Nick Begich Opposed The Protecting The Right To Organize (PRO) Act Even Though It Received Bipartisan Support And Alaska Was The Fourth Most Unionized State In The Country

Begich Criticized Young For Being One Of Five Republicans To Vote For The Protecting The Right To Organize (PRO) Act. “Soon after entering the race, Begich began criticizing Young for his office policies to mitigate COVID-19, his support for the confirmation of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and his vote for the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a House bill that would change laws governing unions. Young was one of five Republicans to vote in favor of that bill. Begich also said that during the month he spent working in Young’s office, he saw lobbyists exert excessive influence over the congressman.” [Alaska Dispatch News, 4/27/22]

Oct. 2021: Alaska Was The Fourth Most Unionized State In The Country With 17.7% Of Alaska Workers Being Union Members And 19.5% Covered By Union Contracts. “Alaska is the #4 most unionized state […] Alaska by the numbers […] Employed population: 280,000 […] Members of unions: 49,000 (17.7% of employed population) […] Workers represented by unions: 55,000 (19.5% of employed population).” [Stacker, 10/11/21]

The PRO Act Would Increase Penalties For Illegal Union-Busting, Expand Collective Bargaining Rights, Weaken “Right To Work” Laws, And Allow More Contractors To Be Reclassified As Employees

HEADLINE: House Passes Bill To Rewrite Labor Laws And Strengthen Unions. [Washington Post, 2/6/20]

The PRO Act Would Increase Fines For Companies That Illegally Retaliate Against Workers Seeking To Unionize, Expand Collective Bargaining Rights, And Weaken “Right To Work” Laws. “The Protecting the Right to Organize Act, known as the PRO Act, would amend some of the country’s decades-old labor laws to give workers more power during disputes at work, add penalties for companies that retaliate against workers who organize and grant some hundreds of thousands of workers collective-bargaining rights they don’t currently have. It would also weaken ‘right-to-work’ laws in 27 states that allow employees to forgo participating in and paying dues to unions. The House passed the bill with a vote of 224 to 194, mostly along party lines.” [Washington Post, 2/6/20]

The PRO Act Would Allow More People Classified As Contractors To Be Given Employee Status, Which Would Allow Them To Unionize. “The bill would also allow more people currently classified as contractors to be given the status of employees for the purposes of union organizing, potentially paving the way for gig workers at companies like Lyft, Uber and DoorDash to organize with unions or among themselves.” [Washington Post, 2/6/20]