Wichita labor rallies to support PRO Act, which would make it easier to join a union
th1.jpg "Labor activists with the Kansas AFL-CIO and the Wichita/Hutchinson Labor Federation rallied over Kellogg during rush hour in support of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, a comprehensive labor law reform bill currently before the U.S. Senate.")
More than a dozen members of Wichita’s organized labor movement rallied on an overpass above Kellogg during rush hour Thursday to show their support for the PRO, or Protecting the Right to Organize, Act.
The act is considered the most comprehensive labor law reform to come before Congress in recent history.
Union members and leaders pinned up signs as some cars driving by underneath honked. The rally was part of a national week of action around the federal legislation. The Wichita event was organized by the Kansas AFL-CIO and the Wichita/Hutchinson Labor Federation.
Representatives from Wichita’s largest unions attended from the Machinists Union District Lodge 70, which represents workers at Spirit AeroSystems and Textron Aviation, to the United Teachers of Wichita, the teachers’ union at USD 259. Union leaders from SEIU Local 513, the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) and even local musician union members all showed up to hold signs in the late afternoon heat.
Jake Lowen, director of the Wichita/Hutchinson Labor Federation, said the PRO Act is as close to becoming law as it’s ever been and that now is the time to show Kansas’ senators that there’s support for it in their home state.
“Never has it been so hard to form a union,” Lowen said. “The PRO Act restores that balance of power.”
Generally, the PRO Act is meant to make it easier for workers to join a union, among other labor law reforms sought after by organized labor.
The U.S. House initially passed the PRO Act in early 2020. However, it stalled in the Senate, then Republican-controlled. After the 2020 election, the House renewed the labor legislation again earlier this year.
Union leaders say the bill is once again caught up in the Senate. Congressional Democrats recently said they hope to include it in the second, partisan half of the infrastructure legislation.
Donna Lehane, a retired associate member of SPEEA and former employee at both Boeing and Spirit, rallied in Wichita because she wanted to show residents outside of organized labor that the PRO Act could have an impact on them too.
She’s confident the legislation can still become law if people look at the whole package the PRO Act includes outside of union provisions.
Shaun Junkins, assistant directing business representative for the Machinists Union in Wichita, said the PRO Act would help them and other unions to organize more non-union companies.
If passed, the legislation would eliminate state “right-to-work” laws, like the one in Kansas. The current law means a union is required to represent all workers in a collective bargaining agreement, even if those workers aren’t union members who pay dues or vote on contracts.
The PRO Act would allow unions to collect dues from workers they currently represent, giving them more resources to negotiate better contracts and organize more workplaces, Junkins said. He encouraged Kansas residents in support of the PRO Act to call their U.S. senators, republicans Sen. Jerry Moran and Sen. Roger Marshall.
“I think we’re just two or three votes away from getting this passed,” Junkins said.
John Nave, executive vice president of the Kansas AFL-CIO, traveled from Topeka to attend the rally. He said the PRO Act isn’t so much about forcing workers to join a union, but allowing more workers across Kansas and the U.S. the option to join a union if they choose to do so.
“People are realizing now that unions look after people,” Nave said. “What’s going on at Frito-Lay is a wake-up call.”
Nave said it shouldn’t be a Republican or Democratic issue, but an issue over living wages and workplace safety.
Lowen agreed that the labor legislation had a decent shot of making it to President Joe Biden’s desk, where he would likely sign it.
“We’ve got to at least try,” Lowen said. “If not now, when?”
