On March 9, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protect the Right to Organize (or PRO) Act of 2021 by a 225-206 vote — a tally which included five Republicans voting in favor. The bill has since languished in the U.S. Senate. Supporters of the bill, including hundreds of labor unions, claim the bill would bring the United States into the international mainstream of labor rights. Opponents of the bill, which include the United States Chamber of Commerce and the National Retail Federation, have blasted the proposal, calling it “the worst bill in Congress.” Stephanie Bloomingdale is the president of the Wisconsin AFL/CIO, the state’s largest labor organization.
