OPINION:
For conservatives stewing about the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, the takeaway should be clear: Elections have consequences. Consider the process if Republicans controlled the Senate. It’s not a far-fetched scenario. Had the GOP not squandered Georgia’s two Senate seats in January 2021, Democrats would be the minority party. Desperate for a political win, it is possible that President Biden would have opted for a nominee closer to the center. We will never know.
With the midterms looming and Mr. Biden’s approval rating at 33% in a Quinnipiac University poll, the left needs red meat to energize their base. His decision to extend the moratorium on student loan payments is a nod in the direction of younger voters, whose support has taken a precipitous nosedive.
Another particularly egregious piece of legislation lurking in the wings is the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (or PRO Act). Call it the Green New Deal for the labor movement — a smorgasbord of giveaways to the unions wrapped up in one package, including a back-door “card check” and empowerment of the National Labor Relations Board.
A top priority for Mr. Biden’s cronies in Big Labor — the groups the president bizarrely declared, “If I got to go to war, I’m going with you guys” — the PRO Act would overturn right-to-work policies in 28 states, including Georgia. Instead, dues would be mandatory in unionized companies, and failure to comply could result in job loss.
The PRO Act would imperil Georgia’s 75-year-old right-to-work law, long a cornerstone of our economic strength. Right-to-work means workers cannot be compelled to join a union or pay dues to labor bosses. According to survey data from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, right-to-work enjoys the support of 64% of likely voters, and nearly two-thirds (65%) worry that the PRO Act would exacerbate inflation and other economic concerns.
The numbers do not lie. Analysis from the National Institute for Labor Relations Research finds that right-to-work states have higher growth rates in manufacturing jobs, and stronger growth in employment generally, than states with forced unionization. They also have a higher cost of living-adjusted, after-tax disposable income. From 2007 to 2017, the private sector in right-to-work states grew faster than in states without a right-to-work law.
Another provision within the PRO Act would reclassify many independent contractors, such as ride-share drivers, freelance writers and other entrepreneurs, as employees, eliminating thousands of these flexible jobs. It would also impose burdensome new regulations on franchise businesses, pushing many of them out of business altogether. This would disproportionately hurt minority business owners.
According to USA Today, 30.8% of franchise businesses are owned by minorities, compared to only 19% of non-franchised businesses.
After sailing through the Nancy Pelosi-led House of Representatives last year, the PRO Act has thankfully stalled out in the Senate. But Mr. Biden is not ready to throw in the towel just yet. He knows who butters his bread. He has pronounced himself as “leading the most pro-union administration in American history.” During the 2020 campaign, union groups sent $27.5 million to his campaign and supporting efforts, according to Open Secrets.
There is a reason the PRO Act got name-checked in the State of the Union address. A midterm election season with depressed efforts from Big Labor — cogs in the left’s voting turnout machine — would be catastrophic for Democrats. A new ABC News/Ipsos poll showed just 35% of Democrats were very enthusiastic about the midterms, compared to 55% of Republicans. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is already warning of Mr. Biden’s “collapse of support among young people.” The left cannot afford to lose labor, too.
Once again, Georgia’s two Democratic senators could come into play. In an evenly divided upper chamber, U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff vote for Biden’s agenda 96% and 98% of the time, respectively. They are far out of step with a state that — prior to 2020 — voted Republican in every presidential election since 1992. Both senators are on record supporting and co-sponsoring the PRO Act.
If this bill passes, conservatives would be wise to remember the stakes at the ballot box. In a 50-50 Senate, every vote literally counts. A pair of Democrats voting in lockstep with Mr. Biden is not reflective of Georgia values or priorities, a lesson we are learning the hard way with their support of the PRO Act.
• Geoff Duncan is the Republican lieutenant governor of Georgia.
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