A new attempt is being made in Congress to pass a bill designed to uphold secret ballot union elections on the job site.
The measure, called the Employee Rights Act of 2025, has been introduced by Georgia Republican Rick Allen who said the legislation will advance “common sense labor policies.”
Billed as an effort to “modernize outdated federal labor laws,” the Employee Rights Act, according to its supporters, will address several workplace issues, including a prohibition on using employee dues for union political campaigns without consent.
Allen, who is the chairman of the Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee, said that the impetus behind the bill is to “put the American worker back in the driver’s seat.”
Tackling long-simmering disputes between labor organizers and management when it comes to how union elections are conducted in the workplace, the measure has won the support of the Associated Builders and Contractors, which has said that, if passed, it will provide a “much-needed balance to our nation’s labor laws.”
In a statement, Kristen Swearingen, vice president of federal affairs for ABC, said the measure will also give workers the “freedom to work as independent contractors if they choose.”
Opponents of the measure say that it is designed to undermine the right to organize and bargain collectively, thus impacting the ability of workers to negotiate for better wages and benefits.
The legislation is now being reviewed by the House Committee on Education and Workforce. An earlier version of the bill was introduced in Congress in the spring of 2023 but failed for lack of a final vote in either the House or Senate.
July 1, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of the office of Representative Rick Allen
