IndianaLocalNews

Rep. Banks critical of the PRO Act

(Photo supplied/Jim Banks for Congress)

The House passed the PRO Act on Wednesday on a mostly party-line vote in a push to rewrite many labor laws in the United States when it comes to unions.

The bill would broaden the definition of an employee in the United States in the hopes of allowing independent contractors to join unions and would also put an end to “right-to-work” laws by allowing bargaining agreements to require union dues be paid by all workers the agreement represents regardless of if said worker is a member of a union.

Right-to-work laws say workers should not be forced to join a union or pay union dues if they don’t want to.

The beef that Congressman Jim Banks (R-IN-03) has with the bill is that it opens the door for people who are in the country illegally and working to be able to join unions. He said on the House floor Wednesday that Congress’s duty right now is to help American businesses recover from the pandemic.

“This bill prevents us from fulfilling that duty and instead prioritizes the interests of illegal immigrants and union bosses,” Banks said. He added that he is the grandson and son of union members at a factory in northern Indiana.

“It’s a travesty that Democrats think that people who broke our nation’s laws deserve the same labor rights as they (his grandfather and father) do,” he said. “This bill, as written, would lessen American citizens’ union voting power and hand it to people who aren’t even here legally.”

Banks proposed an amendment to the bill that would have essentially made it illegal for unions to seek out workers who are illegal immigrants to join up. The Amendment was struck down by House Democrats who have the majority vote in the House.

Five Republicans in the House voted in favor of the measure while one Democrat voted against it. The bill has a bleak future in the Senate where it will need 60-votes, meaning some Republican support, to pass.

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3 comments

Charles U Farley March 15, 2021 at 9:53 am

So Banks’ problem with this bill is the illegals, and not the giant safety net to failing and corrupt unions who were bleeding popularity and membership in the Right-to-Work states?

The reason the Dems pushed this is that they are terrified of the public seeing how useless the unions are. Once people see how well things work without unions, they might get the idea that we don’t need them anymore…

Those poor victimized Democrats need political donations from union dues so they can continue to attack the workers who are forced to pay those useless dues in some states…

Reply
GOP Memo ‘Splains Losing House, Senate, White House A Beautiful ‘Gift’, Like Herpes, That Keeps On Giving – Tutorial Online Job March 31, 2021 at 12:15 pm

[…] no irony, Banks pretends away both his long history of anti-union activity and his vote this month against the PRO Act, which supports the right to […]

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GOP Memo ‘Splains Losing House, Senate, White House A Beautiful ‘Gift’, Like Herpes, That Keeps On Giving – FreedomDailyPress April 1, 2021 at 1:54 am

[…] no irony, Banks pretends away both his long history of anti-union activity and his vote this month against the PRO Act, which supports the right to […]

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