NEWS: Congressman Greg Casar Co-Sponsors PRO Act, H.R. 20
Casar, a former labor organizer, joins legislation to protect workers’ rights
WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas) joined Democrats in introducing the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), H.R. 20.
“As a former labor organizer, I’m proud to be an original co-sponsor of the PRO Act this session,” said Congressman Greg Casar (D-Texas). “Right now, our economy is working for the likes of Jeff Bezos, but not for everyday people. Especially in a right-to-work-for-less state like Texas, workers deserve a union to protect their rights, create safer workplaces, and hold exploitative employers accountable. If we restore union rights for the American people, we’ll restore an economy that works for all.”
The PRO Act protects the basic right to join a union:
- Holds employers accountable for violating workers’ rights by authorizing meaningful penalties, facilitating initial collective bargaining agreements, and closing loopholes that allow employers to misclassify their employees as supervisors and independent contractors.
- Empowers workers to exercise their right to organize by strengthening support for workers who suffer retaliation for exercising their rights, protecting workers’ right to support secondary boycotts, ensuring workers can collect “fair share” fees, and authorizing a private right of action for violation of workers’ rights.
- Secures free, fair, and safe union elections by preventing employers from interfering in union elections, prohibiting captive audience meetings, and requiring employers to be transparent with their workers.
For the bill text of the PRO Act, click here.
For a fact sheet on the PRO Act, click here.
For a section-by-section summary of the PRO Act, click here.
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Congressman Greg Casar represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which runs down I-35 from East Austin to Hays County to the West Side of San Antonio. A labor organizer and son of Mexican immigrants, Casar serves as the Whip of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for the 118th Congress. He also serves on the Committee on Oversight and Accountability and the Committee on Agriculture.