Group says if PRO Act becomes law, unions could hold the U.S. economy hostage

Washington, D.C. – The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), composed of more than 600 major business organizations, released the following statement in response to unions’ increasing calls for strikes that could significantly exacerbate the supply chain crisis plaguing nearly every industry and threatening the U.S. economy.

Kristen Swearingen, Chair of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, stated that union bosses threatening to strike during this supply chain crisis is unconscionable and that ultimately U.S. workers and consumers could face severe economic impacts – from higher prices for goods to job loss – if workers don’t have supplies needed for manufacturing or products to stock shelves.

“We are in the midst of one of the worst supply chain crises in our lifetime. Now is a time when businesses and union leaders should be working together to get goods produced and shipped, because otherwise everyone will lose, from small business owners to workers to consumers,” stated Swearingen.

Swearingen went on to state that the current supply chain crisis would be significantly exacerbated if the PRO Act becomes law, including some of the legislation’s measures that unions have successfully inserted into the House budget reconciliation bill.

“The PRO Act’s elimination of secondary boycotts is designed to allow unions the ability to disrupt supply chains to pressure employers into recognizing a union without a secret ballot election or to get leverage for collective bargaining,” stated Swearingen. “It allows unions to target the weakest businesses in the supply chain – generally smaller ones – and stop their operations in order to get them, consumers, politicians, and others in the supply chain to force the target employer to yield to labor’s demands. It would create a situation where strikes that can bring down the economy, like the port labor disputes, would become common occurrence.”

A recent report found that the proposed labor provisions in the U.S. House budget reconciliation bill would enact sweeping changes to federal labor law that would push more workers into unions, which could further exacerbate the supply chain crisis that is threatening the country’s economy.

“From tax breaks for union dues to attacking independent contracting to souring the employer-worker relationship, these provisions only serve to boost the power and influence of unions while preventing workers from exercising their essential rights and freedoms.”

Swearingen concluded, “We strongly urge Members of Congress to oppose these anti-worker labor provisions in the budget reconciliation bill and the PRO Act to prevent the forced unionization of American workers against their will. Given the severe supply chain predicament we are facing, enacting even some of these measures would stall efforts to resolve this very serious crisis and cripple the U.S. economy.”

 

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About The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace

The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) represents more than 600 major business organizations including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Small Business Association, National Restaurant Association, National Association of Home Builders, National Retail Federation, National Grocers Association, International Franchise Association, National Association of Manufacturers, International Council of Shopping Centers and American Trucking Association.

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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