Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Striketober Wave of Worker Action Highlights Need for PRO Act

From coast to coast working people are standing together and taking bold action for better pay, better benefits, and dignity and respect on the job. According to the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations “Labor Action Tracker” there have been 176 strikes across the nation this year. From UAW workers at John Deere to BCTGM workers at Nabisco and Kellogg’s, nurses in upstate New York and Minnesota, and distillery workers in Kentucky, working people, who powered our country through the coronavirus pandemic, are fighting for a better deal for all workers.

Now, is the time for the Senate to listen to workers and pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act. The PRO Act will protect strikers and update labor law to better meet the needs of workers fighting for equality and fairness in our economy with strong unions.

Senator Baldwin proudly supports the PRO Act and is working to bring the bill to the Senate floor for a vote. Unfortunately, Senator Johnson has repeatedly refused to meet with workers to discuss the benefits of the PRO Act. Working families are continuing our campaign for Senator Johnson to stand with workers by sending postcards to him from iconic spots around the state.

Kim Kohlhaas, President of the AFT-Wisconsin, was at the Minocqua Brewing Company to tell Senator Ron Johnson to listen to workers and support the PRO Act.

“Passing the PRO Act will empower workers who want to join together in union for a better life,” says Kim Kohlhaas, President of AFT-Wisconsin. “It’s a real shame Senator Johnson refuses to talk with workers to learn more about this vital legislation to boost wages and create middle-class jobs for our state and nation. It’s clear Senator Johnson doesn’t care about workers and is more interesting in hearing from his ultra-rich campaign donors than from the hard-working men and women of Wisconsin.”

Click here to make a call to pass the PRO Act.

Located in Minocqua, Wisconsin, Minocqua Brewery Company (MBC) makes #progressivebeer such as Evers Ale, Tammy Shandy, Fair Maps IPA, Biden Beer and ,la - A Vice Presidential Stout. When MBC heard about our campaign to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, they wanted to be a part of lifting up workers and growing our middle class with the PRO Act.

The PRO Act will:

• Empower workers to exercise our freedom to organize and bargain.
• Ensure that workers can reach a first contract quickly after a union is recognized.
• End employers’ practice of punishing striking workers by hiring permanent replacements. Speaking up for labor rights is within every worker’s rights—and workers shouldn’t lose our jobs for it.
• Hold corporations accountable by strengthening the National Labor Relations Board and allowing it to penalize employers who retaliate against working people in support of the union or collective bargaining.
• Repeal “right to work” laws—divisive and racist laws created during the Jim Crow era—that lead to lower wages, fewer benefits and more dangerous workplaces.
• Create pathways for workers to form unions, without fear, in newer industries like Big Tech.

The striketober wave of worker action is about basic fairness and respect. The inequities that we’re seeing in the economy, with companies making record profits while eroding wages and benefits and asking workers to work long hours away from their families, must end. What we need now is good, secure, sustainable, union jobs for all. The PRO Act helps us get there.

PETITION: Support the Build Back Better agenda

The Build Back Better agenda means trillions of dollars will be invested in our jobs, families and communities. Add your name to tell Congress to pass the budget reconciliation and the infrastructure bills.

Add Your Name

This agenda is made up of two critical pieces of legislation: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the 2021 budget reconciliation bill. Congress must pass both. The infrastructure bill is transformative in that it invests in roads, bridges, transit, rail, climate change mitigation, electric vehicles, clean drinking water, high-speed internet, resilient transmission lines and more that will create good-paying union jobs. Budget reconciliation is a $3.5 trillion investment in working people, good union jobs, health care and more. It includes things like 12 weeks of universal paid leave and two years of free community college, and it reduces prescription drug costs. Working people in America have waited long enough. Add your name to show you support this historic investment in our infrastructure and in working people.

Take Action to Build Back Better

There are two jobs bills before Congress, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) and the Budget Reconciliation Bill. The Build Back Better agenda includes both the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Budget Reconciliation Bill. Together, both bills will create nearly 4 million jobs and make huge investments in the care economy.

• The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) will provide critical funding to repairing Wisconsin’s roads and bridges, replacing our toxic lead laterals, and ensuring every family has access to broadband – all with critical “Made in America” standards as well as labor standards like prevailing wage. The U.S. Senate recently passed the Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act with Senator Ron Johnson voting against the bipartisan bill and Senator Baldwin voting in favor.

• The Budget Reconciliation bill represents a $3.5 trillion investment in working families, education, paid leave, child care, clean energy jobs, and expansion of health care access. It also includes labor law enforcement with real penalties -- a key provision of the PRO Act.

The Wisconsin State AFL-CIO fully supports both critical bills. Join us in taking action and urging Congress to pass both bills.

The Build Back Better Agenda will usher in an economy that rewards work, not wealth, by making the ultra-wealthy and corporations pay their fair share, cracking down on tax evasion and closing loopholes. The plan will lower costs for working families while creating long-term growth for our economy.

America’s labor movement fully supports both jobs bills. Click here to email Congress in support of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (H.R. 3684) and the Budget Reconciliation Bill today.

Standing in Solidarity with IATSE Film and TV Crews

Negotiations are set to resume today (October 5) between the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP). Both sides agreed to return to the bargaining table after a nearly unanimous vote by 60,000 IATSE members working in TV and film production to authorize a nationwide strike if a fair contract cannot be reached. This is the first time in IATSE’s 128-year history that members of the union have authorized a nationwide strike.

“The members have spoken loud and clear,” said IATSE International President Matthew Loeb. “This vote is about the quality of life as well as the health and safety of those who work in the film and television industry. Our people have basic human needs like time for meal breaks, adequate sleep, and a weekend. For those at the bottom of the pay scale, they deserve nothing less than a living wage. I hope that the studios will see and understand the resolve of our members. The ball is in their court. If they want to avoid a strike, they will return to the bargaining table and make us a reasonable offer.”

“The Wisconsin labor movement proudly stands with our IATSE brothers and sisters whose hard work behind the scenes contributes so much to the cultural life of our nation,” said Wisconsin AFL-CIO President Stephanie Bloomingdale. “The ninety-eight percent margin by which the strike vote was authorized is a clear indication of the solidarity and resolve of IATSE members. We urge the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to negotiate in good faith to reach a mutually agreeable contract that brings an end to excessive and harmful work schedules and provides fair wages to all.” 

Show your support for IATSE TV and Film Production Workers:

• Sign the IATSE petition calling on AMPTP to make a fair deal with film and television workers.

• Show your solidarity and post on social media with the hashtag #IASolidarity

IATSE members are the working-class backbone of the TV programs, films, and streaming content that provide entertainment to millions around the world. These dedicated workers deserve a fair contract that adequately addresses their concerns for reasonable rest, fair wages, sustainable benefits and provisions that meet the current reality of streaming services.

IATSE members and the labor movement are committed to achieving change that is long overdue in this industry so that all workers can have a safe and sustainable work-life with living wages and dignity and respect on the job.