On Feb. 4, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reintroduced the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The members released the text of the bill, a section-by-section analysis and a fact sheet on the legislation. The bill now has 200 cosponsors in the House (H.R. 842), including two Republicans, Reps. Chris Smith (N.J.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.). This bill includes dozens of radical provisions that will drastically alter federal labor law and devastate the economy during an already difficult time, with many construction businesses working to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Under this legislation, the 87% of construction workers who choose not to join a union could be forced to pay union dues as a condition of employment,” said ABC President and CEO Mike Bellaman in a recent statement. “This undemocratic bill would strip workers of entrepreneurial opportunities to freelance as independent contractors, denying them the freedom to earn a living on their own terms and pursue the American dream. The PRO Act would do anything but ‘Build Back Better.’”
ABC is working with key members of Congress to prevent this bill from being passed into law. ABC also urges members to reach out to their U.S. senators amd representatives and President Biden through the ABC Action Alert opposing the PRO Act.
ABC’s Free Enterprise Alliance has created a website dedicated to opposing the PRO Act with critical resources for chapters and members including economic studies, a fact sheet, educational videos and more. Additional information about the PRO Act can be found in this statement from the ABC-led Coalition for the Democratic Workplace.