The PRO Act is organized labor’s decades-long wish list of labor law changes without regard to the impact on employers and their ability to create economic opportunities for their employees and future Alaskan workforce.

  • The bill contains dozens of precedent-shifting provisions that will impact every industry and employer in Alaska.

  • The proposed changes will be disruptive to both union and nonunion employers alike.

  • Many of these provisions have been rejected by courts and Congress before and will now impede the state and economy from recovering from the pandemic.

Provisions of most interest to Alaskans include:

The ABC Test:

  • The ABC Test - one of the most concerning elements that would be implemented nationwide – is the same element of California’s disastrous 2019 “Assembly Bill 5” (AB5)

  • This would classify many independent contractors as an employee with respect to labor laws.

  • By no longer allowing independent contractors, the PRO Act would limit the flexibility of employers, employees, and all independent contractors participating in the gig economy

Right-To-Work:

  • The PRO Act would supersede and effectively repeal all state right-to-work laws already in place

  • This would in effect require all workers in a union to pay “union dues” or fees. Failure to pay these could result in termination

 

Worker Privacy:

  • The PRO Act would require employers to turn over private data of their employees to unions - including employees’ home address, home phone number, cell phone number, email address, and even work schedule without the option to opt out

Increased Regulations:

  • The PRO Act imposes stricter rules and a deadline on when employers and unions must negotiate union contracts by before federal officials step in and implement mandatory union contracts

  • This process defeats the purpose of collective bargaining and negotiation between employers and the union

  • This could stick employers with a contract that they cannot afford and would take away workers’ right to vote on their contract

These are just some of the damaging provisions in the bill which will upend decades of federal labor law and threatens long-standing labor-management relationships. These changes will usher in a new era of labor unrest and strikes that will make economic recovery from the coronavirus more difficult, and impede future economic growth.

 

To read our joint letter to Senator Murkowski, click HERE

Join the conversation and send your own letter thanking Senator Murkowski for putting Alaskans first