The Kansas Retail Council and Kansas Chamber joined 99 other pro-business groups to push back on Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act currently being considered by the U.S. Congress.
The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) recently sent a letter the U.S. Congress opposing the PRO Act. According to the coalition, the bill would threaten free speech, industrial stability, supply chains, opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs, American jobs, and the U.S. economy as whole.
The letter states that the bill as written would implement policies that have already been “rejected on a bipartisan basis in Congress, overturned by the judicial system, and withdrawn by the federal agencies tasked with implementing them.” It urges members of Congress to reject the legislation.
“The PRO Act is a radical bill that will have devastating consequences for the economy and infringe on the rights of workers and employers alike,” said CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen. “It attempts to eliminate independent work arrangements that workers love, threatens the franchise business model that has made millions of people small business owners, and allows unions to strike against neutral businesses to cause a maximum amount of economic damage.”
Swearingen said the bill goes against workers’ rights to keep their votes confidential concerning unionization. She expressed that the bill gives away personal information about workers without consent, violating their right to privacy and excluding them from voting on union representation.
“Voters have clearly shown that they do not support the provisions on this bill,” Swearingen said. “They see the PRO Act for what it is – a wishlist of radical policies designed to tip the scales in favor of unions at the expense of workers, employers, and the economy. Congress should reject this radical legislation and protect the rights of America’s workers, small businesses, and consumers.”
American Federation of Government Employees National President Everett Kelley supported the PRO Act’s reintroduction.
“With the re-introduction of the PRO Act, members of Congress face a choice,” Kelley wrote. “Legislators can stand with American workers whose legal rights are being trampled by private employers to the detriment of the nation. Or they can stand with the ultra-wealthy elites whose status depends on the continued oppression and exploitation of working-class Americans.”
An American Action Forum study found that the bill’s independent worker reclassification provision alone could cost as much as $57 billion nationwide, while the joint-employer changes would cost franchises up to $33.3 billion a year, lead to over 350,000 job losses, and increase lawsuits by 93%.
The CDW said that rejection of the PRO Act by Congress would protect the rights of America’s workers, small businesses and consumers.