Oregon Republican Congress-woman Lori Chavez-DeRemer added her name July 15 as a co-sponsor of a bill that would make it easier for U.S. workers to unionize and get a first union contract.
Known as the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, H.R. 20 is also co-sponsored by Oregon Democrats Suzanne Bonamici, Earl Blumenauer, Val Hoyle, Andrea Salinas, and Southwest Washington Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez. But Chavez-DeRemer’s co-sponsorship stands out because only two other Republicans in this Congress have signed on.
The PRO Act has been touted as a top union legislative priority since it was first introduced in 2019. When Democrats had the majority in the U.S. House, the bill passed in 2020 and again in 2021. But representatives knew when they voted for it that it was unlikely to get a vote in the Senate, because in 2020 the Senate had a Republican majority, and in 2021 it had the slimmest possible Democratic majority. Even in the best of conditions, self-imposed filibuster rules allow a two-fifths minority to block most legislation in the Senate.
Given today’s Republican majority in the House, co-sponsoring the PRO Act is even more symbolic because the bill is considered to have no chance of a vote. When the current version of the PRO Act was reintroduced in January 2023, it was assigned to the House Education and Workforce Committee, which created a special committee web page to denounce the bill, calling it “a radical union boss wish list.”
Unlike most House Republicans, Chavez-DeRemer has worked to build relationships with organized labor, but last year she told the Labor Press she had concerns about some elements of the PRO Act. She alluded to a provision of the bill that would declare franchisors like McDonalds to be “joint employers” with their franchisees because they share control over terms and conditions of employment. That provision is hotly opposed by franchisors and business groups.
Since then, her union contacts have continued to push her to consider supporting the bill.
Michael Ingrao — a former union lobbyist who served as secretary-treasurer of AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department — is today a political consultant who specializes in helping Republican members of Congress develop relationships with organized labor. Chavez-DeRemer is a client, and Ingrao has advised her on transportation policy and union issues.
In a July 24 email to about two dozen Oregon labor leaders and political staffers, Ingrao said Chavez-DeRemer showed courage for being on the opposite side of a majority of House Republicans on an issue like the PRO Act.
“Unfortunately, this bill will never be enacted in the toxic political environment existing on Capitol Hill today,” Ingrao wrote. “Considering the rabid opposition of a number of companies and business associations to the PRO Act, this makes cosponsoring this bill very difficult especially for a Republican.”
