Why is Josh Hawley bending a knee to union bosses, not protecting right-to-work? | Opinion

It’s simple. If you don’t want to join a labor union, you shouldn’t have to.

But that’s exactly what unions are pushing with the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, which is currently being debated on Congress. This dangerous bill will strip workers of their rights to decide for themselves whether they want to support a union and violate their privacy.

Union membership across the nation has consistently been falling for decades. The modern economy, economic growth and its resulting rising wages, the politicization of unions and the “all or nothing” mindset of union bosses have led to unions becoming more and more obsolete. In response, labor leaders are looking to use Congress to force workers into unions, even in right-to-work states such as Missouri.

So it begs the question: Why is Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley calling the PRO Act “a pretty good piece of legislation” when it would violate Missouri workers’ rights?

The PRO Act would eliminate right-to-work laws across the country, and force workers to financially bolster unions and causes they do not support. That means 61 million Americans would be forced to pay up to $1,000 or more per year in union dues — or risk losing their jobs. Not only is that unconscionable in a free society like ours, but it also would disincentivize job growth, leading to economic uncertainty for millions of families and communities around the nation. The PRO Act would also require employers to hand over workers’ confidential, personal data to union organizers, violating their privacy rights and exposing them to potential harassment and intimidation during union organizing campaigns.

This bill is antithetical to everything Missourians should be fighting for. Instead of empowering the American worker and individual, the PRO Act would expand union bosses’ influence and power while crushing workers’ rights to self-determination, privacy and more.

While Sen. Hawley courts labor unions for their political support, he seems to have forgotten to consider the best interests of Missouri’s workers. Right-to-work laws are commonsense policies that stop unions from intimidating workers and stripping them of their freedoms. Workers’ privacy should never be sacrificed for any reason, let alone to enable an organization to harass and intimidate them.

Protecting American workers should be top of mind for every public servant, but Sen. Hawley seems to have lost his way on this issue. Hawley should protect Missourians’ rights in the workplace and stop bending the knee to labor bosses.

Kristen Swearingen is chair of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, an unincorporated umbrella coalition that represents more than 500 major business organizations.