The Vermont Protecting the Right to Organize "PRO" Act (S.102) is legislation to improve worker protections for organizing and collective bargaining by making it easier for workers in the public sector to form unions, expanding collective bargaining rights to historically marginalized forms of labor, and protecting workers’ freedom of speech by preventing employers from forcing employees to attend captive audience meetings.

 

Higher unionization rates benefit all workers, both union and non-union. States with higher rates of unionization also have higher average wages, a smaller uninsured population, and more benefits and protections for workers, including paid family leave and comprehensive healthcare. Additionally, unions help raise wages for women, reduce racial economic disparities, promote civic participation, and boost voter turnout. In short, the more union workers, the better.

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Vermont is only the 14th most union-dense state in the U.S., surpassed by nearby states New York, Rhode Island, Maine, and Connecticut. We can do better! Many other states have outpaced Vermont in enacting labor-law reforms designed to make it easier for workers to organize unions and bargain collectively.