Levin Pushes for Passing the PRO Act in New Harvard Law Journal Article

Press Release

Today, Congressman Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Township), member of the House Education and Labor Committee, former union organizer and labor law attorney, published an article Labor Law Reform at a Critical Juncture: The Case For The Protecting The Right To Organize Act in Volume 59, Issue 1 of the Harvard Law School Journal on Legislation. In the piece, Congressman Levin renews his call for the Senate to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), the most comprehensive pro-worker labor law reform since the Wagner Act.

"Solidarity is the backbone of the labor movement, and the strike best embodies this principle. The PRO Act will reinvigorate the right to strike by prohibiting employers from permanently replacing workers who choose to engage in their right to strike and preventing employers from engaging in offensive lockouts designed to preempt strike activity and force employees to acquiesce to employers' bargaining demands," said Congressman Levin. "Workers will be able to support each other in a labor dispute by picketing, striking, or boycotting an employer doing business with the employer involved in the dispute. Making it easier for workers to engage in acts of solidarity allows workers to foster a culture of collective support and action that crosses workplace boundaries and is necessary for the development of a robust labor movement."

"We must never lose sight of the fact that worker power does not derive solely from statute; it comes from the solidarity of people willing and able to demand more collectively and make the sacrifices necessary to win," continued Congressman Levin. "As a union organizer, I took this ideal to heart and tried to help workers create a level of self-organization and unity that could stand up to a great deal of abuse from employers."

"The PRO Act would empower workers to organize in ways and forms of their own choosing, and serve as a precondition of our ability to revitalize our society in a way that advances economic, racial, and political equality. That is the true power of the PRO Act -- the true power of a union," concluded Congressman Levin. "I thank the Harvard Law School Journal on Legislation team and my co-author and inaugural Labor Law Fellow Colton Puckett, who demonstrated great dedication to this project and made many other contributions to enhancing workers' rights."

You can read the full article here.

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