Statement of Support for the PRO Act

 NEW YORK, NY (MARCH 15, 2021) – The following is a statement from the Writers Guild of America, East, AFL-CIO (WGAE) on the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act):

The Writers Guild of America, East applauds the United States House of Representative for passing the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, the strongest pro-worker legislation in decades, and urges the Senate to do the same.

The PRO Act comes at a crucial time in our country’s history, as working Americans fall farther behind economically and suffer the brunt of the current economic recession. It recognizes that the surest way to address inequality is to empower working people themselves to bargain for their own rights and interests. Individually, working people have no voice and no power; through collective bargaining, they can ensure that their voices are heard and their work is properly valued. This is particularly true of historically underrepresented people – women and BIPOC workers who have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic.

Together, the Writers Guild of America, East has built a storied labor union that achieved landmark contracts for screenwriters, television writers, broadcast newsrooms, digital-native newsrooms, podcasters, web-series, and nonfiction/”reality” television. The Guild’s work, led by an active and engaged membership, advances members’ priorities in the workplace. 

The PRO Act levels the playing field. It stops employers from retaliating against workers who publicly support a union, it stops employers from forcing workers to attend anti-union meetings, and it stops employers from hiring scabs to replace striking workers. Further, the bill finally bans States from using Jim Crow “Right to Work” laws to weaken union power. 

We urge every U.S. Senator to stand with working people during this time of crisis and pass the PRO Act.

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