National Week of Action to pass the PRO Act

Join WSLC forum ‘Why Washington State Needs the PRO Act’ on Thursday at 5 p.m.

(April 27, 2021) — This week, the AFL-CIO is leading a Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act Week of Action, part of the labor movement’s national campaign urging senators to pass this transformative legislation. The groundswell of support for the bill has been building since it passed the House in early March, with several hundred events having already occurred. Throughout this week, more than 700 more events and actions in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico are scheduled.

Washington is fortunate to have two outstanding U.S. senators leading the charge for passage of the PRO Act: lead sponsor Sen. Patty Murray and co-sponsor Maria Cantwell. The Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO is hosting a workers’ forum on Why Washington State Needs the PRO Act on Thursday, April 29 at 5 p.m. featuring special messages from Sens. Murray and Cantwell and workers explaining how the PRO Act will help them exercise their freedom to join together in unions. It will be conducted live via Zoom (register here). It will also appear via Facebook Live on the WSLC’s page. In addition, he WSLC will be crossposting multiple AFL-CIO Facebook Live forums all week starting today (see schedule below).

Labor’s PRO Act advocacy efforts are working! In recent days, two more senators have signed on as PRO Act co-sponsors, bringing the total to 47. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that the PRO Act will get a Senate vote if the PRO Act gets 50 co-sponsors. So we’re close! Two of the three remaining Democratic senators who have yet to sign on as PRO Act co-sponsors are Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema.

Rather than continuing to contact Washington’s senators, the WSLC is urging union members and supporters to volunteer for a phone bank shift (or two) with the Arizona AFL-CIO. These phone banks are to call fellow union members in Arizona and urge them to contact Sens. Kelly and Sinema. Each shift includes training on how to participate using a predictive dialer system, similar to the phone banks the WSLC operated during last year’s election season.

Following is the schedule of remaining Arizona AFL-CIO phone banks (click the times to register) and Facebook Live events this week to get educated about the PRO Act and to help get it passed:

TUESDAY, APRIL 27 

ARIZONA PHONE BANKS — First shift: Noon to 3 p.m. Second shift: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

AFL-CIO FORUM — “The PRO Act and Freelancers Town Hall” will be streamed live here on Tuesday starting at 4 p.m. Pacific time. (RSVP here.) Misclassification is a serious issue that affects freelancers, app-based workers and people working across the gig economy. The PRO Act expands the definition of an employee so that some independent contractors and freelancers can join a union in order to advocate for higher wages, better working conditions, and worker protections. There’s a fierce misinformation campaign being waged against the PRO Act, specifically targeting freelancers. So join this town hall to learn more about how the PRO Act will help freelancers.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28

ARIZONA PHONE BANKS — First shift: Noon to 3 p.m. Second shift: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

WORKERS MEMORIAL DAY EVENTS — The various commemorations to honor the past year’s fallen workers will include messages about how the PRO Act would empower workers to join together and negotiate for safer working conditions to protect their lives and health.

THURSDAY, APRIL 29 

ARIZONA PHONE BANKS — First shift: Noon to 3 p.m. Second shift: 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.

AFL-CIO FORUM — “How the PRO Act Will Help Address Systemic Racism” will be streamed live here on Thursday starting at 4 p.m. Pacific time. (RSVP here.) The PRO Act is more than labor law reform, it’s civil rights legislation. A union contract is the single best tool we have to close racial and gender wage gaps, and to ensure dignity and due process for workers, regardless of where we were born, who we are or what industry we work in. Join AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Tefere Gebre (UFCW) and AFL-CIO Director of Civil, Human and Women’s Rights Clayola Brown (Workers United) for a panel on how the PRO Act will help address systemic racism.

WSLC WORKERS’ FORUM — “Why Washington State Needs the PRO Act” on Thursday at 5 p.m. featuring special messages from Sens. Murray and Cantwell. Register here or watch on Facebook Live here. (See details above.)

FRIDAY, APRIL 30

AFL-CIO FORUM — “The PRO Act: A Pathway to the American Dream Roundtable” will be streamed live here on Friday starting at 4 p.m. Pacific Time. (RSVP here.) Veterans’ transition to civilian life is difficult, and a union career provides a pathway for veterans to achieve the American Dream during their transition and beyond. Join the Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO for a conversation with prominent veteran labor leaders on how joining a union changed their lives and how the PRO Act will enable veterans across the country to access the benefits of a union.

PREVIOUSLY at The Stand

Historic labor law reform passes U.S. House of Representatives (March 10)
Six ways the PRO Act restores workers’ bargaining power (March 18)
No, the PRO Act doesn’t threaten freelancers and contractors (March 25)