The Protecting the Right to Organize Act 2021 (PRO Act)

The American people like unions, but very few belong to one, a discrepancy that places the U.S. labor movement in a precarious state. If Americans like unions and want to join them but aren’t, it’s most likely because they can’t. But a possible fix awaits in the form of the “Protecting the Right to Organize Act 2021.”  The PRO Act is a far-reaching piece of legislation with the goal of strengthening organized labor. It would alter the balance of power in labor-management relations.

• How the PRO Act would address existing deficiencies in U.S. Law
• Potential Impact the PRO Act may have on businesses
• Substantial Impact on Independent Contractors
• Current State of Union Membership in the U.S.
• Current Roadblocks to Passing the Senate
• Purpose & Provisions of the PRO Act 2021
• Effect on Economic and Social Inequality
• Banning of State Right-to-Work Laws

• Purpose & Provisions of the PRO Act 2021 
• Current roadblocks to passing the Senate
• How the PRO Act would address existing deficiencies in U.S. law
• Background information on the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959
• How the PRO Act would eliminate existing loopholes in U.S. law that undermine organizing
• Empowering the NLRB to enforce unions on employers even where the union lost the representation election
• Altering the framework for determining the employee-independent contractor classification
• Elimination of employers’ free speech rights during union organizing campaigns
• Elimination of the concept of negotiation requiring binding arbitration for initial collective bargaining agreements
• Enabling unions to more easily organize employees through “micro” or “mini” unions
• Potential impact the PRO Act may have on businesses
• Substantial impact on independent contractors
• Banning of state right-to-work laws
• Current state of union membership in the U.S.
• Is technology making it easier to suppress or discourage organizing?
• Eliminating barriers preventing workers from exercising to their rights to join a union
• Requiring 
• Human rights laws ensure everyone has the right to organize better working conditions, to form and join unions, to strike, and to bargain collectively with employers
• Effect on economic and social inequality

If enacted, the PRO Act would mark the biggest expansion of collective-bargaining rights in decades. It would amend the National Labor Relations Act, the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947, and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959. President Biden supports the bill, and he may soon be in a position to make good on that support. The bill passed the House of Representatives with bipartisan support on March 9, 2021 and is headed to the Senate. Bu it may face a harder road in the Senate, where a virtually certain Republican filibuster could block its passage.

• Employment Law Professionals
• Business Owners
• Operations Professionals
• Human Resources Professionals
• Labor Law Professionals
• Union & non-unionized Employees
• Managers & Supervisors

Diane L. Dee, President of Advantage HR Consulting, has over 25 years of experience in the Human Resources arena. Diane’s background includes experience in HR consulting and administration in corporate, government, consulting, and pro bono environments. Diane founded Advantage HR Consulting in early 2016. Under Diane’s leadership, Advantage HR provides comprehensive, cost-effective Human Resources solutions for small to mid-sized firms in the greater Chicagoland area. Additionally, Diane conducts webinars on a wide variety of HR topics for various training firms across the country. Diane holds a Master's Certificate in Human Resources from Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and has attained SPHR, SHRM-SCP, sHRBP, and HRPM® certifications. Diane is a member of the National Association of Women Business Owners and the Society for Human Resource Management. Additionally, Diane performs pro bono work through the Taproot Foundation assisting non-profit clients by integrating their Human Resources goals with their corporate strategies.