Earlier this year, a wave of high-profile strikes ushered unions back into the national spotlight. But as the United States’ so-called “hot labor summer” gives way to an equally enthusiastic fall, we must contend with the reality that while union activity is higher than it’s been in years, union density remains dismally low. The share of employees who belong to unions has been falling for decades and reached an all-time low of 10.1 percent in 2022. The share in the private sector was even lower — at just 6 percent.

In the last few years, organized labor has coalesced around the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act as a way to restore union density and, with it, worker power. The PRO Act aims to be a comprehensive reset of US labor law, making it easier for workers to organize and maintain their unions. Previous iterations failed to advance, in part because of the Senate filibuster. The act was reintroduced this year as the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2023 and made its way out of committee in June.

The PRO Act is an ambitious piece of legislation. Its cosponsors tout the bill as a vehicle to revitalize unions by ensuring that US workers can actually exercise their constitutional right to organize and bargain collectively. The bill includes some of the most significant revisions to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) since the latter ushered in much of the United States’ current labor-relations framework in 1935. If passed, it would be the most pro-labor piece of legislation the United States has seen in decades. Since it is clear that deficiencies in US labor law have contributed to the current state of labor decline in the United States, it is worth asking whether and to what extent the PRO Act would effectively address them.