Over 64 million Americans – including over 500,000 Virginians – now engage in some semblance of independent contracting. But the reintroduction of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act in Congress will jeopardize this burgeoning workforce if it passes.
U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Virginia, a ranking member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, Big Labor advocate and key sponsor of the bill, claims the PRO Act is a “critical step” to empower workers who’ve been deprived of essential rights. But the congressman couldn’t be more wrong about empowering workers.
As with previous attempts, this iteration of the PRO Act – renamed in honor of the late AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka – would set workers back by repealing right-to-work laws and policies that have encouraged flexible work arrangements and contributed to our commonwealth’s robust business climate.
In a publicly available fact sheet, Rep. Scott and other members argue that this bill, if passed, would give workers the ability to nullify “right-to-work” laws. By repealing this provision, the bill would mandate making membership conditional for employment. That would imperil 3.1 million nonunionized Virginia workers who voluntarily choose to not belong to unions.
In 2021, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, a state agency promoting and attracting business to the commonwealth, cautioned lawmakers against repealing this long-standing law. Should a repeal go into effect, Virginia would potentially lose out on 260 prospective manufacturing and supply-chain projects estimated to create 33,000 jobs and deliver $16.7 billion in capital investment. Moreover, the VEDP warned that the commonwealth would have lost “approximately [$8 million to $26 million] in state general fund revenue per year.”