PRO Act would put many small, women- and minority-owned construction contractors out of business before a single shovel hits the ground on Biden’s infrastructure plan

Washington, D.C. – The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), composed of hundreds of organizations representing millions of businesses that employ tens of millions of workers nationwide in nearly every industry, released the following statement today in response to President Biden’s misguided decision to include the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act in his infrastructure plan.

The following statement is attributable to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:

“Biden’s pledge to unify the country takes another hit by adding a radical and overreaching poison pill like the PRO Act to his infrastructure plan that would deteriorate the relationship between employers and employees.

“The PRO Act would be devastating to small businesses and employees in the infrastructure industry, especially small, women- and minority-owned contractors who would have otherwise benefited from investment in our nation’s infrastructure.

“Unfortunately, the PRO Act would put many construction contractors out of business before a single shovel hits the ground on any new infrastructure projects funded by Biden’s plan and will put thousands of blue-collar men and women out of work.

“The PRO Act would force employers to hand over personal contact information of employees to labor organizers, even for those employees who have no interest in the union. With unfettered access to employees, union organizers would have the ability to harass and bully workers into joining a union. They could show up at their home, spam them on email and even bully them on social media. The PRO Act is incredibly shortsighted, especially given growing concerns regarding privacy in this country.

“In an attempt to increase union membership at any cost, the bill would make radical changes to well-established law, diminish employees’ rights to privacy and association, destroy businesses, and threaten entire industries that have fueled innovation, entrepreneurship, and job creation.

“At a time when thousands of small businesses are struggling to keep their doors open and employees retained during the COVID-19 pandemic, this bill would force businesses to close permanently and lay off workers. Bottomline, hundreds of thousands of Americans could lose their job and important employee rights if the PRO Act becomes law.”

Click here for more information on the negative impacts of the PRO Act.

 

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About The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace

CDW is a broad-based coalition of hundreds of organizations representing hundreds of thousands of employers and millions of employees in various industries across the country concerned with a long-standing effort by some in the labor movement to make radical changes to the National Labor Relations Act without regard to the severely negative impact they would have on employees, employers, and the economy. CDW was originally formed in 2005 in opposition to the so-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) – a bill similar to the PRO Act – that would have stripped employees of the right to secret ballots in union representation elections and allowed arbitrators to set contract terms regardless of the consequence to workers or businesses.

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