The chief executive officer of the Associated General Contractors of America, Stephen E. Sandherr, issued the following statement in reaction to the passage in the U.S. House of Representatives today of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act:
“House Democrats today voted in favor of idling workers, stripping their privacy, and denying them the opportunity to establish their own businesses. The PRO Act, which passed largely along partisan lines tonight, includes a host of measures that are anti-worker, anti-privacy, and anti-recovery. The measure, for example, will deny workers the absolute right to a private union election ballot. It also forces employers to disclose private details about their workers to unions, including their home addresses, emails, and shift schedules.
“The measure authorizes a host of long-prohibited labor actions, including secondary boycotts, where unions can picket firms that are not involved in a dispute with that union. These boycotts will force many workers to suffer, without pay, for disputes where they do not stand to benefit. The PRO Act also discriminates against independent contractors. This means workers will no longer be able to successfully establish their own businesses and become their own bosses.
“The broader impact of the PRO Act, should it be enacted, is a new era of labor unrest that will stifle future economic activity and job growth. Instead of helping deliver higher wages and better benefits, the PRO Act will provide labor uncertainty, stagnant economic growth, and diminished entrepreneurial opportunity. That is why the Associated General Contractors of America, including our union and open shop members, will continue to oppose this measure and take every possible step to prevent its passage in the Senate.”
Related Stories
| May 3, 2013
Another edible city? Artist creates model city with chewing gum
French artist Jeremy Laffon pieced together a model city with thousands of sticks of mint-green chewing gum.
| May 2, 2013
First look: UC-Davis art museum by SO-IL and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
The University of California, Davis has selected emerging New York-based practice SO-IL to design a new campus’ art museum, which is envisioned to be a “regional center of experimentation, participation and learning.”
| May 2, 2013
A snapshot of the world's amazing construction feats (in one flashy infographic)
From the Great Pyramids of Giza to the U.S. Interstate Highway System, this infographic outlines interesting facts about some of the world's most notable construction projects.
| May 2, 2013
Holl-designed Campbell Sports Center completed at Columbia
Steven Holl Architects celebrates the completion of the Campbell Sports Center, Columbia University’s new training and teaching facility.
| May 2, 2013
BIM group proposes uniform standards for how complete plans need to be
A nationwide group of Building Information Modeling users, known as the BIMForum, is seeking industry input on a proposed set of standards establishing how complete Building Information Models (BIMs) need to be for different stages of the design and construction process.
| May 2, 2013
New web community aims to revitalize abandoned buildings
Italian innovators Andrea Sesta and Daniela Galvani hope to create a worldwide database of abandoned facilities, ripe for redevelopment, with their [im]possible living internet community.
| May 1, 2013
A LEGO lover's dream: Guide to building the world's iconic structures with LEGO
A new book from LEGO master builder Warren Elsmore offers instructions for creating scale models of buildings and landmarks with LEGO.
| May 1, 2013
Data center construction remains healthy, but oversupply a concern
Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are among the major tech companies investing heavily to build state-of-the-art data centers.
