U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) joined U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Representatives Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Mike Lawler (NY-17), and Haley Stevens (MI-11) in reintroducing the bipartisan and bicameral Warehouse Worker Protection Act.
This legislation would protect nearly 2 million of our nations’ warehouse workers by banning hazardous work speed quotas that push workers beyond their limits and lead to high rates of injuries.
“Corporations need to prioritize their workers’ safety and well-being over profits. This bipartisan legislation will hold the warehouse industry accountable while combatting the industry’s worst practices. It’s time to put workers’ safety first and treat them with the dignity they deserve,” said Senator Hawley.
“Workers deserve to clock in knowing they will return home safe and healthy at the end of their shift. The Warehouse Worker Protection Act would protect the basic health and dignity of workers from corporate bosses who time and again have prioritized unfettered greed and profit over their own people,” said Senator Markey. “I am proudly in solidarity with nearly two million warehouse workers nationwide in the fight to ensure that their rights, safety, and dignity are protected.”
The Warehouse Worker Protection Act would:
- Institute basic standards to ensure warehouse workers experience a safe and dignified workplace.
- Prohibit the use of speed quotas.
- Prohibit measures that prevent warehouse workers from exercising their right to unionize.
The Warehouse Worker Protection Act is endorsed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.
Senator Hawley previously unveiled a pro-worker framework at the start of this 119th Congress with core tenets of creating a better workplace and protecting good-paying Union jobs. He also led a bipartisan group of colleagues in introducing a separate piece of Teamsters-endorsed legislation to speed up first contracts for new unions.
Read the full bill text here.