Congressman Kevin Hern and Congresswoman Kendra Horn voted against HR 2474, the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act on Thursday. While the Republican and Democrat do have similar misgivings about the legislation, they are opposed to it for very different primary reasons.
The PRO Act would give unions much more power and effect how some workers are classified. This could force chain restaurants with franchises to allow unions for their employees. It also changes the way unions can collect information on employees.
Hern’s primary concern is unions would be able to count undocumented workers among those who wish to unionize.
Horn is worried about the disruption to small business owners who own franchises in Oklahoma. Hern has a similar concern and during a House speech trying to amend the bill, noted his ownership of McDonald’s franchises helped make him successful.
You can watch Hern’s speech below.
Horn released a statement after the House of Representatives based HR 2474 by a vote of 224 to 194.
“We do not have to choose between policies that are good for our people and policies that are good for our pocketbooks,” said Congresswoman Horn. “I have voted for union pensions, I have voted to repeal the tax on union health care plans, and I support the right to organize. I am pro-worker, but instead of protecting our workers, the PRO Act would harm our small businesses. Franchise owners, who are specifically targeted by the PRO Act, are disproportionately women and people of color, and franchise employees are an important part of our state’s workforce. We should strengthen, not weaken, their ability to compete and succeed.
“There are several provisions in the bill I strongly support that would strengthen the right to organize and workers’ rights to collectively bargain. We were not given the opportunity to pass these reforms as standalone bills. We have work to do updating our nation’s labor laws, but that work requires a balanced, thoughtful approach which values our whole workforce and the small businesses that keep Oklahoma running.”
The PRO Act is facing an uphill battle in the U.S. Senate. President Trump has come out against the legislation and is unlikely to sign it in its present form.
