Pennsylvania House Labor & Industry votes on worker focused legislation

Rep. Jason Dawkins    May 23, 2023

HARRISBURG, May 23 – During a voting meeting Tuesday, the Pennsylvania House Labor and Industry Committee reported two pieces of legislation, HB967 and HR60, out of committee and to the House floor.

The bill would increase protections for hotel employees by requiring hotel employers provide devices which serve as “panic buttons” for employees working alone servicing guestrooms.

“The hotel and hospitality industry experiences some of the highest rates of workplace sexual assault and harassment. Due to the isolated nature of the work, certain guests feel empowered to take advantage of the unequal power imbalance and act in crude and criminal ways,” Rep. Jason Dawkins, D-Phila., majority chair of the Pennsylvania House Labor and Industry Committee, said. “And we have duty to those hospitality workers to take this issue head on and legislate the protections they need and deserve. Hospitality workers should be able to feel secure and protected in their working environment.”

The resolution would designate June 5 through June 9, 2023, as “Union Organizing Week” to honor the workers who fought for their right to organize and bargain collectively at the workplace.

“We are fighting for the working people of Pennsylvania in this committee,” Dawkins said. “And we will continue to celebrate working people while I’m majority chairman.”

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