{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-cleaver-co-introduces-pro-act-support-missouri-workers", "Rep. Cleaver Co-Introduces PRO Act to Support Missouri Workers", "2023-03-01", "2023", "2023-03", "Democrat", "House", "MO", "Emanuel Cleaver", "C001061", "cleaver.house.gov", "cleaver", "https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "(Washington, D.C.) \u2013 Yesterday, U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) joined a bipartisan cohort of Representatives and Senators to introduce H.R. 20, the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. The comprehensive bipartisan proposal would strengthen protections that safeguard American workers\u2019 right to come together and bargain for fairer wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces. Congressman Cleaver has been a cosponsor and strong supporter of the PRO Act since it was first introduced in 2019 during the 116th Congress. The proposal was passed by the House of Representatives with bipartisan support in the 116th and 117th Congress when Democrats controlled the chamber.\n\n\u201cAmerican workers are the heartbeat of our national economy, keeping goods moving and businesses running strong. Yet rather than letting hardworking Americans join in the rewards of record-breaking profits, giant corporations continue to utilize their growing power and influence to undermine workers\u2019 rights in Missouri and all across the United States. It is imperative that Congress take steps to protect workers and close the growing gap in income inequality, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m proud to join a bicameral, bipartisan group of lawmakers to introduce the PRO Act,\u201d said Congressman Cleaver.\n\nWhile large corporations and the wealthy continue to capture the rewards of a growing economy, working families and middle-class Americans are being left behind. According to the Economic Policy Institute, from 1979 to 2020, annual wages for the bottom 90 percent of households increased just 26 percent, while average incomes for the wealthiest 1 percent increased more than 160 percent.\n\nLabor unions are a critical component to addressing income inequality, growing a strong middle class, and ensuring workers are being rewarded for their production. According to another study from the Economic Policy Institute, union members earn on average 10 percent more than those with similar education, occupation, and experience in a non-union workplace. Moreover, public support for labor unions has increased drastically in recent years, with 71 percent of Americans approving of labor unions, according to a 2022 Gallup poll. However, due to \"right to work\" laws and decades of anti-union attacks, union membership fell to a new low of 10.1 percent last year.\n\nTo safeguard workers\u2019 right to collectively bargain for fairer wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces, the PRO Act protects the fundamental right to join a union by:\n\nEmpowering workers to exercise their right to organize by giving workers the power to override \"right to work\" laws that prevent unions from collecting dues, enhancing workers' right to support boycotts, strikes, or other acts of solidarity, and ensuring access to justice for workers who suffer retaliation for exercising their rights.\n\nHolding employers accountable for violating workers' rights by authorizing substantial penalties for businesses and executives that choose to violate workers' rights, closing loopholes that corporations use to erode workers' rights, and requiring employers to be transparent with their workers.\n\nSecuring free, fair, and safe union elections by preventing employers from interfering in union elections, allowing workers to hold union elections in a safe environment, and facilitating timely first contracts between companies and newly certified unions.\n\nOfficial text of the PRO Act is available here.\n\nA Fact Sheet on the PRO Act is available here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T23:30:02Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-cleaver-co-introduces-pro-act-support-missouri-workers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8366410620510578, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}