Government affairs
Legislative Updates
Toward the end of last year, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced the Workplace Action for a Growing Economy (WAGE) Act (H.R. 4548 and S. 2143), a bill that aims to strengthen the protections for workers who band together in unions, ensure real-life consequences for corporations that violate workers’ rights, and counter the epidemic of middle-class wage stagnation.
The WAGE Act expands workers’ rights and discourages employer retaliation against those who choose to exercise their rights by:
- Requiring employers to post notices of workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
- Creating penalties to prevent violations of workers’ rights to join unions or engage in collective action.
- Strengthening remedies for workers who suffer retaliation for exercising their rights under the NLRA.
- Expanding coverage of the NLRA to prevent workers from being denied their legal recourse.
- Streamlining the process for workers to organize a union and negotiate a first contract.
The WAGE Act currently has 69 cosponsors in the House (all Democrats) and 26 cosponsors in the Senate (28 Democrats + 1 Independent).
- Click here to see if your Representative is a cosponsor.
- Click here to see if your Senators are cosponsors.
If not, NALC encourages its members to reach out to their Members of Congress by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. Be ready to provide your ZIP code to connect to your Representative and Senators, and ask them to support the WAGE Act.