Next week, the PA House is scheduled to consider two bills that silence the voices of working families and make it harder to advocate for safe schools, smaller class sizes, adequate funding and for policies to expand the middle class.

• Senate Bill 501 expands what is considered "political activity" and prohibits public employers from negotiating with employees to make automatic payroll deductions for dues used for such activities.
• Senate Bill 645 would subject all public employees' collective bargaining activities and documents to public scrutiny before employees have ratified contracts.

We must stop these bills now. CALL your state representative at their local (district) office byFriday to stop the latest attack on working people.

Click HERE to find your PA Representative. Key talking points on the bills are below.

When you finish, please take one minute more to CLICK HERE to let us know which state Representative you called and whether they will oppose SB 501 and SB 645.

Talking Points:

I am a constituent and a voter. Will you vote against SB 501 and SB 645?

• SB 501 and SB 645 target working people unfairly. SB 501 places barriers on employee organizations from collecting funds via payroll deduction. But it allows similar payroll deductions for healthcare, prescription drug, life insurance and financial service companies that spend millions of dollars on lobbying and political campaigns. SB 645 demands greater transparency on employee contracts than for all the other contracts public bodies negotiate and approve.
• SB 501 vastly expands the definition of “political activity” to include even civic activities like voter registration drives and monitoring and informing workers about legislation that affects them – while placing no such restrictions on corporations.
• SB 501 and SB 645 interfere with the negotiating process between workers and employers. SB 501 prohibits public employers from negotiating payroll deductions with the union, a right that is currently held by public employers. SB 645 includes parties other than the union and the employer in the bargaining process.