Source: Labor Fightback Network

On March 9, the House of Representatives passed the PRO Act, a piece of legislation that would empower workers to organize and bargain; hold corporations accountable for union-busting; and repeal “right to work” laws, which were created during the Jim Crow era to keep white and Black workers from organizing together. [See the attached fast sheet on the PRO Act distributed by the AFL-CIO.]

The mainstream media reported this vote as a major victory for the labor movement, before noting, however, that it would be an uphill battle to get it adopted by the Senate given the filibuster — which makes it necessary to obtain 60 votes to pass a piece of legislation.

But the Democrats could eliminate the filibuster with a simple majority vote in the Senate. All it takes is 51 votes to overturn the filibuster; it could be done tomorrow.

Democracy means majority rule. The Democrats (with the vote of Vice President Kamala Harris) won the majority in both the House and the Senate; they should be able to implement their legislative agenda. Otherwise what you have is minority tyranny.

So why don’t the Democrats do this?

President Joe Biden could come out squarely in support of ending the filibuster, but he has refrained from doing so in the name of forging “unity” with the Republicans and “enacting bipartisan legislation.” But the Republicans have shown with their vote on the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan that they are not interested in “unity” with Biden and the Republicans.

Another argument is that the Democrats don’t have a majority in the Senate to enact the PRO Act: two Democratic senators (Joe Manchin from West Virginia and Krysten Sinema from Arizona) have taken a stand in defense of the filibuster. Manchin and Sinema argue in so many words that the filibuster has been a mechanism to ensure bipartisan collaboration and legislation in the interests of the U.S. corporate agenda as a whole — which is not an incorrect statement.

This hurdle would come tumbling down were the AFL-CIO to mount an energetic national campaign to end the filibuster, targeting senators, including Republican senators with large working-class constituencies, to urge them to support the PRO Act and get rid of the filibuster.

The national AFL-CIO executive board is meeting this week and is considering the possibility of taking a formal position to end the filibuster. The filibuster is a labor issue. A firm stance by the AFL-CIO against the filibuster, with a mass phone-calling and mobilization campaign, could go a long way to ending the filibuster and passing the PRO Act. The labor movement needs to show real leadership on this issue. Too much is at stake.

There is not a moment to waste: End the filibuster now! Pass the PRO Act now!

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