The Business and Industry Association, New Hampshire’s statewide chamber of commerce and leading business advocate, sent a letter to New Hampshire Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan urging them to reconsider their support for the PRO Act. The letter was cosigned by other chambers of commerce and statewide trade associations.

The Protecting the Right to Organize, or “PRO Act, makes sweeping changes to federal labor laws, essentially rewriting the Labor Management Relations Act of 1947. Supporters say the PRO Act would bolster collective bargaining rights, but opponents say it dramatically and unfairly tilts the carefully crafted balance between labor and management to unions.

BIA is pressing Sens. Shaheen and Hassan, who are cosponsors of the legislation, to carefully consider business opposition in New Hampshire and withdraw their support. The PRO Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in March.

“The PRO Act is an ill-advised attempt to fundamentally restructure American workplaces and infringe on workers’ rights to a secret ballot, workplace democracy and personal privacy,” wrote BIA President Jim Roche. The letter goes on to state that the act “would authorize ‘secondary boycotts’ allowing unions to launch disruptive protests and pickets against any employer, even those that have nothing to do with a labor dispute.”

The act is also criticized for its potential to restrict the freedoms of gig economy workers, such as independent contractors for Uber, Lyft, Instacart and Doordash.

The PRO Act, if passed into law, also would wipe out the Right to Work laws of 27 states. “Right to Work” means no employee can be compelled to join or support a union as a condition of employment. The New Hampshire Legislature is considering a bill to make New Hampshire a Right to Work state, a top legislative priority for the BIA.

In addition to BIA, cosigners of the letter include the Mt. Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce; Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce; N.H. Grocers Association; Associated Builders & Contractors of New Hampshire/Vermont; National Association of Independent Businesses; N.H. Lodging & Restaurant Association; and Associated General Contractors of New Hampshire.

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