Workers, advocates and the chair of the Maine Legislature’s Labor and Housing Committee called Thursday for the U.S. Senate to pass the PRO Act, which would reform labor law and make it easier for workers to form a union.
As Beacon previously reported, the PRO Act, which was passed by the House last month, would allow unions to override so-called “right to work” laws that drive down wages, bar employer interference and influence in union elections, smooth the path to a first contract after a union is formed, stop an employer from using someone’s immigration status against them in employment and levy financial penalties when companies or management violate workers’ rights.
Following independent Sen. Angus King’s decision to co-sponsor the bill, Republican Sen. Susan Collins became the only member of Maine’s delegation who has not come out in support of the measure. King’s announcement came after a campaign by organized labor and advocacy groups urging him to support the bill.
At Thursday’s press conference, hosted by the Maine AFL-CIO, multiple workers noted that the PRO Act would empower workers and prevent employers from busting unions.
Mary Kate O’Sullivan, a registered nurse at Maine Medical Center, spoke about hospital management’s campaign against nurses’ ongoing effort to form a union.
“Over the past several months, my colleagues and I have been exercising our federally protected right to organize a union. In response, MaineHealth has waged a vicious, divisive, and very expensive anti-union campaign that is a case study in why the PRO Act would be an absolute game-changer for workers everywhere,” O’Sullivan said.
Another worker who spoke Thursday was Michaela Flint, a former Portland Museum of Art employee. Flint said she believes she was permanently laid off in February because of her support for a unionization campaign at the museum.
“I had to reapply for my same position,” Flint said. “I was declined my position and I was told I did not have the skill sets, although it was the same position I held for over two years. With the PRO Act, there would be real consequences for employers who break labor law, which would better protect workers like me. Unions benefit and protect workers from losing jobs. Unions make jobs sustainable and give voice to employees.”
The event also featured current union members, who said getting organized has changed their lives for the better.
Kim Tinsman, an electrician apprentice with IBEW 1253, speaking at a virtual press conference in favor of the PRO Act on Thursday.
“For the first time in my adult life I am not trying to figure out what bills I can skip this month or pay late so I can feed my family,” said Kim Tinsman, an electrician apprentice with IBEW 1253. “I’ve been able to get my daughters braces, and they have been able to play sports without me mentally calculating how we’re going to buy the shoes and equipment because as any parent knows, breaking their hearts and disappointing them isn’t on the table.”
Tinsman said passing the PRO Act would be “a first step toward empowering women and giving us the chance to invest in ourselves, our families and to build our communities.”
Maine State Nurses Association member Kara Calor, a registered nurse at Eastern Maine Medical Center, added that unions benefit others in society as well, saying there is “no question that patients’ care and safety are improved when nurses have an effective voice to advocate for their patients as we do through our union at Eastern Maine Medical Center.”
Sen. Craig Hickman (D-Kennebec), the chair of the Maine Legislature’s Labor and Housing Committee, also spoke in favor of the PRO Act. Of particular importance, Hickman said, is the bill’s repeal of so-called right-to-work laws, which he said were originally created by white surpemacist groups in the Jim Crow South as part of an effort to prevent Black and white workers from organizing together.
Hickman said passing the PRO Act would be a significant step in the fight for racial justice.
“Unions advance racial unity in the workplace and wage parity among workers of all colors, genders, and ethnicities,” said Hickman. “Black workers earn 14 percent more than their non-union counterparts, and Latino workers earn 20 percent more. These employees have safer workplaces, better health care benefits, more predictable work schedules, greater access to paid sick days, and better protections against wage discrimination.”
Cynthia Phinney, president of the Maine AFL-CIO, added that the push to pass the PRO Act comes at a crucial time, with myriad workers in Maine and around the country attempting to organize.
“Workers everywhere want unions,” Phinney said. “It should not be so hard for workers to join together to build an organization in the workplace. The PRO Act will restore workers’ basic freedom to form unions and collectively bargain for a better life.”
Photo: Getty Images
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