Nominee Would Be A Rubber Stamp For Big Labor Policies

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 the nomination hearing of Jennifer Abruzzo for National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel and the continued union push for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.

The following statement is attributable to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:

“As a hired gun heading up “strategic initiatives” for one of the country’s most powerful unions, we can expect Jennifer Abruzzo will be another planted ally at the NLRB to enable unions’ assault against small business employers and will turn a blind eye to their misleading and intimidation tactics against workers across the country.

“Big Labor has gone all-out to pressure and even intimidate Members of Congress into passing the anti-worker, privacy-invading and job-killing PRO Act. Ms. Abruzzo would be a rubber stamp for enforcing this radical and overarching law that would pressure employees to join a union and fork over their hard-earned income into unions’ coffers.

“From taking away independent contracting jobs from moms working at home to stripping vital privacy protections from all Americans to forcing many small businesses to close their doors, the PRO Act would radically change our country’s labor laws and lead to a significant regression in our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One of the most frightening components of the PRO Act is the fact that the law would force employers to hand over personal contact information of employees to labor organizers, even for those employees who have no interest in the union. With unfettered access to employees, labor organizers would have the ability to harass and bully workers into joining a union. They could show up at their home, spam them on email and even bully them on social media. The PRO Act is incredibly short-sighted, especially given growing concerns regarding privacy in this country.

“The drastic restructuring of the nation’s labor laws and resulting economic upheaval would cost millions of American jobs, threaten vital supply chains, and greatly diminish opportunities for entrepreneurs and struggling small businesses.”

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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