As any observer of labor policy knows, unions are very much keen on passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, a radical proposal that would upend American labor law, to put it mildly. According to an unsurprising news report, labor leaders have told their Democrat allies in Congress that union support for political candidates will hinge on whether or not a candidate supports the PRO Act. How much of a difference that may make remains to be seen.
In what supposedly was a private call with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), several unions zeroed in on the three Senate Democrats who have yet to co-sponsor the PRO Act, in particular newly-elected Mark Kelly of Arizona, who will be up for election to a full term in November 2022. Kelly, his fellow Arizona senator, Kyrsten Sinema, and Virginia’s Mark Warner so far have not put their names on the bill, which passed the House of Representatives in early March, and the labor leaders apparently made clear their displeasure over that fact.
Of course, as most who follow these things know, labor unions routinely unleash threats of political reprisal in the year before an election, but then seem to forget such threats in even-numbered years. And, though the article points out that unions spent about $27.5 million supporting President Joe Biden’s election last year, it is worth noting that Biden’s campaign spent over $1 billion.
Thankfully, there are still three Democrats who have not caved to such threats, and hopefully it remains that way.
About the authors
Sean P. Redmond
Sean P. Redmond is Vice President, Labor Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
