Democrat's VP Nominee Must Stand With Workers

The popularity of labor unions is at a 60-year high. Everywhere you look, workers are organizing their workplaces—and winning. Tired of rising costs and rising CEO pay, everyday people are standing up to their bosses and demanding their wages rise as well.

Lawmakers, too, are waking up to the fact that supporting workers isn’t just good politics; it’s the best way to make our economy work for more people.

Until recently, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly was among only a handful of Democratic lawmakers who had not publicly supported the Richard L. Trump Protecting the Right to Organize Act, better known as the PRO Act.

The most significant worker rights legislation in decades, the PRO Act would restore organizing protections that have been weakened by decades of corporate attacks and hold companies accountable that violate workers’ rights.

We’re encouraged by the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris co-sponsored the PRO Act during her time in the Senate. And if elected in November, she has committed to following through on the Biden Administration's pledge to pass the bill and sign it into law.

When the labor movement heard that Senator Kelly was being vetted as a potential Vice President, union and community leaders raised the alarm—most privately, and a few publicly:

“Why would the Democrats even consider a senator for the vice president if the senator doesn’t support the PRO Act?” John Samuelsen, president of the Transport Workers Union, asked ABC News.

“That’s a hard no,” tweeted Richard Bensinger, former organizing director of the AFL-CIO.

Suddenly in the spotlight, Senator Kelly quickly corrected course and joined the overwhelming majority of Senate Democrats committed to passing the PRO Act.

“Unions loom large in our life, and I’m supportive of the PRO Act,” Kelly told the Huffington Post Wednesday. “I would have voted for it on Day 1. I would vote for it today.”

Senator Kelly is not alone in burnishing his pro-union credentials amidst the Veepstakes. We’ve seen Tim Walz, Josh Shapiro, and Andy Beshear tout their support for unions. It’s an important moment in our politics—and a telling one. To be considered a Democratic rising star, voters expect you to be on the side of working people.

The refusal of any candidate to support the PRO Act should raise a huge red flag with voters. The legislation is not only a top legislative priority of the labor movement, but a priority of a broad coalition of progressive, climate, and civil rights groups—including the Working Families Party and fellow members of the Worker Power Coalition. Many of our country’s labor laws are more than eighty years old, and we know that to make the economy work for all of us we need to bring our laws into the 21st century.

We’re encouraged by the fact that Vice President Kamala Harris co-sponsored the PRO Act during her time in the Senate. And if elected in November, she has committed to following through on the Biden Administration's pledge to pass the bill and sign it into law.

Trump, on the other hand, wants to put his boot on the neck of the labor movement. His top advisors have put together a 900-page plan called Project 2025 that calls for gutting worker protections, repealing prevailing wage laws, and undermining our organizing by allowing corporations to create sham management-run unions.

Working people want to know which candidates will take on greedy corporations and level the playing field for workers. By supporting the PRO Act and standing in solidarity with unions, Democrats can show working people that they have their backs.