WASHINGTON, D.C. (Feb. 6, 2020) — NFIB, the nation’s leading small business advocacy organization, reiterated its opposition to H.R. 2474, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2019, which is expected to be considered today in The United States House of Representatives. The legislation will be an NFIB Key Vote for the 116th Congress, meaning that lawmakers will be scored on the way they vote on this legislation, which will be reported back to the NFIB membership. The legislation would dramatically upend long-standing employment law in favor of labor unions at the expense of small businesses and their employees.
“This is a bill with labor policy proposals that have not only been dismissed in the courts, but have been rejected by Congress for decades,” said Kevin Kuhlman, NFIB’s Senior Director of Federal Government Relations. “If passed, the PRO Act of 2019 will put employees’ private information at risk, expose small businesses to unrelated secondary boycotts, impose labor union dues on employees regardless of whether they are a member of the union, and dramatically change decades of employment law. Small business optimism is at historic levels, and owners are increasing hiring, wages, and investment. We urge members of the House to stand up for small businesses and vote against this damaging bill that would stifle such tremendous gains.”
NFIB members are strongly opposed to provisions included in the PRO Act of 2019:
- 79% of NFIB members agree that employers should not be required to recognize unions by way of signed authorization cards. The PRO Act of 2019 restricts an employee’s ability to accept or reject union representation through the use of a secret ballot. It allows labor unions to pressure employees to sign a card in public to join a union rather than allowing individuals to vote privately.
- 93% of NFIB members oppose requiring employers to provide the personal contact information of their employees to union organizers. The PRO Act of 2019 allows 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.
- 92% of NFIB members oppose legislation that allows unions to picket an employer’s suppliers and customers during a labor dispute. The PRO Act of 2019 allows 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.
- 91% of NFIB members oppose limiting the ability of employers to speak to their workers during union campaigns and elections. The PRO Act of 2019 imposes reporting requirements that would breach small business owner-attorney confidentiality by requiring businesses to disclose any spending on attorneys for labor issues publicly.
- 89% of NFIB members oppose requiring a contractor to be responsible for a subcontractor’s hiring practices. The PRO Act of 2019 codifies the National Labor Relation Board’s (NLRB’s) Browning-Ferris Industries joint-employer standard, which would threaten to compromise the small business-subcontractor relationship.
