Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur's speech before the U.S. House passes the Protecting the Right to Organize Act for private sector, other unions, the bill, which does not pertain to public employees, now heading to the U.S. Senate for review....The legislation would expand workers' collective bargaining rights in the private sector, strengthen their unions, end the forced use of arbitration, and penalize private sector employers for violating workers rights

Ohio Congresswoman Marcy
Kaptur, a Toledo Democrat whose
ninth congressional district
extends to Cleveland

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog and top in the Midwest.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com.

Washington, D.C. — Ohio Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), the longest serving woman in Congress and a Toledo Democrat whose ninth congressional district extends to Cleveland, delivered remarks on the floor of the Democratically-controlled House of Representatives in support of H.R. 2474, the Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019 (PRO Act), which passed the House Thursday evening. 

It is one of the most comprehensive union-labor reform measures in decades.

The legislation, which pertains to private sector employees and is not relative to public sector unions that represent teachers, firefighters, and police officer- types,  would hold private employers accountable for violating  workers’ rights, end the use of forced arbitration, and strengthen the sacred right to join a union.

Public sector unions, for the most part, utilize the American Arbitration Association and are subject to state law regulations, while private sector employers and unions are traditionally governed by the National Arbitration Association and affiliated federal law. 

The bill passed in the House 224-193, and along party lines.

It now heads to the Republican -controlled U.S. Senate where it will face an uphill battle, the conservative-leaning Senate stacked with lawmakers whose public policy agendas are, without a doubt, pro-rich people and corporations, and anti-union, critics say.

The PRO Act advances vital protections for working men and women across the country, including:

• Introducing meaningful, enforceable penalties for companies and executives that violate workers’ rights;
• Expanding workers’ collective bargaining rights and closing loopholes that corporations use to exploit workers; and
• Strengthening workers’ access to fair union elections and requiring corporations to respect the results.

Rep. Kaptur’s floor speech is available below and here:

Mr. Speaker, today’s passage of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act is a major victory for the American worker.

"Nationwide, millions of Americans work full-time jobs, yet earn unsustainable wages and little to no benefits. Too many people work multiple jobs yet struggle to make ends meet while they watch the stock market and their executives who together make millions upon millions.

But by restoring balance to the gutted National Labor Relations Act, the PRO Act will restore the collective voice and dignity of American workers from all backgrounds, no matter the color of their collar.

The PRO Act includes meaningful, enforceable penalties for union busting companies and executives. It restores workers’ ability to stand together by weakening states’ anti-labor “right to work” laws, and closes loopholes that corporations use to exploit workers. Most importantly, it strengthens workers’ right to free and fair union elections and requires corporations to respect the results.

American workers are the living fabric and backbone of our country and economy and the future of our prosperity. They deserve the power to stand together and advocate for themselves. The PRO Act is the pathway to that power."

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog and top in the Midwest.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com.