MSCI Joins Coalition For A Democratic Workplace In Opposing PRO Act

As Connecting the Dots reported last month, lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate have reintroduced H.R. 20/S. 567, the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2023, which is the latest iteration of Democrats’ efforts to amend the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and other labor statutes.

The metals and broader manufacturing industry have opposed previous versions of this bill since it would infringe on the rights of workers, threaten essential businesses, and create adversarial relationships between employers and employees.

The Metals Service Center Institute opposes the latest iteration of the bill as well and recently signed onto a letter with the Coalition for A Democratic Workplace asking federal lawmakers to vote against the legislation.

The letter, available here, said, “The economic impact of the PRO Act would be catastrophic. An American Action Forum study, found that the bill’s independent worker reclassification provision alone could cost as much as $57 billion nationwide, while the joint-employer changes would cost franchises up to $33.3 billion a year, lead to over 350,000 job losses, and increase lawsuits by 93% percent.”

As a reminder, among other things, the PRO Act would:

• Authorize the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to immediately seek an injunction to reinstate employees terminated in retaliation of participating in organizing activity and to enforce its own rulings;
• Preclude an employer from permanently replacing an employee who participates in a strike;
• Authorize employers and unions to enter an agreement that allows unions to collect dues from the workers they represent;
• Allow workers to pursue their unfair labor cases in court even if the NLRB’s General Counsel declines to prosecute the case; and
• Authorize the NLRB to assess monetary penalties for violations of the NLRA and impose personal liability on corporate officers who have been found to have participated in violations of workers’ rights or have knowledge of and fail to prevent the violations.