Executive order conflicts with administration’s push to enact the PRO Act, which would diminish opportunities for workers and small businesses

Washington, D.C. – The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), representing more than 600 major business organizations, released the following statement today in response to the Biden administration’s executive order on promoting competition in the American economy while continuing to push the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.

The following statement is attributable to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:

“Today’s executive order claims to take on monopolies, increase worker economic mobility and help small businesses compete against larger companies, but it is completely at odds with the administration’s push to limit opportunities for workers and small businesses by supporting the PRO Act, which would force American workers to pay union dues against their will or lose their job, allow unions to attack companies for anti-competitive reasons, and eliminate contracting and franchising opportunities for small companies.

“The administration claims to be pro-worker choice and small business in this executive order but at the same time backs the PRO Act, which tips the scales in favor of large, unionized companies against small companies and consolidates union power and influence over the labor market. Whether its public sector teachers’ unions or private sector unions in protected industries, unions have fought against competition that could support consumer choice, employee choice and opportunities for entrepreneurs and small businesses.

“Additionally, the PRO Act’s drastic restructuring of the nation’s labor laws and resulting economic upheaval would cost millions of American jobs and threaten vital supply chains, which would greatly diminish opportunities for workers.

“Businesses and workers across the country are slowly getting back on their feet after facing a financial crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but rewriting our nation’s labor laws solely to benefit Big Labor bosses would cause irreparable harm to our country’s economic recovery efforts.”

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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