Cuellar Taking Care of Business (Pro Act)

[douglas9]

Why the PRO Act is a Game-Changer for Labor and the Economy

Among the many reasons behind the recent failure of Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama, to form a union was their employer’s intimidation tactics about what a union would mean for workers. The Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU) in its response to the disappointing vote against unionization released a statement saying, “Amazon interfered with the right of its Bessemer, Alabama employees to vote in a free and fair election.” RWDSU Union head Stuart Appelbaum claimed that the retail giant “required all their employees to attend lecture after lecture, filled with mistruths and lies, where workers had to listen to the company demand they oppose the union.”

Although the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 protects the right of workers to collectively organize without fear of retaliation from employers, most of Amazon’s tactics were technically legal. With a nearly endless source of money to fund its barrage of misinformation and fearmongering, Amazon will likely manage over and over again to convince its workers that unions, not management, are their enemy.


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So far, there are hopeful signs as all but one of the House Democratsvoted “yes” on the bill (Texas Representative Henry Cuellar voted “no,” citing Republican talking points about supporting his state’s “right-to-work” law and claiming without evidence that the PRO Act would destroy thousands of jobs).

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/05/10/why-the-pro-act-is-a-game-changer-for-labor-and-the-economy/