PRO Act puts union leadership ahead of workers
Rep. Tim Walberg
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Democratic leadership recently reintroduced the unnecessary Protecting the Right to Organize or PRO Act to appease labor special interests.
Unfortunately, labor union leaders and special interests have continued to mislead most of the Democratic Party for years, claiming that unions will cease to exist without the PRO Act. It is true that union membership in the U.S. has been decreasing for over 60 years, and it continues to decline due to the workings of the modern economy and the failings of union leadership. But instead of increasing transparency and accountability to better serve their members, union leadership keeps responding to year-over-year declines in membership by wielding their vast political power to promote policies that will enrich themselves at the expense of workers.
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In Michigan, a federal investigation revealed that at least 16 top-level United Auto Workers officials, including two former presidents, broke labor laws, stole union money, and received bribes and kickbacks. These officials brazenly abused the funds of rank-and-file members, further validating doubts about the intentions of labor leaders. Instead of addressing internal issues and alleviating legitimate concerns many in the workforce have regarding union leaders, the strategy is to push Congress to further empower top-level union leaders while stripping away the rights of individual workers.
Despite its name, the PRO Act fails to “protect the right to organize” — a right that exists under current law and is respected by people on both sides of the aisle. Rather, the legislation would undo existing reforms adopted under the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947, which helped to curb union violence, coercion, and other criminal activity that plagued labor unions at that time. Unfortunately, the PRO Act would empower union leadership to engage in the same reckless, short-sighted, and dangerous tactics that have disrupted our economy, making it more difficult and costly to invest in our workforce.
Research from the American Action Forum has even found that if the PRO Act becomes law, employers could face more than $47 billion in new annual costs, further jeopardizing the economic recovery following the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has exposed weaknesses in our supply chain, and the PRO Act would only further weaken resiliency and could result in more shortages and bare shelves.
The special interest bill would also undermine the fundamental rights of workers. Rather than empowering workers, the bill would force them into one-size-fits-all union contracts and subject both workers and job creators to union harassment, infringing on workers’ individual rights. First, the bill allows union leadership to access private information from employees without their consent, giving them free rein to contact, harass, and coerce their workers. It also limits the rights to a secret ballot — a core tenet of American democracy — which will further endanger workers who may have reservations about joining a union. Privacy, secret ballots, and flexibility should all be expected and guaranteed in the 21st-century workplace.
Additionally, the bill would abolish right-to-work laws in 27 states, forcing workers to give millions of dollars of their hard-earned paychecks to labor unions and their political interests. From 2010 to 2018, unions sent more than $1.6 billion in members’ dues to hundreds of left-wing groups without the consent of their members. Instead of prioritizing member dues for collective bargaining and worker representation, even more hard-earned dollars of workers will get redistributed to politicians and groups that the individual worker may not even support, let alone decide to support a candidate financially.
We must pursue policy solutions that modernize workforce laws that support and empower workers. The decision to join a union must be made solely by workers themselves, free from outside pressure and intimidation from union organizers. The PRO Act falls far short of achieving these goals, jeopardizing the fundamental rights of workers and increasing the risk of union corruption and wrongdoing.
Democrats and Republicans must come together in Congress to work on enacting productive, bipartisan solutions that will truly support all workers, not just union leaders and their special interests.
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Congressman Tim Walberg is a member of the House Education & the Workforce Committee.