{"id":2307623,"date":"2024-07-24T20:07:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-25T00:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kelly-says-hes-always-backed-pro-union-bill-he-once-resisted-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-07-24T20:12:01","modified_gmt":"2024-07-25T00:12:01","slug":"kelly-says-hes-always-backed-pro-union-bill-he-once-resisted-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kelly-says-hes-always-backed-pro-union-bill-he-once-resisted-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Kelly says he\u2019s always backed pro-union bill he once resisted &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fkelly-says-hes-always-backed-pro-union-bill-he-once-resisted-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2307623&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Possible Harris VP \u200cpick Mark Kelly, a senator from Arizona, has expressed support for the PRO Act, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-labor-group-gifts-biden-with-friendly-union-boss\/\" title=\"Top Labor Group Gifts Biden With Friendly Union Boss\">pro-labor legislation<\/a> that aims to make it easier for workers to form and join unions. Although Kelly\u200d has stated his backing for the bill, he has not \u200dyet co-sponsored it and has faced criticism from union\u200b leaders for his\u2062 previous opposition. Despite the backlash, Kelly maintains \u2063that he has always supported the \u200cPRO Act and credits his union family background for his\u200c stance. The decision on his support for the bill has implications for his political future \u2063as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/donalds-open-to-being-trumps-vp-just-want-to-do-everything-i-can-to-get-our-country-on-track\/\" title=\"Donald is willing to be Trump&#039;s VP, as he wants to help our country get back on track.\">potential \u2063vice presidential candidate<\/a>.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Possible Harris VP pick Mark Kelly says he&rsquo;s &lsquo;always supported&rsquo; pro-union bill he once resisted<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1711113\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3095386\/harris-vp-vetting-materials\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Mark Kelly\">Mark Kelly<\/a> (D-AZ), a top contender to be Vice President Kamala Harris&rsquo;s running mate, said Wednesday he&rsquo;s all in for pro-labor legislation known as the PRO Act and insisted he always has been.<\/p>\n<p>But Kelly is one of three Senate holdouts in the Democratic Caucus yet to co-sponsor the measure that proponents say would make it easier for workers to form and join unions, and in years past has expressed opposition to passing the bill in its current form.<\/p>\n<p>The battleground-state senator, who&rsquo;s emerged as one of Harris&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/3095386\/harris-vp-vetting-materials\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"top VP contenders\">top potential vice presidential candidates<\/a>, has been panned by left-leaning union leaders in hopes of swaying her to reassess, or outright reject, picking him as a running mate.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;From the day I got here, I was planning on &mdash; I always said I would vote for the PRO Act. There&rsquo;s still some things we&rsquo;re working on to try to make it better,&rdquo; Kelly, who took office in 2020, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. &ldquo;Whether it was day one of when I got sworn in or today if it came to the floor, I would vote for it.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Kelly noted his parents were union members as police officers and that he hails from a &ldquo;union family&rdquo; of police officers and firefighters.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;For that reason, and also because unions are so important to working everyday people, I&rsquo;ve always supported the PRO Act,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>The PRO Act advanced from a committee last year that Kelly does not sit on, but Democratic leadership has not brought it to the floor for a full vote. <\/p>\n<p>Kelly rejected the notion that his public embrace of the legislation, which would also penalize illegal union-busting, prevent employers from permanently replacing those on strike, and nullify state right-to-work laws, is in any way tied to his possible political future on a presidential ticket.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;That&rsquo;s always been my position. That&rsquo;s been my position on the PRO Act since the day I got here,&rdquo; he stated.<\/p>\n<p>But some of the current and former leaders at the country&rsquo;s largest labor organizations disagree.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Only 3 Democrats refused to sign on to the Pro Act, one of whom was Mark Kelly,&rdquo; Richard Bensinger, former organizing director at the AFL-CIO, recently posted on social media. &ldquo;The right to organize unions is the most important thing to labor, so that&rsquo;s a hard no.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The AFL-CIO endorsed Harris this week. But an affiliate of it, the Transport Workers Union, has not. That decision will be left to TWU President John Samuelsen, who has criticized Kelly for his statements on the PRO Act and past labor legislation.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Kelly&rsquo;s police union story is diminished by his refusal to support the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act, which reverses Janus and grants all <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-teachers-unions-refuse-vaccination-requirement\/\" title=\"Top Teachers\u2019 Unions Refuse Vaccination Requirement\">public sector workers<\/a> the right to organize and bargain contracts,&rdquo; Samuelsen wrote on social media. &ldquo;Combine this with his Pro-Act refusal and a pattern becomes undeniable.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Vice President Kamala Harris participates in a ceremonial swearing-in of Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) with his wife, Gabrielle Giffords, in the Old Senate Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. (AP Photo\/Jacquelyn Martin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Kelly recalled that when he was younger and his mother was injured, &ldquo;it was the union that got her her benefits.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So, I see the value of unions, and I come from a union family,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Kelly previously expressed concerns about the PRO Act to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/mark-kelly-pro-act-labor_n_60f86b1ee4b0e92dfebf3b56\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"HuffPost \"><em>HuffPost <\/em><\/a>in 2021 over giving collective-bargaining rights to independent contractors, stating that he wanted &ldquo;to see some changes.&rdquo; He was open at the time to approving certain provisions through a budgetary process known as reconciliation. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Depending on how it&rsquo;s done, I&rsquo;m not necessarily opposed to that,&rdquo; Kelly told <em>HuffPost <\/em>at the time.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The apparent concerns with Kelly from some in the labor movement evidently failed to persuade his home state party. The Arizona Democratic Party on Wednesday endorsed him for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-defector-emails-pipeline-to-obama-admin-seen-as-currency\/\" title=\"Hunter Biden Defector Emails: &#039;Pipeline&#039; to Obama Admin Seen as &#039;Currency&#039;\">vice president<\/a>, saying he&rsquo;s been &ldquo;a champion for Arizonans, engaging them in the path towards building a better Arizona and creating a strong and diverse coalition along the way.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The path to the White House runs through Arizona, and we are confident that with Kamala Harris and Mark Kelly at the top of the ticket, Democrats will win in November,&rdquo; state party Chairwoman Yolanda Bejarano said. <\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1711113\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1711113\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Possible Harris VP \u200cpick Mark Kelly, a senator from Arizona, has expressed support for the PRO Act, a pro-labor legislation that aims to make it easier for workers to form and join unions. Although Kelly\u200d has stated his backing for the bill, he has not \u200dyet co-sponsored it and has faced criticism from union\u200b leaders &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3108,"featured_media":2307624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/mark-kelly-always-supported-pro-labor-bill.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[3895,7206,36088,15667,32076],"class_list":["post-2307623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-bill","tag-kelly","tag-pro-union","tag-resistance","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/mark-kelly-always-supported-pro-labor-bill.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2307623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3108"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2307623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2307623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2307624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2307623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2307623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2307623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}