[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 54 (Tuesday, March 23, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1685-S1686]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                  Protecting the Right to Organize Act

  Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, last week, I spoke about a deeply 
flawed and misguided piece of legislation passed by the House--House 
bill H.R. 1 and now Senate bill, S. 1.
  Today, I am going to talk about yet another bill from our colleagues 
in the House that would be terrible for my State of Alabama and for our 
country. It is called the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, better 
known as the PRO Act.
  Like H.R. 1, the PRO Act represents a massive power grab by the 
Democrats here in Washington, DC, to override the will of the voters 
and State legislatures in a majority of the States in this country. 
Democrats want to force their ideas on States that refuse to adopt 
their progressive failed policies. Federal power grabs like these are 
unconstitutional and go against our entire system of government.
  The PRO Act would overrule the right-to-work laws across the country 
and force tens of millions of employees to join a union. Currently, 27 
States have right-to-work laws on their books, including Alabama. More 
States could join us in the future. Right-to-work laws give workers 
freedom, and more importantly, they give them the freedom to choose 
whether to unionize or not.
  Alabama's right-to-work law has been a huge benefit for our State and 
for the people, helping to attract many businesses to our State. Take 
car manufacturing, for example. Beginning with Mercedes, in 1993, 
automakers like Toyota, Hyundai, and Honda all have large presences in 
Alabama. Their investment in our State has created a growing automotive 
supplier network, supporting roughly 150 companies in our State. 
Altogether, we have around 40,000 Alabamians employed in the automotive 
sector alone. Those jobs go on to support thousands more family 
members, all thanks to Alabama's right-to-work law.
  The PRO Act would upend the economic growth we have seen in Alabama 
and in many States across the country. By forcing unionization on 
American workers, many industries would grind to a halt, and employers' 
costs would skyrocket, which could lead to a loss of many, many jobs. 
According to the State Policy Network, the PRO Act would destroy 57 
million American workers who call themselves freelancers, in addition 
to the millions of salaried workers who would lose their right-to-work 
protections.
  Unions, to some degree, have helped build our great country, but we 
need to give workers the ability to choose, not force them to be in a 
union. Right-to-

[[Page S1686]]

work laws give workers a choice. Choice creates competition, and 
competition breeds success. Forced unionization creates a monopoly, 
which only leads to stagnation.
  President Biden says he believes that ``every worker should have a 
free and fair choice to join a union,'' but the PRO Act would tip the 
scales towards unionized labor even further. Among other things, the 
bill requires that workers' personal contact information be sent to 
unions; removes vote by secret ballot, subjecting them to union 
harassment; and limits the information workers may receive during a 
union-organizing campaign. That doesn't sound free and fair to me; it 
sounds like they want to ensure a favorable outcome for the union 
bosses and give them the ability to punish workers who don't go along 
with them.
  On a related note, I want to briefly mention the upcoming 
unionization vote for nearly 6,000 workers at Amazon's facility in 
Bessemer, AL, just outside of Birmingham. There has been a lot of 
attention paid to this lately. We have had Hollywood actors, 
celebrities, Members of Congress, and even President Biden trying to 
help tip the scales toward the union's favorable outcome. Let me be 
clear. These hard-working Alabamians don't need Hollywood elites or 
Federal Government officials telling them what to do. We should all 
trust they will make the decision they think is right for them and 
their families. And that is what right-to-work is all about--the right 
to choose. This is still a free country, after all.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Wyoming.