If PRO Act Becomes Law, Workers From Large And Small Businesses Would Lose Their Privacy And Employee Rights, Be Subjected To Union Intimidation And Threats

 

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 Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama voting down an effort to form a union and labor bosses now calling on Congress to enact the Protecting the Right to Organize Act or PRO Act to aid their union organizing efforts.

The following statement is attributable to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:

“Labor bosses should understand that when workers vote against forming a union, it signifies that the arguments made by organizers were not compelling or persuasive. Unions going back one hundred years served a purpose to support employees, but today’s organized labor bosses simply want to use political influence to change all the rules to help themselves win elections and pad union dues at the expense of workers’ privacy, rights and informed choice.

“The PRO Act, which is also supported by the same union bosses seeking to organize businesses across the country, would hurt small businesses as they struggle to survive during the pandemic and strip employees of their privacy and vital rights to make a choice on their own if they want to join a union. Employees’ rights are much like voting rights. A right to a private ballot and privacy are key to democracy.

“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 short-sighted, 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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