Last week, the House Education and Labor Committee approved the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (H.R. 2474) on a party line vote of 26-21, setting up a potential vote in the full House once lawmakers return from recess in October. ABC sent a letter to the committee opposing the bill, which currently has 210 Democratic cosponsors in the House, only eight away from a majority of House members supporting the bill. ABC has been leading efforts against the passage of this bill and it is critical that your U.S. Representatives hear from ABC members about the detrimental impact this legislation could have on the construction industry. You can view additional information from the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace and below are a number of talking points from ABC’s recess toolkit for you to use.

Please reach out to you representatives right now and tell them to oppose the PRO Act. You may view ABC’s PRO Act legislative update here and view House cosponsors here and Senate cosponsors here. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

The PRO Act is a fundamental threat to American businesses and the construction industry. In an attempt to increase union membership at any cost, this bill would make radical changes to well-established law like “right-to-work” protections, which guarantee workers can seek employment without fearing they will be required to join (or pay) a union if they are hired. In addition, it would diminish employees’ rights to privacy and association, destroy businesses and threaten entire industries that have fueled innovation, entrepreneurship and job creation. ABC strongly opposes this bill. 

Currently, there are 27 states that have adopted right-to-work laws. The PRO Act would remove these protections and effectively take away workers’ right not to join a labor union.

The PRO Act would also strip away workers’ free choice in union elections. ABC opposes any effort to overturn or diminish NLRB procedures that protect the rights of employees to fair union elections through secret ballot voting. This is not the first time unions have tried to take away workers’ rights to a secret ballot. More than a decade ago, unions repeatedly pressed Congress to pass the Employee Free Choice Act, which have threated workers’ right to a secret ballot, but it was ultimately rejected.

In addition, this bill would force employers to divulge their workers’ private information. Making employers submit workers’ home addresses, shift schedules, telephone numbers and personal email addresses is a shameless breach of privacy that could lead to unwanted harassment.