PRO Act: Resources Round-Up

Whether you’re just learning about the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act or want to do a deeper dive into its harmful provisions, below is a round up of resources to assist your research:

 

REPORT: PRO Act Would Reduce Workers’ Incomes and Job Opportunities

 

• If the PRO Act became law, all 2.7 million union-represented workers in right-to-work states would immediately be forced to pay union dues or lose their jobs. Workers not currently paying would be compelled to pay. Workers voluntarily paying would lose the option to opt-out if they believed their union stopped representing them effectively.

• Workers who currently choose not to join a union save between $500 and $1,000 a year, which is the typical cost of annual union dues, sometimes even higher.
• Additionally, 61 million workers in right-to-work states have jobs in industries covered by the federal law which protects this choice to pay a union or not. If the PRO Act passes, these workers could be forced to pay union dues if their workplace is unionized.

 

EXPLAINER: What is the Protecting the Right to Organize Act?

This guide, created in partnership with the State Policy Network, breaks down the many facets of the PRO Act into three sections:

• Provisions harming employees and independent workers;
• Provisions harming job creators; and
• Provisions that would simply tilt the playing field and give unions unfair advantages.

 

EXPLAINER: 12 Ways the PRO Act Will Hurt American Workers

by the State Policy Network

• • The PRO Act would repeal right-to-work laws, resulting in many workers being forced to join a union in order to keep their jobs.
  • It would make it extremely difficult to work as (or hire) an independent contractor.
  • Under the PRO Act, franchise owners can’t run their businesses as they see fit.
  • It could overturn secret ballot unionization elections, making workers vulnerable to coercion and bullying.
  • The PRO Act would eliminate workers’ privacy by giving unions access to their personal information in an electronic, searchable format.

Warnings from California: The Harms of Attacking Entrepreneurship

 

• Assembly Bill (AB) 5 in California has had devastating effects on independent contractors and freelancers in the Golden State. AB5 replaces the common law test with the ABC test to determine whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor.
• These are real stories of Californians whose lives and livelihoods have been turned upside down by the new classification which would be the same nationally if the PRO Act becomes law.

 

 

 

 

Full Report: The PRO Act and Union Finances

• The PRO Act will increase the membership of unions in the private sector and increase the number of individuals who must financially support them.
• S. Department of Labor (DOL) data show that unions under their jurisdiction already receive over $11 billion per year in dues and fees.
• If these unions can increase their membership to the level that existed in 1983 (16.8 percent, up from 6.3 percent today), the dues they receive could, under a conservative estimate, exceed $20 billion per year.
• This would give unions additional resources to use on things like political activities and lobbying, potentially allowing them to spend $3 billion per two-year election cycle in this category.

 

 

VIDEO: How the PRO Act Will Harm Workers, Entrepreneurs, and Job Creators

On March 8, 2021, the Institute for the American Worker partnered with Americans for Prosperity and the State Policy Network to host a virtual briefing about the dangers of the PRO Act.

 

 

 

VIDEO: How Restricting Independent Contracting Hurts Women and Their Families

• Assembly Bill (AB) 5 was signed into law in California at the beginning of 2020. Since then, the law has had devastating effects on independent contractors and freelancers in the Golden State- especially on women entrepreneurs who have always valued the ability to set their own schedules in order to improve work-life balance.

• • Instead of learning from California’s mistake, lawmakers in Washington, DC are doubling down on the state’s attacks on freelancing and entrepreneurship.
  • In the webinar recording (which was originally hosted live by the Institute for the American Worker and the Independent Women’s Forum on October 20, 2020), you will hear stories from real women impacted by AB5

 

BACKGROUNDER: Protecting the Right to Organize Act 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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