House Approval Vaults Union-Backed Labor Bill Into Fall Campaign

Protections for private-sector workers to unionize would be significantly expanded under a bill passed by the House—the most significant labor legislation to clear the chamber in more than a decade.

The Protecting the Right to Organize Act (H.R. 2474), passed 224-194, will lay down the battle lines for the future according to unions and businesses . The bill is more far-reaching than past attempts to revamp federal labor laws, with several provisions taking aim at the underlying causes of declining union membership and growing income inequality—a touchstone issue in the fall elections.

The measure, which organized labor supported ...