WASHINGTON—Representative Scott Franklin (R–FL) today voted against H.R. 842 (The PRO Act), a massive union boss payoff that would mandate one-size-fits-all union contracts for employees nationwide. The bill strips right-to-work laws that have helped Florida grow to be the 17th largest economy in the world. Other troubling provisions in H.R. 842 include: undermining secret ballot union elections, violating worker privacy, forcing workers to pay union dues even if they don’t wish to belong, and imposing California’s stringent independent contractor test nationwide.

“While touted as a pro-worker bill, it is really a payoff to unions who contributed more than $200 million to Democrats in the last election cycle,” Franklin stated. “In Florida, companies and employees are not forced into costly union contracts or union dues they don’t want. This legislation would put workers at risk of termination if they decline to pay union dues. Federal law already protects employees’ right to organize, and I respect that right. This bill is just one more example of House Democrats rushing an extreme, sweeping bill directly to the House Floor without any examination or debate in committee, and without gathering needed feedback from the public about its devastating economic consequences.”

Below is a summary of H.R. 842, which now heads to the Senate for consideration:

• Eliminates all state Right-to-Work laws, which protect workers in 27 states from being fired if they decline to pay union dues, among other beneficial features.
• Imposes a “card check” scheme that undermines secret ballot elections.
• Violates workers’ privacy by requiring employers to give union organizers worker’s private information, including home addresses, cellphone and landline numbers, personal emails, and more. This not only encroaches on individuals’ privacy, but also subjects them to well-documented instances of harassment from union organizers.
• Imposes California’s definition of “independent contractor” — denying individuals the ability to work independently, threatening the emerging sharing economy, and taking away the flexibility that has allowed American businesses of all sizes to grow.
• Codifies an expansive “joint employer” standard—meaning that businesses could suddenly face liability for workplaces they don’t directly control and workers they don’t employ, which would eliminate the franchise industry as we know it.
• Authorizes “secondary boycotts” — allowing unions to launch disruptive protests and pickets against any employer, even those that have no direct connection to an ongoing labor dispute.
• Allows illegal immigrants to sue employers and collect financial rewards far in excess of what legal employees can currently receive.
• Potentially shutter thousands of small businesses and bankrupt small business owners by assessing penalties of up to $100,000 on small businesses as well as on individual business owners for unfair labor practices.

###