As Trump Administration Illegally Slashes Worker Protections, Warren, Sherman Fight to Ban Laws that Threaten Workers’ Right to Unionize for Better Wages and Working Conditions

Bill Text (PDF)
Washington, D.C.– Following the Trump administration’s unprecedented attacks on workers’ rights, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) reintroduced theNationwide Right to Unionize Act, legislation that would support the right to unionize by invalidating “right-to-work” laws meant to weaken unions’ ability to organize workers.
Since January, the second Trump administration hasillegally strippedfederal workers of their right to unionize,attempted to gutthe federal labor oversight board, andrefused to defendan expansion of overtime protections in court.
Additionally, to date, twenty-eight states have enacted “right-to-work” laws that make it more difficult for workers to form unions to fight for higher wages and better working conditions. The result of these laws has been a 5% decrease in unionization rates and a decrease in average wages for all full-time workers of about $11,000 a year,according to a reportreleased by Representative Sherman’s office.
“Building a strong economy means empowering workers, not silencing them with ‘right-to-work’ laws that strip them of their power and weaken unions,”said Senator Warren. “While the Trump administration continues to threaten our economy by attacking our workers, we’re stepping up to defend workers’ rights to negotiate better benefits and wages.”
“‘Right-to-work’ really means ‘right-to-work-for-less.’ These laws are designed to weaken unions and drive down wages,”said Congressman Sherman. “In the name of economic competition, one state after another has adopted these anti-worker statutes, triggering a race to the bottom. That’s why I am once again joining forces with Senator Warren to put forward the Nationwide Right to Unionize Act, which repeals these anti-union laws. I’ve introduced this measure every session of Congress since 2008 because the need to stand up for America’s workers has never gone away. Senator Warren has been a fearless advocate for working people her entire career, and I’m proud to partner with her to fight back against attacks on labor and rebuild the middle class.”
The bill was originally introduced in 2017 as theProtecting Workers and Improving Labor Standards Act andreintroduced in 2020 and2022as theNationwide Right to Unionize Act. This legislation would invalidate state “right-to-work” laws, which ban union security and “fair share” agreements.
A similar proposal is included in theProtecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which the lawmakers have co-sponsored and would protect American workers’ right to organize and negotiate for better wages and working conditions.
This legislation is co-sponsored by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai’i), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).
Representatives Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.), Linda Sanchez (D-Calif.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.).
The bill has received support from the following advocacy and expert organizations: AFL-CIO, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), International Brotherhood of Teamsters, United Steelworkers, Transport Workers Union of America, Communications Workers of America Union, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, International Association of Machinists, Economic Policy Institute, and National Employment Law Project.
Senator Warren has been an outspoken advocate for union workers’ rights and has fought to protect workers, the economy, and hardworking families:
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