On Tuesday, March 9, 2021, the House of Representatives passed
the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO)
Act.1 With the PRO Act, House and Senate Democrats
seek to amend the National Labor Relations Act. Here, we outline a
few key aspects of the legislation. If the PRO Act succeeds in the
Senate, it will be the most significant change to United States
labor law in decades. If the Act passes in the Senate—a fate
far from certain—it will impact both unionized and
non-unionized workplaces.
Eliminating State Right-to-Work Laws
A key provision of the PRO Act would override state
“right-to-work” laws, a reversal of one of the key
features of the 1947 Taft-Hartley amendments to federal labor law.
Twenty-seven states, including Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Texas, and
Utah, have right-to-work laws, which prohibit unions from
negotiating contracts with employers that would require employees
to pay union dues to maintain employment. Union advocates disfavor
right-to-work laws
