Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023
Latest action · Jul 18, 2023 Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 133.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 28, 2023
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023
This bill expands various labor protections related to employees' rights to organize and collectively bargain in the workplace.
Specifically, it revises the definitions of employee, supervisor, and employer to broaden the scope of individuals covered by the fair labor standards; permits labor organizations to encourage participation of union members in strikes initiated by employees represented by a different labor organization (i.e., secondary strikes); and prohibits employers from bringing claims against unions that conduct such secondary strikes.
The bill also allows collective bargaining agreements to require all employees represented by the bargaining unit to contribute fees to the labor organization for the cost of such representation, notwithstanding a state law to the contrary, and it expands unfair labor practices to include prohibitions against replacement of, or discrimination against, workers who participate in strikes.
The bill makes it an unfair labor practice to require or coerce employees to attend employer meetings designed to discourage union membership and prohibits employers from entering into agreements with employees under which employees waive the right to pursue or a join collective or class-action litigation.
Finally, the bill addresses the procedures for union representation elections, modifies the protections against unfair labor practices that result in serious economic harm, and establishes penalties and permits injunctive relief against entities that fail to comply with National Labor Relations Board orders.
Cosponsors 48
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 28, 2023 to Apr 16, 2024; 47 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Alex Padilla | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-MN | Amy Klobuchar | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| I-ME | Angus S. King Jr. | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-NM | Ben Ray Luján | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-MD | Benjamin L. Cardin | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-HI | Brian Schatz | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-NV | Catherine Cortez Masto | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-NY | Charles E. Schumer | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-MD | Chris Van Hollen | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-DE | Christopher A. Coons | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-CT | Christopher Murphy | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-NJ | Cory A. Booker | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-MI | Debbie Stabenow | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-CA | Dianne Feinstein | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-MA | Edward J. Markey | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-MI | Gary C. Peters | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-RI | Jack Reed | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-NV | Jacky Rosen | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-NH | Jeanne Shaheen | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-OR | Jeff Merkley | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-WV | Joe Manchin III | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-PA | John Fetterman | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-CO | John W. Hickenlooper | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-GA | Jon Ossoff | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-MT | Jon Tester | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-NH | Margaret Wood Hassan | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-WA | Maria Cantwell | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-NM | Martin Heinrich | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-HI | Mazie K. Hirono | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-CO | Michael F. Bennet | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-WA | Patty Murray | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-VT | Peter Welch | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-GA | Raphael G. Warnock | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-IL | Richard J. Durbin | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-NJ | Robert Menendez | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-PA | Robert P. Casey Jr. | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-OR | Ron Wyden | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-RI | Sheldon Whitehouse | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-OH | Sherrod Brown | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-WI | Tammy Baldwin | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-IL | Tammy Duckworth | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-DE | Thomas R. Carper | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-VA | Tim Kaine | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-MN | Tina Smith | Original | Feb 28, 2023 |
| D-CA | Laphonza R. Butler | Apr 16, 2024 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Referred Feb 28, 2023Markup Jun 21, 2023Reported Jul 18, 2023 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jul 18, 2023Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Reported by Senator Sanders without amendment. Without written report.
- Jul 18, 2023Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 133.
- Jun 21, 2023Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Ordered to be reported without amendment favorably.
- Feb 28, 2023Introduced in Senate
- Feb 28, 2023Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
In the Congressional Record 4
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | Debate and remarks S2134 | Bernard Sanders I-VT | Jun 20, 2023 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S1278 | John Thune R-SD | Apr 20, 2023 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S971 | Sherrod Brown D-OH | Mar 27, 2023 |
| Senate | Debate and remarks S767 | Gary C. Peters D-MI | Mar 14, 2023 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Aug 22, 2023S. 567, Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023As ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on June 21, 2023
Printed hearings 2
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 118-210 | STANDING UP AGAINST CORPORATE GREED: HOW UNIONS ARE IMPROVING THE LIVES OF WORKING FAMILIES1,038 pages | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Nov 14, 2023 |
| S. Hrg. 118-189 | DEFENDING THE RIGHT OF WORKERS TO ORGANIZE UNIONS FREE FROM ILLEGAL CORPORATE UNION-BUSTING121 pages | Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee | Mar 8, 2023 |
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R47596 | A Brief Examination of Union Membership Data | Report | Jun 16, 2023 |
Related bills 2
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| HR 20 | Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023 | Related bill | Feb 28, 2023 |
| HR 3935 | FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 | Related bill | May 16, 2024 |
Titles 3
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to amend the National Labor Relations Act, the Labor Management Relations Act, 1947, and the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023
- Short Title(s) as Reported to Senate
- Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Administrative remedies
- Civil actions and liability
- Congressional oversight
- Employee benefits and pensions
- Employment discrimination and employee rights
- Government studies and investigations
- Health care costs and insurance
- Judicial review and appeals
- Labor and Employment
- Labor-management relations
- National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
- Wages and earnings
- Worker safety and health
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jul 18, 2023Reported to Senate
- Feb 28, 2023Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
