Tell Congress and President Biden to oppose the anti-worker, anti-open shop construction, and anti-union construction PRO Act.

The PRO Act would provide unions with additional and significant economic weapons without regard to their detrimental impact on a construction worker’s right to free choice and privacy and a construction firm’s ability to manage its operations regardless of whether it is a union or open shop firm. 

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the PRO Act on March 9, 2021. Further legislative action rests with the Senate, where 47 Democrats have already pledged their support to pass measure. Senate Democratic leaders are considering, and the AFL-CIO has endorsed, eliminating the filibuster—which requires 60 votes to pass legislation. If it’s eliminated or “reformed,” Senate Democrats will pass the PRO Act, Vice President Harris will break the 50-50 tie, and President Biden will sign it into law as he has promised to do.

Among the PRO Act provisions, it would: 

• Threaten workers' absolute right to a free, fair, and secret union ballot by imposing a “backdoor” card check procedure, a voting process whereby employees sign their name on a union authorization card and submit it directly to union organizers. There are no secret ballots or private votes.
• Force employers to turn over employees' private, personal information to unions without the ability to opt out;
• Effectively repeal employees’ Right-to-Work protections—established in 27 states—thereby taking away employees’ choice to contribute fees to a labor organization, and instead requiring them to do so;
• Eliminate all prohibitions on picketing that would idle many employees over a dispute where they do not stand to benefit, because unions could then launch protests and pickets against any employer—even those having nothing to do with a labor dispute;
• Allow intermittent strikes and slowdowns that could devastate jobsite progress, production and, in turn, jeopardize many jobs; 
• Codify the “quickie” or “ambush” election rules that limit employees’ access and opportunity to consider information about the union seeking to represent them;
• Establish a restrictive independent contractor test that will undermine many working people’s ambitions to establish their own firms and become self-employed.

Please visit agc.org/PROAct for additional information and resources on the measure.