DFL’s Abortion Agenda Hitting Roadblock, State Legislators Say

The Minnesota DFL’s abortion agenda could be in jeopardy, Democratic legislators revealed during a “reproductive freedom” rally at the Capitol Tuesday.

“We absolutely cannot stop with the PRO Act,” said Sen. Jen McEwen, DFL-Duluth, referring to the Protect Reproductive Options Act.

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Minnesota Department of Corrections Expands Abortion Coverage for Inmates

The Minnesota Department of Corrections will now pay for any inmate’s abortion, regardless of the reasons for seeking the procedure, according to a new policy.

The new policy, adopted January 10, replaces a 2018 policy that limited the department’s coverage of abortion to cases where the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest or if the life of the mother was at risk.

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Minnesota State Senator Declines to State When an Unborn Baby Becomes a Person

The author of a bill that would create a “fundamental right” to abortion through all nine months of pregnancy refused to state when she thinks an unborn baby becomes a human person.

Minnesota Democrats are expediting their Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act through the Minnesota Legislature, emboldened by an election victory that saw them recapture the Senate and take full control of state government.

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Pennsylvania Republican Lawmaker: Election Integrity Belongs in the Workplace Too

Pennsylvania state Rep. Torren Ecker (R-Abbottstown) believes the guarantee of free and fair elections with secret balloting belongs not only in contests for public office but in votes over labor representation. 

This week, he announced plans to introduce an amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution intended to cement that guarantee in the Keystone State in anticipation of federal legislation aiming to strengthen labor unions.

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Commentary: Biden’s Union Agenda Betrays American Workers

Man in safety vest, working during the day.

The consequences of Democratic control of Congress and the White House are just beginning to be felt, as one of the most disruptive pieces of legislation in American history quietly moves from the House of Representatives to the Senate, where only a successful filibuster may prevent its passage. H.R. 842, also known as the Protect the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act) goes a long way towards completing America’s transition into a corporate oligarchy. Because it will also make the elite captains of big labor more powerful than ever, they don’t care.

The PRO Act, like the more visible H.R. 1, is an example of disastrous legislation that is packaged and labeled as advancing the interests of the American worker, when in fact they are designed by special interests to destroy democracy and deny upward mobility. The new operative theme is simple and tragic: in America, big labor, big business, and big government no longer engage in healthy conflict. Rather than checking and balancing each other, on the biggest issues they display a corrupt unity.

Here are some of the provisions of the PRO Act:

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Small Businesses Say Big Labor’s PRO Act Would Put Them Under

Rally goer holds up a "Small Business fighting for survival" sign

The Biden Administration sent some stock prices tumbling and left small businesses worried after taking sides on a hotly contested labor issue that critics say could threaten the jobs of millions of independent workers and thousands of small businesses.

In his address to the nation Wednesday evening, President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass legislation that would ban the use of freelance workers in most instances.

A report from the freelance site UpWork found that about 59 million gig workers make up $1.2 trillion of the U.S. economy.

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Survey: Majority of Freelance Writers Worry PRO Act Will Harm Their Earning Potential

The PRO Act, which passed the U.S. House Tuesday on a largely partisan vote, could eliminate most forms of independent contracting, gig work and freelancing – potentially impacting as many as 59 million freelance workers who represent 36 percent of the total U.S. workforce.

In 2020, the freelance community accounted for $1.2 trillion in earnings, according to a report published by UpWork.

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Pro-Union Bill Would Shutter Businesses, Cause Widespread Layoffs, Key Business Groups Tell Congress

A coalition of hundreds of top business groups slammed the pro-union Protecting the Right to Organize Act as House Democrats prepare to bring it to the floor.

The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), which represents hundreds of thousands of employers nationwide, denounced the legislation in a letter written to Congress Thursday. The CDW said the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act threatens both the economy and workers’ rights.

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Democrat-Sponsored PRO Act Would Invalidate Right-to-Work Laws in 27 States

U.S. House and Senate Democrats have reintroduced the PRO ACT, a sweeping pro-union bill that would wipe out right-to-work labor laws in 27 states.

Democrats argue the PRO Act will create safer workplaces and increase employee benefits by expanding union organizing. Those opposed to it argue it will force small businesses to close, cost an untold number of jobs and worsen the economy, and “impose a laundry list of other union boss power grabs.”

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Commentary: Democrats’ Forced Labor Unionization Bill Threatens Jobs and Workers’ Rights

The Protecting the Right to Organize Act of 2019 (PRO Act) is a great illustration of just how radical and out-of-touch today’s Democrat Party is. The bill, which has 179 House Democrat cosponsors and 40 Senate Democrat cosponsors, would force millions of workers into unions they oppose and destroy jobs while lining the pockets of liberal fat-cat donors. Just when some workers finally begin recovering from the Great Recession is no time to be killing jobs in the franchise industry and the gig economy. For these and other reasons, the bill must be rejected.

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