Major business leaders say legislation would strip privacy rights from 86 percent of West Virginia’s employees and put thousands of residents out of work.

 Deceptive campaign orchestrated by a national socialist organization.  

 

Washington, D.C. – The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), composed of hundreds of organizations representing millions of businesses that employ tens of millions of workers nationwide in nearly every industry, released the following statement today in response to Senator Joe Manchin’s decision to co-sponsor the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.

The following statement is attributable to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:

“It is very disappointing that Senator Manchin has chosen to side with union bosses over West Virginia’s workers and small businesses, especially during a time of economic turmoil.

“We hope Manchin will reconsider co-sponsoring this legislation as his legacy of bipartisanship will be irrevocably tainted if he supports anti-worker legislation that invades employees’ privacy and will kill West Virginia jobs, while taking the hard-earned income away from small businesses and employees to boost the coffers of organized labor.

“If the PRO Act becomes law, 86 percent of West Virginia’s nonunionized workers would be stripped of vital privacy rights as employers would be forced to turn over their personal contact information to union organizers. With unfettered access to employees, labor organizers would have the ability to harass and bully workers into joining a union against their will. Organizers could show up at a worker’s home, spam them on email and even bully them on social media.

“The 4,800 franchise owners in West Virginia would be upended by the PRO Act by turning them into middle managers and harm these owners from making a living as well as killing the dreams of budding entrepreneurs.

“Unfortunately, it appears Senator Manchin was persuaded by a deceptive phone campaign in West Virginia ran by the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). According to Jacobin Magazine, which describes themselves as a ‘leading socialist publication in America’, this out-of-state socialist organization has been running a phone campaign in West Virginia to mislead residents and convince Manchin into supporting this deeply flawed legislation.

“At a time when West Virginian businesses are struggling to keep their doors open and employees retained during the COVID-19 pandemic, this bill would force employers to close permanently and lay off workers. Bottomline, thousands of West Virginians could lose their job and important employee rights if the PRO Act becomes law.”

Click here for more information on the negative impacts of the PRO Act.

 

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About The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace

CDW is a broad-based coalition of hundreds of organizations representing hundreds of thousands of employers and millions of employees in various industries across the country concerned with a long-standing effort by some in the labor movement to make radical changes to the National Labor Relations Act without regard to the severely negative impact they would have on employees, employers, and the economy. CDW was originally formed in 2005 in opposition to the so-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) – a bill similar to the PRO Act – that would have stripped employees of the right to secret ballots in union representation elections and allowed arbitrators to set contract terms regardless of the consequence to workers or businesses.

 

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