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protecting the right to organize act
US Strike Activity Surged in 2022 as SCOTUS Workers' Rights Ruling Looms
"The right to strike is a critical source of worker power, but that right could be under further threat from the Supreme Court," warned one expert.
Feb 23, 2023
The number of U.S. workers who staged work stoppages in a wide array of industries in 2022 surged by nearly 50% from the previous year, new federal data shows—but the resolve among employees demanding fair pay after years without a raise, better working conditions, and paid sick leave may be under threat as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a key labor case.
An analysis by three Economic Policy Institute (EPI) experts—Margaret Poydock, Jennifer Sherer, and Celine McNicholas—of data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that at least 120,600 U.S. workers were involved in major strikes in 2022, up from 80,700 in 2021.
EPI noted that a number of significant strikes went uncounted by the bureau, as the federal government does not track strikes involving fewer than 1,000 people, such as the three-month work stoppage staged by 250 union members at HarperCollins Publishers recently, which successfully secured bonuses and raises.
Between 2021 and 2022, union membership grew by 200,000 people, with 16 million workers represented by collective bargaining units, EPI's report showed. More Americans expressed approval of unions last year than they have in more than 50 years.
"Workers are turning to strikes to fight for better wages and working conditions, as well as union recognition," said Poydock. "This strike activity is occurring despite our broken labor law failing to adequately protect workers' fundamental right to strike."
As EPI noted, the internationally recognized human right to go on strike is guaranteed to most private sector workers in the U.S. under the National Labor Relations Act, but the law does not cover employees in the railway or airline industries, the public sector, agriculture, or in domestic work including home health aides and childcare workers.
Last month the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Glacier Northwest, Inc. v. International Brotherhood of Teamsters—a case that could further weaken American workers' right to stage work stoppages to demand fair treatment from employers.
"Workers will face potential liability for any damages the employer deems to be related to the work stoppage. This would greatly limit workers ability to strike and would be a gross misinterpretation of the NLRA."
The case involves concrete company Glacier Northwest, which filed a lawsuit for damages after its truck drivers in Washington state, who are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 174, went on strike. The company claimed the work stoppage caused concrete to harden in trucks before it could be delivered, leaving Glacier Northwest with lost sales.
"The case centers on the question of whether an employer's suit for damages related to a strike is preempted by the NLRA, which governs the right to strike," Poydock, Sherer, and McNicholas in the EPI report, referring to the National Labor Relations Act. "In the Glacier case, the employer is arguing that, in spite of workers' attempts to protect the employer's property, the union is liable for damages related to the strike. If the Supreme Court is persuaded by this argument, it will upend decades of precedent surrounding the right to strike and leave workers with a significantly diminished ability to strike."
"Workers will face potential liability for any damages the employer deems to be related to the work stoppage. This would greatly limit workers ability to strike and would be a gross misinterpretation of the NLRA," they continued.
\u201cGlacier Northwest v. Teamsters is the latest SCOTUS case that\u2019s flying under the radar \u2014 but you need to know about it.\n\nIf wealthy corporations get their way, companies would be able to sue striking workers for the cost of lost revenue, spoiled products, and more.\n\nBe warned.\u201d— Robert Reich (@Robert Reich) 1673380580
EPI said the case offers the latest reason for Congress to ensure that the right to unionize and strike is protected by passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The legislation would prohibit employers from permanently replacing workers who go on strike, eliminate a ban on secondary strikes, and allow intermittent strikes.
The group also called for the passage of the Striking Workers Healthcare Protection Act to prevent companies from retaliating against striking workers by cutting off their health coverage, as well as a number of state-level reforms.
Recent proposals in Massachusetts and Maine would extend the right to strike to public workers, and in Connecticut and Pennsylvania lawmakers have proposed allowing workers to collect unemployment benefits while on the picket line—"promising signs of growing state-level interest in shoring up workers' right to strike," EPI said.
"The right to strike is a critical source of worker power, but that right could be under further threat from the Supreme Court," said Sherer. "We need Congress and state legislatures to step in and strengthen the right to strike by passing the PRO Act and other critical reforms."
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Progressive Groups Mark May Day With Rallies Urging Passage of PRO Act
"The fight for the PRO Act is a fight for a future of dignity for all workers," said Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York.
May 01, 2021
A coalition of over 40 progressive organizations on Saturday rallied online and in person to support the PRO Act--legislation that would strengthen workers' right to organize among other pro-worker provisions.
Groups behind the May Day actions include MoveOn, Indivisible, Democratic Socialists of America, and the Working Families Party.
The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act passed the House in March but has not yet faced a vote in the upper chamber, where it confronts the 60-vote legislative filibuster and no support from three Democrats--Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (Ariz.), Mark Kelly (Ariz.), and Mark Warner (Va.).
\u201cFrom the streets to warehouses, working people are rising up. But bosses and billionaires are taking advantage of our broken laws to hold us back at every turn. \n\nJoin us on #InternationalWorkersDay today at 2pm ET for a rally + textbank to #PassThePROAct: https://t.co/8Yabpz8w5F\u201d— Working Families Party \ud83d\udc3a (@Working Families Party \ud83d\udc3a) 1619872243
The event description for an online rally Saturday calls the PRO Act "a sweeping overhaul of the rules of our economy that would empower workers and require real accountability when corporations try to take advantage of employees." Speakers at the event included Democratic Reps. Kati Porter (Calif) and Jamal Bowman (N.Y.) and Thea Riofrancos, an organizer for Democratic Socialists of America's (DSA) Green New Deal Campaign Committee.
Bowman framed the PRO Act as "a fight for a future of dignity for all workers--where workers have a say in what happens in the workplace; where they are treated as people, not as machines; and where their humanity takes precedence over at-all-costs productivity."
"It is a way to fight back against the plantation capitalist system that is oppressing us all," Bowman continued. "But it cannot be passed unless we fight. We were given a mandate to fight, consistently and relentlessly, for legislation just like this--so we need to be steadfast in our fight for the PRO Act, for the abolition of the filibuster, and for the values that can bring about a better tomorrow for ourselves, our kids, and our grandchildren."
\u201cWe are taking action May 1 across the country in more than 80 cities to #PassThePROAct. Workers made the world, now we will save it. All out to build the road to stronger unions and power for workers! https://t.co/fZ5dn51eOy\u201d— DSA \ud83c\udf39 (@DSA \ud83c\udf39) 1619842115
DSA is also boosting its call for the legislation, declaring in a video: "Workers made the world, now we will save it."
The group has already pushed for the legislation with over 750,000 phone calls to voters and legislators in the states with holdout senators, DSA said in a statement Saturday. That effort has been worth it, the group said, attributing previous calls to Sens. Angus King (I- Maine) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to having flipped their PRO Act opposition to support.
The trio of holdout senators were targeted of some of the in-person rallies Saturday:
\u201cThe Charlottesville DSA May Day rally and picnic was a resounding success! More than 50 folks showed up to celebrate labor and let @MarkWarner know they want him to #PassthePROAct! Shout out to our comrades from @UVA_YDS for coming out too!\u201d— Charlottesville DSA (@Charlottesville DSA) 1619895203
The White House-backed (pdf) legislation has drawn support from a diverse range of groups and economists like those at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
In a fact sheet released in February, EPI summarized the proposal's benefits:
The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act addresses many of the major shortcomings with our current law. Passing the PRO Act would help restore workers' ability to organize with their co-workers and negotiate for better pay, benefits, and fairness on the job. Passing the PRO Act would also promote greater racial economic justice because unions and collective bargaining help shrink the Black-white wage gap and bring greater fairness to the workplace.
EPI also joined Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, the AFL-CIO, and the National Employment Law Project this week in releasing a document that "examines the challenges of unionizing in the U.S. and explains how the PRO Act would be a corrective."
Arvind Ganesan, business and human rights director at Human Rights Watch, put the legislation in the context of the coronavirus crisis.
"The Covid-19 pandemic cruelly exposed how severe inequality is in the United States, where many low-wage workers face hunger, suffer from inadequate healthcare, or risk losing their homes, while the affluent have recovered far more quickly and even thrived," Ganesan said in a statement.
"Passing the PRO Act would be a major step toward tackling inequality by protecting workers' rights," he said, "a key element in a just and human rights-based recovery."
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