders here today, we negotiated a better deal for American workers.
Because of our partnership, the USMCA agreement now includes:
- The strongest labor and environmental standards in any agreement ever;
- A new rapid response mechanism that allows us to quickly take action at a specific factory where workers are being denied their rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining; and
- Critical changes to the intellectual property provisions designed to increase access to affordable medicine for regular people.
Unlike previous trade agreements, USMCA agreement passed with overwhelming, bipartisan support. It is proof that consulting – really listening and working with workers, the labor movement, and a broad range of stakeholders – leads to more pro-worker, more meaningful, and more popular policy.
Less than a year after USMCA agreement went into effect, we’re already using its labor enforcement tools. Last month, we asked Mexico to investigate whether workers at a GM facility in Silao were denied their rights during a contract ratification.
This was the first time that the new rapid response tool was used by the U.S. government. It was also the first time in history that the United States proactively initiated labor enforcement in a trade agreement.
The AFL-CIO recently filed a Rapid Response petition alleging workers’ rights had been violated at an auto parts manufacturer. Yesterday, we asked Mexico to review the allegations – the second time we’ve taken this step in the last month.

PRO Act Montana DSA Panel

Montana DSA & Sunrise Movement Promote PRO Act

The Bozeman Democratic Socialists of America hosted the PRO Act Montana April 7 2021. PRO Act Montana Panel.

"Join MT DSA and Sunrise Movement for a panel discussion featuring E. Tammy Kim: a freelance journalist and author of several labor pieces, most recently Freelancers Shouldn’t Have ‘Horror Stories’, with bylines in The New Yorker and New York Times. She is joined on the panel by Ty Wheeler, a snowmobile guide involved in the recent union drive in West Yellowstone against Delaware North’s unfair labor practices, and Miles McCarvel, the President of the Montana State Building and Construction Trades Council.

Other participants included Lila Livingston (Sunrise Movement), Mark Anderlik co-chair Western Montana Democratic Socialists of America , Spencer Clark, Isabel Shaida (Gallatin Valley Sunrise), Bonnie Lambert co-chair Helena Democratic Socialists of America, Zeth Stone, Lucy Hochshartner.[18]

Worker May Day Celebration & Importance of PRO Act

Worker May Day Celebration & Importance of PRO Act (Image is Screenshot of Rashida Tlaib Promoting PRO Act on Metro Detroit Democratic Socialists of America May 1 2021 Zoom Virtual Town Hall)

Metro Detroit Democratic Socialists of America:

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Saturday, May 1st In-Person Rally: Hart Plaza, 12PM, Zoom Virtual Town Hall 7PM.

This May Day, we're teaming up with Detroit Action and MAJIC to put on an in-person May Day Worker Celebration starting at noon at Hart Plaza, complete with speakers, food, and live music! Later that night, we'll be joined by labor leaders from across the state, Professor Steve Babson, and Rep Andy Levin for a Virtual Town Hall to discuss labor history and the importance of passing the PRO Act. Whether you're interested in one or both events, we look forward to you joining us celebrating the workers who built our world!

Other participants included Rep. Rashida Tlaib. Panelists were Steve Babson, Jason Krzyslak, Josh Roskamp and Tom Burke both Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America. Jess Newman moderated.[19],[20]

May Day 2021

From an article at Fight Back! News by Joe Iosbaker dated May 1, 2021 titled "1500 rally and march in Chicago on May Day". The article references Chuy Garcia's support of the PRO Act:[21]

Chicago, IL - The movements for immigrant rights, against police crimes, and the labor movement of essential workers united today to mark May 1, International Workers Day in Chicago. Banners read “Legalization for all,” “Stop police crimes” and “Justice for essential workers.”
The mobilization represented the unity reached between the major immigrant rights group the state, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), and the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression (CAARPR). ICIRR’s two legislative priorities are legalization for all and a pathway to citizenship at the federal level, and community empowerment to hold the Chicago police accountable.
Speaking for CAARPR, co-chair Jazmine Salas said, “The Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) ordinance will put us on a path to community control of the police – no more murders like those of Adam Toledo and Anthony Alvarez.” Both were killed by CPD in late March. Adam Toledo was 13 years old and had his hands in the air when he was shot; Anthony Alvarez was shot in the back while running away from the police.
Essential workers and their unions, particularly SEIU Locals 73 and Health Care Illinois/Indiana also joined the rally. HCII Vice President Jaquie Algee explained about the 1886 nationwide strike for the eight-hour day, organized mainly from Chicago, in honor of which May 1, is celebrated around the world as International Workers Day. She said, “It’s a disgrace that over 100 years later we’re still fighting for the same things: respect on the job and decent wages.”
The rally at Union Park was capped by remarks by Congressman Chuy Garcia, who pledged to support the PRO Act legislation in support of labor organizing; legalization for all, including removal of exclusionary bars; and a pathway to citizenship to be included in the budget reconciliation. “It’s high time to stop criminalizing immigration and desperation, and to end an immigration system entangled with the flawed criminal justice system. It’s no accident that the same communities that are over-policed due to racist policing and racial bias are suffering at the hands of immigration enforcement.”
Garcia then spoke about his legislation, the New Way Forward, which would end the mass criminalization and deportation pipeline.
After rallying in Union Park on Chicago’s West Side, they marched two-and-half miles to Federal Plaza in the Loop. A cultural program featuring youth performers was interspersed with speeches by Rev. Emma Lozano, her daughter Tanya Lozano, Frank Chapman of CAARPR, Oswaldo Gomez of ONE Northside and the Grassroots Alliance for Public Safety, and alderpersons Byron Sigcho Lopez and Carlos Ramirez Rosa, all of whom came together to help create the Empowering Communities for Public Safety (ECPS) ordinance.

Ecosocialists for the PRO Act

Salem Democratic Socialists of America was live. April 12 2021[22]

"The PRO-Act and Democratic Socialism: Workers and the World Unite!"

Join Portland and Salem DSA Ecosocialists for a teach-in on the PRO-Act live on Zoom, Facebook, and Youtube on April 12, 2021 from 6:30-8:00 PM PST. Learn why the PRO-Act is the next best step towards a more just and sustainable world for all people, and how you can immediately help to make it a reality.
Winning a Green New Deal or any transformative change under Biden requires powerful labor and climate movements working in solidarity—the PRO-Act will eliminate roadblocks that prevent workers from building power and open the door to a revitalized labor movement that will fight for the change we all need.
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With Panellists [sic] Laura Wadlin co-chair Portland Democratic Socialists of America, Serena Howell, Alex Korsunsky Salem Democratic Socialists of America, Hollie Oakes-Miller, Nick Buri Sunrise PDX, Brando Martin, Brian Denning. ASL translator Sarah Comerford, E. Tammy Kim.

AFL-CIO spends 'More than 1 Million Dollars' on PRO Act Promotion

From the Huffington Post from an article titled "Organized Labor Puts Heat On Democratic Holdouts To Support PRO Act" dated April 28, 2021:[23]

"The AFL-CIO is spending more than 1 million dollars on TV and radio ads aimed at moderate Democrats who haven't signed on to the labor reform proposal.
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..."

[...]

For now, the priority for unions is getting the last Democratic holdouts to sign on to the legislation. They recently gained the support of Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent who caucuses with Democrats, after pressure from a coalition of labor groups (Worker Power Coalition) and phone calls from members of the Democratic Socialists of America.

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..."

Minnesota AFL-CIO/Mark Froemke Push PRO Act

From a local news outlet:[24]

Advocates of organized labor held rallies outside the offices of U.S. senators in Fargo and Moorhead Wednesday, July 21, 2021 calling for passage of the PRO Act, proposed legislation backers say would create sweeping changes to federal labor laws and reduce barriers to organizing unions.
Labor leaders and activists made a tour Wednesday of downtown Fargo and Moorhead, holding rallies at each of the four U.S. senate offices in the metro area.
Backers of proposed federal legislation that would remove barriers to union organization hold a rally in Moorhead Wednesday morning, July 21, thanking U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar for her support of what is known as the PRO Act.
Labor advocates call for passage of bill aimed at strengthening right to unionize
Events outside the Fargo offices of Sens. Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven, both Republicans, took the form of a call to action on the PRO Act, as neither has indicated support for the bill.
Gatherings outside the Moorhead offices of Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith, both Democrats, were essentially thank-you events that acknowledged support the senators have shown for the legislation, which Mark Froemke, president of the Western Minnesota Area Labor Council, described as good for all working people, "union or not."
At one event Wednesday, Froemke read from a statement provided by Smith, a co-sponsor of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.
Smith's statement said in part that the legislation would "inject some badly needed reform into our labor laws in order to strengthen the right to join a union and collectively bargain for improvements in the work place."
Froemke also read from a statement provided by Klobuchar, who described the PRO Act as "the bold action we need to protect and strengthen workers' rights to organize so they can achieve the economic and workplace security they've earned."
Brad Lehto, secretary-treasurer of the Minnesota AFL-CIO, said the PRO Act would stop anti-union actions by employers because it would ensure "real consequences" for employers who violate labor laws.

Performers for the PRO Act

From an article at Rolling Stone titled "Billy Bragg, Lucy Dacus Set for Conversation Series Supporting Labor Reform" dated April 30, 2021:[25]

"Steve Earle, Arcade Fire's Will Butler and Anjimile will also chat with labor leaders and organizers to raise awareness for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.
Billy Bragg, Lucy Dacus and more will participate in a series of conversation with labor leaders around the country to raise awareness for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.
The series, which is being hosted by the Working Families Party, will kick off tomorrow, May 1st, which is also International Workers Day. At 3 p.m. ET, Bragg will chat with Sara Steffens of the Communications Workers of America, while at 7 p.m. ET, Boston-based singer-songwriter Anjimile will speak with Darlene Lombos of the Greater Boston Labor Council.
"All conversations will air on the WFP’s Instagram page. A full schedule has yet to be announced (it will eventually go up on the WFP Instagram, too), though other conversation participants include Dacus, Steve Earle and Arcade Fire’s Will Butler. The series will also feature several “Jammin’ for Jobs” performances from Aloe Blacc, Toshi Reagon, Thursday, Kyp Malone, Anti Flag and more.

[...]

“The fight to pass the PRO Act isn’t a political issue, it’s an issue of dignity and fairness for the people who spent the last year risking their lives to keep the rest of us safe,” Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the Working Families Party, said in a statement. “The PRO Act sets a new standard of dignity and fairness in the workplace, and helps essential workers meet their basic needs on and off the job — from improving benefits, to protecting women and undocumented workers from abuse at work, to making sure workers can use the bathroom when they need to. Workers are caring for us like never before, and it’s time Congress started caring for them.”

May Day Portland events

Demonstrators gathered for a series of 2021 May Day events Portland, setting out on marches and distributing literature in Peninsula Park.
Tad O'Connell, 24, spoke as an organizer from the environment group Sunrise Movement, as well as the Freedom Road Socialist Organization/FightBack!. As a registered citizen of the Jamestown S'Klallam tribe, O'Connell said it was important to organize in solitary with other oppressed groups.
“Capitalism stole land from my people,” O'Connell said. “Only these communities allow us to keep our sovereignty.”
The march arrived at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building around 4 p.m., growing steadily throughout the afternoon to more than 150 people. Speakers from the International Migrants Alliance rallied the crowd in front of a boarded-up building.
Johnny Olson, an organizer with Filipino migrant workers organization Migrante Portland, said it was important to mobilize at the detention center to raise awareness around the deportation of undocumented Filipino immigrants such as Larry Nicolas, who was arrested in 2018 in Washington County and detained at an ICE facility.
Jennelle Barajas, a coordinator for Bayan, an alliance of progressive Filipino organizations that supports the national democratic movement of the Philippines, said she wanted to honor the long history of May Day by marching alongside workers and other progressive organizations.
Lani Felicitas said she joined the march to show her support for migrant workers who have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Earlier Saturday, several dozen people marched from Northeast Portland’s Holladay Park to the nearby offices of U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-OR, to call on the senator to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act and end the filibuster — something Wyden is unable to do on his own.
“When workers are under attack, what do we do?” Luisa Martinez, co-chair of Portland Democratic Socialists of America, asked the crowd as they stood outside Wyden’s office.
“Stand up. Fight back,” the crowd responded.
Martinez, a full-time union organizer, said she thinks the passage of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act would help bring more equality to the workplace and level the playing field for women and people of color.
“We are hoping to pressure Ron Wyden to end the filibuster,” Martinez said. “That will help us pass the PRO Act at the Congressional level.”
A group of about 75 people also gathered at North Portland’s Peninsula Park, where roughly a dozen groups handed out literature, stickers and other gear. Among the groups present were the Portland Socialist Rifle Association, Oregon DA for the People, Corvallis Antifa and Cascades Abortion Support Collective.[26]

Sponsor/Co-Sponsors of H.R.20 - Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023

Bobby Scott sponsored the House PRO Act. The co-sponsor of the PRO Act are as follows:[27],[28]

Republican Party:

References

  1. ↑ Worker Power Coalition Home Page (accessed November 23, 2024)
  2. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210303172230/https://www.dsausa.org/proact/ Pass the PRO Act (accessed November 23, 2024)
  3. ↑ Organized Labor Puts Heat On Democratic Holdouts To Support PRO Act (accessed November 23, 2024)
  4. ↑ https://pro-act.dsausa.org/aboutproact/ About the PRO Act (accessed November 23, 2024)
  5. ↑ https://archive.fo/K37VV Archive Link: About the PRO Act (accessed November 23, 2024)
  6. ↑ Unions warn Senate Democrats: Pass the PRO Act, or else (accessed November 23, 2024)
  7. ↑ Turn Around America: Enact the Employee Free Choice Act (accessed November 23, 2024)
  8. ↑ The Marxist Classes: The fight for the rights of the working class (accessed November 23, 2024)
  9. ↑ A people’s agenda: The Communist Party’s 2024 election platform (accessed November 23, 2024)
  10. ↑ A people’s agenda: The Communist Party’s 2024 election platform (accessed November 23, 2024)
  11. ↑ Principles for an emergency relief unity program (accessed November 23, 2024)
  12. ↑ Archive Link: Principles for an emergency relief unity program (accessed November 23, 2024)
  13. ↑ 13 Ways the PRO Act Helps Working People (accessed November 23, 2024)
  14. ↑ Workers First Agenda Moves Forward (accessed November 23, 2024)
  15. ↑ A Farewell from the National Director (accessed February 22, 2024)
  16. ↑ About Us (Accessed April 18, 2023)
  17. ↑ Remarks of Ambassador Katherine Tai Outlining the Biden-Harris Administration's "Worker-Centered Trade Policy" (accessed July 6, 2021)
  18. ↑ [1]
  19. ↑ [2]
  20. ↑ [3]
  21. ↑ [4]
  22. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20241123184600/https://actionnetwork.org/events/the-pro-act-and-democratic-socialism-workers-and-the-world-unite?nowrapper=true&referrer=&source= The PRO-Act and Democratic Socialism: Workers and the World Unite! (accessed November 23, 2024)
  23. ↑ Organized Labor Puts Heat On Democratic Holdouts To Support PRO Act (accessed November 23, 2024)
  24. ↑ Labor advocates rally in Fargo, Moorhead in support of pro-union bill(accessed November 23, 2024)
  25. ↑ Billy Bragg, Lucy Dacus Set for Conversation Series Supporting Labor Reform (accessed November 23, 2024)
  26. ↑ May Day demonstrators gather for series of Portland events (accessed November 23, 2024)
  27. ↑ H.R.20 - Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023 — 118th Congress (2023-2024) (accessed November 23, 2024)
  28. ↑ Archive Link: H.R.20 - Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023 — 118th Congress (2023-2024) (accessed November 23, 2024)
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