The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2021 takes away a worker’s right to a secret ballot, abolishes state “Right to Work” laws, curtails the rights of small business owners to hire independent contractors, compromises the privacy of millions of Americans, and exposes small businesses to costly boycotts and protests. This legislation has been rejected by the courts and opposed by Congress for decades. NFIB opposes H.R. 842, the PRO Act of 2021. Read NFIB’s letter of opposition here.
Take Action:
Click here to ask your members of Congress to stop this harmful legislation.
The Legislation Would:
- Abolish state “Right to Work” laws by eliminating section 14(b) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and would require all employees to contribute fees to a labor organization even if the employee is not a member of the labor organization. NFIB Member Ballot shows 73% of NFIB members support a national right-to-work law.
- Restrict an employee’s ability to accept or reject union representation through a “card check” process, which would eliminate the secret ballot. NFIB Member Ballot shows 79% of NFIB members agree that employers should not be required to recognize unions by way of signed authorization cards.
- Adopt a strict version of California’s “ABC” independent contractor test, which would significantly curtail the rights of small business owners to hire independent contractors. Even California realized that this test would be unworkable for many industries and elected to carve out some of the more affected industries. The PRO Act of 2021 contains no exceptions. Ninety-five percent of NFIB members believe small businesses should be able to hire independent contractors to perform tasks essential to their business.
- Require employers to provide the personal contact information for all employees to union organizers, without the consent of the employee infringing upon the employer-employee relationship. Ninety-three percent of NFIB members oppose requiring employers to provide the personal contact information of their employees to union organizers.
- Allow unions to participate in secondary boycotts throughout the supply chain, which would inflict economic damage on small businesses that have nothing to do with a labor dispute. Ninety-two percent of NFIB members oppose legislation that allows unions to picket an employer’s suppliers and customers during a labor dispute.
- Codify the National Labor Relation Board’s (NLRB’s) Browning-Ferris Industries joint-employer standard, which would threaten to compromise the small business-subcontractor relationship. Eighty-nine percent of NFIB members oppose requiring a contractor to be responsible for a subcontractor’s hiring practices.
- Impose reporting requirements that would breach small business owner-attorney confidentiality by requiring businesses to disclose any spending on attorneys for labor issues publicly. Ninety-one percent of NFIB members oppose limiting the ability of employers to speak to their workers during union campaigns and elections.
View the infographic
