SURVEY: 61% Of Small Businesses Say PRO Act Will Kill Their Business

By: Tom Hebert

A new survey from Alignable shows that 61% of American small businesses say that the left-wing “Protecting the Right to Organize” (PRO) Act will kill their business. The PRO Act is sweeping legislation that will drastically increase organized labor’s power at the expense of the American worker. 

The PRO Act nationalizes California’s “ABC” test for independent contractors that would force companies to hire freelancers as W-2 employees. Companies hire freelancers for a variety of reasons, including expertise, specialized skills, or fulfilling a project-based need. Independent contractors all across the country prefer the flexibility of freelancing to the rigidity of a traditional employment arrangement. 

The survey shows that a national ABC test could lead to freelancers losing 76 percent of their business. Additionally, 40 percent of businesses said that they would need to turn away work projects that would require freelancers to complete. 45 percent of all small businesses would ultimately be forced to shut down due to the lack of freelancers. 

The PRO Act would be devastating for minority-owned businesses, 62 percent of which say they are “vitally or highly dependent” on side hustles to make a living. Similarly, 67 percent of women-owned businesses say they would lose most of their revenue under the PRO Act, along with 45 percent of veteran-owned businesses. 

Ultimately, the PRO Act is a very real threat to small businesses across the board. Congress should vote against the PRO Act and all of its provisions if proposed in separate legislation or included in a larger bill.