WASHINGTON – Ahead of the holiday season, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) backed two bills to protect workers’ safety and right to organize.
Tomorrow, Senator Gallego will join union Starbucks baristas at the picket line in Gilbert, Arizona in solidarity with their ongoing strike against Starbucks’ union busting and the company’s failure to finalize a first union contract with its employees.
The bipartisan Warehouse Worker Protection Act 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.
“This holiday season, more than thirty thousand Arizona warehouse workers are working long hours to keep shelves stocked and make sure gifts arrive on time. Many are risking injuries, skipping bathroom breaks, and jeopardizing their health to meet impossible speed quotas. Everyone deserves to be safe at work,” said Senator Gallego. “The Warehouse Worker Protection Act would protect the basic health and dignity of workers from corporate employers who put profits above their staff. I’m proud to support this bill and fight for workers’ rights and safety.”
The Empowering Striking Workers Act would allow striking and locked out workers to be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.
“No one should have to choose between standing up for themselves and putting food on the table, especially around the holidays, when so many families are already stretched thin. But in most states, workers can’t collect unemployment if they go on strike, which leaves many working-class Arizonans forced into accepting bad contracts just so they can feed their families,” said Senator Gallego. “This bill would fix that by making sure striking workers can get unemployment benefits while they fight for the fair pay and working conditions they deserve.”
Senator Gallego has continuously stood up for workers and organized labor. During his first year in the Senate, he:
- Fought to keep the National Labor Relations Board Region 28 Office open after it was slated to close at the direction of DOGE, which would have led to longer delays for workers seeking to unionize and possible reductions in workforce, just as demand for NLRB services is rising.
- Introduced the Tax Cut for Striking Workers Act to ensure workers are not taxed on the small stipends they receive while on strike.
- Introduced the bipartisan Keep Call Centers in America Actto encourage companies to keep their call centers in the U.S. and protect American jobs.
- Introduced the bipartisan Federal Firefighters Families First Act to boost pay and benefits and improve working conditions for federal firefighters.
- Led group of 15 senators in condemning Wells Fargo’s union-busting tactics and refusal to bargain in good faith with employees.
- Introduced the Striking and Locked Out Workers Healthcare Protection Act to prevent employers from cancelling or altering health insurance for workers exercising their right to strike.
- Fought to protect affected workers from Trump’s DOGE layoffs, including by introducing legislation to protect veterans, military spouses, and VA employees from DOGE cuts and placing a blanket hold on nominees to the VA until their cuts are reversed.
- Called on Starbucks to stop its union-busting efforts and negotiate a fair contract its unionized workers.
- Called on Amazon to explain its mass corporate layoffs amid the company’s strong financial performance and the threat of AI-caused worker displacement.
- Called on the CFBP, DOL, FTC, and NLRB to explain the administration’s rollback of protections against coercive employment agreements that trap employees in debt.
- Backed the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act), comprehensive legislation to protect the right to organize and collectively bargain.
- Backed the No Tax Breaks for Union Busting Act to end taxpayer subsidies for companies’ anti-union behavior, which corporations can currently deduct as a business expense.
- Joined Senate Democrats in urging President Trump to rescind his executive order to end collective bargaining agreements between public employee unions and dozens of federal agencies and bureaus.
- Backed the No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act to close loopholes that reward corporations for outsourcing jobs and profits. The bill comes as Republicans push to expand these offshoring incentives in their upcoming reconciliation bill.
- Backed the Child Care for Working Families Actto ensure families across America can find and afford the high-quality child care they need.
- Backed the Tax Cut for Workers Act to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for millions of workers without children and extend eligibility for the tax cut to workers under the age of 25 and over the age of 64.
- Backed the Tax Fairness for Workers Actto allow workers to deduct employment expenses such as union dues and uniform costs.
- Backed the Protect America’s Workforce Act to repeal two union-busting executive orders and restore collective bargaining rights and workplace protections for federal workers.
12/11/25