Worker Power Coalition

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The Worker Power Coalition was created by unions, and other far left organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America to push the PRO Act.[1],[2],[3],[4],[5]

'Most Powerful Progressive Organizations' form Worker Power Coalition

From Vice News in an article "This Is the Best Chance in Generations to Pass Pro-Worker Legislation" dated July 22, 2021:[6]

"The grassroots group, the Worker Power Coalition, is made up of 40 of the most powerful progressive organizations in the United States, across a broad spectrum of issues, including racial justice, electoral politics, environmental activism. Among them, the Working Families Party, MoveOn, Indivisible, the Sunrise Movement, the Sierra Club, and the Democratic Socialists of America."

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":[7]

"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 (Joe Manchin and Mark Kelly[8]) and were a founding member of the PRO Act focused Worker Power Coalition."

Reintroducing the PRO Act

From a press release dated February 28, 2023 by the Worker Power Coalition titled "BREAKING: PRO Act Labor Bill Introduced by Republican and Democratic Leaders in Bipartisan Push for Historic Reforms Needed as National Wave of Worker Activism Sweeps Country The reintroduction of the urgently needed legislation amidst ongoing high-profile union busting by Amazon and Starbucks has been applauded by the Worker Power Coalition.."[9]

The reintroduction of the urgently needed legislation amidst ongoing high-profile union busting by Amazon and Starbucks has been applauded by the Worker Power Coalition, a coalition of national labor, climate, and progressive groups representing 24 Million workers
Momentum for worker rights reforms continues to quicken in wake of 2022 Midterm elections, with surprise moves by Congress to boost labor board funding following activist demands, and a definitive directive from Pres. Biden urging PRO Act passage during his State of The Union address
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) announced the re-introduction of the historic, bipartisan Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, the most ambitious labor reform bill in generations. The PRO Act would strengthen the right of workers to form a union and negotiate for better pay, benefits, and working conditions.
The Worker Power Coalition, America’s largest labor alliance with 24 million workers from national unions and progressive and climate groups, praised today’s move to reintroduce the bill, which was previously passed by the House in March 2021 with bipartisan support. The national coalition leaders are urging Senate Majority Leader Schumer and Speaker McCarthy to bring this bipartisan and commonsense pro-worker legislation to the floor for a vote to support the growing number of workers who are joining together to improve their workplaces.
As a leading voice for national labor reform, the Worker Power Coalition released a Fall 2022 battleground states poll which showed robust bipartisan support for the PRO Act – support lawmakers in both parties are responding to with this bill introduction. In the 2022 Midterm election, voters proved this by rejecting extremist candidates and voting overwhelmingly for pro-worker champions instead.
The Worker Power Coalition’s emergency organizing recently helped secure millions in new funding from Congress for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in the December 2022 omnibus bill, the result of a last minute push by WPC partnering with top progressive lawmakers including U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), and Jamaal Bowman (NY-16). The surprise success boosting urgently-needed NLRB funding and the call from President Biden during his 2023 State of the Union address for PRO Act passage further underscore the strong momentum for passing labor reform.
As Starbucks and Amazon union campaigns have sparked a national wave of worker activism with new union elections up 58 percent in just the first half of 2022, there has never been a more urgent time to ensure workers have an even playing field by fixing our outdated, broken labor laws. With CEOs spending $340 million a year on union-busting tactics to intimidate and silence workers seeking to form unions, the deck has never been more stacked against workers speaking out – and the PRO Act presents the best opportunity in generations to unrig our economy for working people.
Worker Power Coalition leaders are driving the new push for the PRO Act in 2023, including national unions and progressive and climate groups such as the Communications Workers of America, Sunrise Movement, Working Families Party, Indivisible, Democratic Socialists of America the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT), and dozens more advocacy, think tank, and small business organizations across the country.

'Congressional Progressives' Throw in Support

From a press release dated December 13, 2022 by the Worker Power Coalition titled "Congressional Democrats Join National Labor Leaders in Emergency Push for Fully Funding U.S. Labor Rights Agency"[10]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressional progressives joined with multiple International Union leaders representing the Worker Power Coalition, a labor alliance of 24 million workers across the country, in a dramatic final push to enforce full funding for the federal agency tasked with overseeing union elections and investigating illegal and retaliatory labor violations, the National Labor Relations Board.
The NLRB is the agency tasked with overseeing union elections and investigating illegal anti-union activity, but its funding has been frozen for almost a decade – a crisis having ripple effects across every sector of work in the country. The number of federal staff who oversee union elections and investigate abuses has been slashed by 50% since 2002, union petitions are up 53% this year over the year prior – and charges of Unfair Labor Practices were up 18% in that same period.
IUPAT International Union President Jimmy Williams and CWA Secretary-Treasurer Sara Steffens, co-Chairs of the Worker Power Coalition, a national advocacy coalition with member organizations spanning labor, environmental, business, and community organizations, joined with U.S. Reps. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14), Ro Khanna (CA-17), Jamaal Bowman (NY-16), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), and Andy Levin (MI-09) steps from the House of Representatives in Washington, laying a marker in the sand as Congress rushes to pass a government funding package before the holidays. Also this week, the Worker Power Coalition launched a new weeklong digital buy targeting Congressional lawmakers, with ads running on Facebook, Google, Instagram, and LinkedIn, as part of a larger national campaign to end the funding freeze for the NLRB.
IUPAT General President and Worker Power Coalition Co-Chair Jimmy Williams: “Our country is experiencing a moment of mass worker organizing – 71% of Americans approve of unions and tens of millions of Americans would join a union right now if they could without retaliation or harassment. Workers across the construction industry report widespread harassment, intimidation, and bullying from bosses, when they try to simply exercise their rights at work as guaranteed by law. But the drastic under funding of the NLRB mean that many of these workers will face delays in getting a union vote or receiving justice for illegal retaliation or termination from their employers – which is why Congress must respond to this crisis to stand with workers and fully fund the NLRB with this urgent budget bill.”
CWA Secretary-Treasurer and Worker Power Coalition Co-Chair Sara Steffens; “As someone who was fired for union organizing, I know firsthand how dangerous it is to leave union-busting CEOs unchecked. Whether it’s Starbucks workers in Memphis, an Amazon warehouse worker in New York, or a Verizon retail worker in Seattle, the fact is that far too many workers are being fired for exercising their right to form a union and demand the better working conditions they have earned. The NLRB must receive the full funding it needs to hold these billionaire CEOs accountable. Every Democrat who made campaign promises to stand with workers needs to put action behind their words by ending the funding freeze and giving the NLRB the resources it needs to level the playing field for workers. The Worker Power Coalition and the 24 million workers we represent are watching, and if Democrats fail to stand with workers now, we will remember when we go to the ballot box in 2024.”
U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14): “We have to attack this problem with urgency. We can’t count on a Republican congress to prioritize labor. We have to pass this now.”
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (CA-17): “The NLRB is critical for protecting the rights of American workers and yet it hasn’t seen an increase in funding since 2014. Congress must step up and provide NLRB with the resources it needs to protect labor rights in this country.”
U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (MN-05): “From Starbucks workers in Minneapolis to Amazon workers in New York, we are seeing a massive rise in organizing and worker power at levels not seen in decades. We are also seeing big corporations and their CEOs routinely violate the law to bust unions and cling to their profits. It is the NLRB that holds these billionaire CEOs accountable when they try to stand in the way of worker power. But they are under threat from Republicans who want to weaken them and undermine their work. Despite the NLRB’s vital mission, the Board has received the same flat funding for nine consecutive years now—effectively a 25 percent cut since 2010. We will not stop fighting to ensure that they have the resources they need to hold these union busters accountable and make sure everyone’s basic rights to organize and collectively bargain are protected.”
U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D. (NY-16): “Fully funding the National Labor Relations Board should be a non-negotiable for Democrats in this year’s budget. This is a critical moment for Democrats to live up to our values and stand in solidarity with workers across the country. The NLRB is vital to protecting workers from unlawful and inhumane unfair labor practices by big corporations who care more about padding their billions in profits than about protecting basic human rights and treating their workers with dignity. At a time when we are seeing a historic surge both in organizing and in despicable union-busting activities, we cannot allow full funding for the NLRB to be deprioritized. If we can pass hundreds of billions of dollars for the Defense budget, the very least we can do is adequately fund the NLRB to protect the workers whose labor forms the backbone of our economy. We must hold big corporations and billionaires accountable for trampling over workers’ rights.”
U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross (NJ-01): “America’s workers and businesses are stronger with a fully-funded National Labor Relations Board. Flat budgets have seen the NLRB crippled by inflation and rising costs, putting its ability to fully implement its mission to protect workers’ rights at risk. Continuing to neglect this critical independent federal agency is a disservice to the hardworking women and men who keep our nation running at every level and every sector of our economy.”
U.S. Rep. Andy Levin (MI-09): “What better Christmas present could the worst actors ask for than an understaffed NLRB that simply doesn’t have the people power to oversee prompt elections or investigate firings and other forms of intimidation and unfair dealings? Congress must push for full funding for the NLRB—now!”

Worker Power Coalition Steering Committee Members

From a press release dated November 13, 2022 by the Worker Power Coalition titled "Democrats blocked predicted midterm election “red wave” through leadership on worker rights"[11]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The success of Democrats in avoiding the sweeping GOP “red wave” predicted in the midterm elections reflects the leadership of Democrats on key worker rights issues, and Democratic candidates’ commitment to passing pro-worker legislation like the historic Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The results match with recent Worker Power Coalition polling which revealed that voters in battleground states, particularly young voters, want Congress to take more action to improve worker rights – a clear indication of the need for Democrats to continue taking actionable steps to advance protections for Americans in the workplace.
As the country continues to experience the highest levels of union activism and enthusiasm in decades amidst high profile organizing campaigns at Starbucks, Amazon, and more, the path to victory for Democrats in Congress hinges on catching up to the energy their base has on these issues with concrete policy actions. Democratic candidates who ran on platforms centered around pro-worker policies won in competitive races across the country – including John Fetterman and Summer Lee in Pennsylvania, Maxwell Frost in Florida, Delia Ramirez in Illinois, and Greg Casar in Texas. Pro-worker ballot measures for minimum wage increases also won in Nebraska, Nevada, and Washington, D.C., and a worker rights measure in Illinois further underscored the power of labor as an issue for Democratic voter turnout. Michigan Democrats ran on a pro-worker agenda and won back control of the state legislature for the first time in nearly 40 years, paving the way to strengthen worker rights by repealing the state’s anti-union “right-to-work” law.
The American people understand that the economy in this country is rigged against them. If Democrats don’t embrace pro-worker economic fairness as a central plank of their battleground messaging and legislative agenda, they will face an even tougher electoral map in 2024.
Sara Steffens, CWA Secretary-Treasurer; Worker Power Coalition Steering Committee Member: “Over the past few months, working people who have been organizing on the job to join unions mobilized in their communities alongside other union members to elect candidates who share our democratic values. These workers have shown the country that our labor laws are broken and that we must join together to reign in the power that corporations have over too many aspects of our lives. The Biden Administration is focused on rebuilding the middle class by removing barriers to union membership. Now, Congressional Democrats must take up that mantle and continue to rebuild the trust of middle class voters by passing popular, pro-worker policies like those in the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.”
Jimmy Williams, IUPAT General President; Worker Power Coalition Steering Committee Member: “Throughout this year, workers are organizing at historic levels to fight for a seat at the table – not only in the halls of Congress, but also in the bosses’ office. With giant corporations spending millions to stop workers from exercising their right to form a union and radical politicians attacking the very foundations of our democracy, now is the time for Democrats to continue to deliver on their promises to level the playing field. Working people are on the move, and if Democrats want to cement their identity as the party of the working class, now is the time to prove it.”
Varshini Prakash, Sunrise Movement Executive Director; Worker Power Coalition Steering Committee Member: “We know that a green just economy is the only future our world survives in, and that an intersectional, sustainable economic platform is one that serves the poor, the working class, the underprivileged. Democratic candidates who won on Tuesday ran on a platform that puts climate and economic justice first. With control of Congress on the line, Democrats must fully embrace the Green New Deal to power our fight against climate change by strengthening worker rights and creating the green union jobs our economy and communities need.”
Nelini Stamp, Working Families Party Director of Strategy; Worker Power Coalition Steering Committee Member: “Americans know that the economy in this country is rigged against them, and that is why Democrats who ran on a pro-worker agenda won in so many battleground races on Tuesday. But with many races still too close to call, it is clear that much more must be done by Democrats to demonstrate their commitment to the millions of American workers who made their voices heard in this election. If Democrats do not embrace pro-worker economic fairness as a central plank of their legislative agenda in Congress, you can bet they will face an even tougher election map in 2024.”
Sydney Ghazarian, Democratic Socialists of America, National Political Committee Member; Worker Power Coalition Steering Committee Member: “Labor union organizing is surging across the country, and worker unions are currently more popular than they have been in 50 years. Any party seeking to win an election right now must center a clear, concise vision of change that will transfer power out of the hands of corporate oligarchs and back into the hands of working people. No matter who controls Congress next year, voters will be watching to see which party steps up with an agenda that promises bold action to dismantle the decades of unjust laws rigging the economy against us.”
Leah Greenberg, Indivisible Co-Executive Director; Worker Power Coalition Steering Committee Member: “People know that big corporations are rigging the rules of the economy to squeeze more and more out of them, and they want political leaders who will forcefully stand on their side. With control of Congress hanging by a thread as final votes are counted, it is clear that for Democrats to build a majority-winning coalition, they must continue to embrace an economic policy platform that centers the hardships working people experience – and champion legislation like the PRO Act to finally unrig our system. ”

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:[12]

"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..."

Coalition

From the Worker Power Coalition website as of November 23, 2024:[13]

References

  1. ↑ Worker Power Coalition Home Page (accessed November 23, 2024)
  2. ↑ Tell Your Senators to Support Workers and Pass the PRO Act (accessed November 23, 2024)
  3. ↑ Archive Link: Tell Your Senators to Support Workers and Pass the PRO Act (accessed November 23, 2024)
  4. ↑ Tell Your Senators to Support the PRO Act (accessed November 23, 2024)
  5. ↑ Archive Link: Tell Your Senators to Support the PRO Act (accessed November 23, 2024)
  6. ↑ This Is the Best Chance in Generations to Pass Pro-Worker Legislation (accessed November 23, 2024)
  7. ↑ A Farewell from the National Director (accessed February 22, 2024)
  8. ↑ Over 40 Progressive Orgs Unite to Pressure Congress to Pass Pro-Union PRO Act (accessed November 23, 2024)
  9. ↑ BREAKING: PRO Act Labor Bill Introduced by Republican and Democratic Leaders in Bipartisan Push for Historic Reforms Needed as National Wave of Worker Activism Sweeps Country The reintroduction of the urgently needed legislation amidst ongoing high-profile union busting by Amazon and Starbucks has been applauded by the Worker Power Coalition.. (accessed November 23, 2024)
  10. ↑ Congressional Democrats Join National Labor Leaders in Emergency Push for Fully Funding U.S. Labor Rights Agency (accessed November 23, 2024)
  11. ↑ Democrats blocked predicted midterm election “red wave” through leadership on worker rights (accessed November 23, 2024)
  12. ↑ Organized Labor Puts Heat On Democratic Holdouts To Support PRO Act (accessed November 23, 2024)
  13. ↑ The Worker Power Coalition (accessed February 22, 2024)
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