The Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act of 2021 is a dangerous piece of legislation that would dramatically upend long-standing employment law in favor of labor unions at the expense of small businesses and their employees.

The bill is currently before the U.S. Senate, having passed the House of Representatives on March 9, 2021. NFIB balloted our members on many aspects of the PRO Act and found that small business owners were overwhelmingly opposed to the bill’s key measures. Importantly:

• The PRO Act abolishes state “Right to Work” laws that protect non-union workers from contributing to union fees. 70% of NFIB members oppose repealing state “Right to Work” laws.
• The PRO Act removes the right of workers to hold a secret ballot regarding if they should or should not join a union. 79% of NFIB members believe that employers should not be required to recognize unions by way of signed authorization cards.
• The PRO Act includes a stricter version of California’s “ABC” independent contractor laws that forced the state of California to immediately carve out dozens of exceptions. The PRO Act has no such exceptions. 95% of NFIB members believe small businesses should be able to hire independent contractors to perform tasks essential to their business.

There would be other harmful effects to the PRO Act, such as making small businesses responsible for the hiring decisions of their subcontractors, requiring employers to provide the personal contact information for all their employees to union organizers without the consent of the employee, and legalizing “secondary boycotts,” where a union can pressure businesses that do dealings with the business they are in dispute with.

Read NFIB’s full statement on the passage of the PRO Act through the House of Representatives here.

NFIB urges all small business owners to contact their members of Congress and tell them how the PRO Act’s radical measures would hurt their business.