We have been shouting from the rafters, tweeting, writing and calling our senators and other elected representatives, demanding they ditch the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, because it is a gift-wrapped sop to the Unions. The Act’s sole purpose is to destroy independent professionals, and the economy of the nation along with it.

Sadly, it has mostly fallen on deaf ears.

Folks, I don't care what party you are, call your Senators immediately. This threatens economic freedom–ask the freelancers punished in CA under AB5. Unless you all want to be working for a handful of big biz, the #PROAct needs to be nuked- as Gabby said- to high heaven. https://t.co/bp6WpGMsa8

— Carol Roth (@caroljsroth) July 14, 2021

Craven Democrat Socialist Bernie Sanders (I-Crank) taciturnly responded to reporters’ question on whether the Act had been embedded into the Reconciliation version of the 3.5 trillion Infrastructure Bill.

From the Washington Examiner:

Sen. Bernie Sanders said that the organized labor-backed PRO Act will be included in a $3.5 trillion spending package set to be pushed through the Senate by Democrats.

When asked by reporters on Wednesday if the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act, would be included in Democrats’ reconciliation plan the Vermont socialist said, “Yes, it is.” The news came after President Joe Biden spent the day on Capitol Hill rallying support for the $3.5 trillion package that will be paired with the more modest $580 billion bipartisan infrastructure plan.

Republicans and business groups have expressed heavy opposition to the PRO Act, which passed the Democratic-controlled House earlier this year but was dead on arrival in the Senate, which is evenly split.

Other pork disguised as infrastructure that was stuffed into the bill are provisions to lower the Medicare age and expand Medicare benefits. Artificially cap prescription prices, money for child care, money for climate change, immigration, and green cards, and the old saw of tax increases on the wealthy and large corporations, which is the personal pet causes of both Sanders and his cohort Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Fauxahontas).

Not a road, bridge, or building to be seen for miles. Just attacks on the independent professionals who want to work as they choose, and companies that enjoy the freedom of contracting professionals to be able to expand the products and services they offer, while maintaining their margins. Bottom line: its intent is to destroy small business and entrepreneurship, and filter all work through Labor Unions, as I, and the rest of my colleagues have explained here, here, here, and here.

Among its many provisions, the most execrable is the latitude given to Unions to invade personal privacy, force unionization of companies without an employee vote, and demand that collective bargaining in workplaces take place, even where it has been previously rejected. And those 27 States that have Right-to-Work laws? You can kiss those goodbye.

The potential saving grace? The Senate parliamentarian.

While Sanders said that the PRO Act would be included in the reconciliation package, the process requires the Senate parliamentarian to approve which budget-related aspects can be included in the final legislation, which could mean that the final package would be pared down compared to the original version.

If you recall, the Senate parliamentarian is the one who put the kibosh on Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-Schemer) doing what he wanted in order to get around the filibuster.

As my colleague Bonchie explained,

Reconciliation is a very narrow process, and the Byrd Rule requires that anything included in a reconciliation bill must deal with taxes and budgetary issues. You also have stipulations about deficit offsets that must be taken into account. You can not pass regularly legislative items under the guise of reconciliation.

The hope is that the parliamentarian will take a sharp knife to all the excess that has nothing to do with taxes and budget, and that would include the A-B-C Test embedded in the PRO Act which makes it so wicked and untenable.

The hope is also that Republicans do not cave and play the game of bipartisanship. The American independent contractor model, as well as the American economy is at stake.