Finding and retaining qualified workers in a tight labor market is a significant challenge millions of small businesses across the country face. Tyler Dever, NFIB Principal of Federal Government Relations, tackles the layers of labor disputes, unemployment insurance for striking workers, and how Congress can take action to foster growth for America’s small businesses in an opinion-editorial for The Center Square. 

The Securing Help for Involuntary Employment Loss and Displacement (SHIELD) Act is a bill proposed in Congress by U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym (IN-02) that halts unemployment benefits for striking workers. Unemployment benefits were intended to be temporary relief for workers who lost their job due to no fault of their own. Several states have already implemented government systems to continue to pay and provide benefits to workers who elect to strike without consequences.  

“When striking employees are permitted to draw on unemployment compensation, it creates an imbalance that unfairly burdens small businesses and tilts the scales of collective bargaining in favor of labor unions,” Dever said. Correcting this imbalance allows for good-faith negotiations and saves unemployment benefits for its originally intended targets.    

NFIB’s survey of small business owners found that “Locating Qualified Employees” ranked as the fifth most severe problem for Main Street businesses, with 28% of respondents marking it as a critical problem. Providing America’s workforce with benefits for voluntarily leaving a job site will only further exacerbate this problem if Congress doesn’t move forward with the SHIELD Act. 

Read the full opinion-editorial for an in-depth understanding of one of our country’s most important labor issues facing small businesses and what Congress can do to act now. 

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