On Wednesday, September 8, 2021, the House Education and Labor Committee released its portion of the reconciliation bill. It includes numerous provisions on the National Labor Relations Board and National Labor Relations Act. The encompassed provisions from the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, included excessive penalties, unnecessary restrictions negatively impacting opportunities for gig workers and limiting employer free speech, and $5 million aimed at replacing secret ballot in union representation elections with phone-based voting— which would expose employees to union intimidation. The provisions will force unions on workers by taking away opportunities to work in the gig economy, limit employees from hearing facts about unions and how union spend or misspend employees dues, and intimidate small business owners to force them to yield to union demands. The inclusion of these measures will hurt small businesses and infringe on the rights of workers.
GCCA currently has an active campaign opposing the PRO Act legislation that has already passed the House of Representatives and is awaiting debate in the Senate. However, Democrats are now utilizing the $3.5 Trillion Budget Reconciliation Bill to attempt to pass some of the harmful PRO Act provisions. Even if you have taken action opposing the PRO Act in the past, we encourage you to participate in this new grassroots campaign and make sure your representatives are aware that you oppose the inclusion of these PRO Act provisions in the budget reconciliation bill!