Politicians Lose After Anti-Right to Work Votes

Top Democrat Strategist Admits Big Labor Agenda Is ‘Unpopular’

“But House passage of the PRO Act made it plain to freedom-loving citizens it would likely be enacted if Big Labor politicians took control over the Senate and the White House, along with the House of Representatives.

“A number of challengers of Big Labor House members in potentially competitive districts who had rubber-stamped the PRO Act quickly decided to highlight the incumbents’ pro-forced unionism votes as a campaign issue. 

“For example, in a March interview with Iowa Field Report, Hawkeye State Republican Ashley Hinson, who was already running against union-label Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer [D], sharply denounced the latter’s support for the PRO Act, which Ms. Hinson aptly labeled as a Big Labor ‘wish list.’

“The Hinson campaign kept hammering, month after month. For example, in October, Press Secretary Annie Topp spoke to the Waterloo-West Cedar Falls Courier about Ms. Finkenauer’s vote to ‘require employees to contribute fees to a labor organization regardless of whether or not they’re a member.’”

Even in Big Labor-Ruled Golden State, Candidates Discerned PRO Act’s Unpopularity

It wasn’t just in Right to Work states like Iowa that “swing-district” House members came under campaign fire for their PRO Act advocacy.

Even in Big Labor-dominated California, for example, challenger Michelle Steel (R) repeatedly slammed Big Labor lackey Harley Rouda (D) for voting for compulsory unionism.

In California, pro-Right to Work challengers like Ms. Steel focused largely on a PRO Act provision that would federalize AB5, an unpopular Golden State statute adopted in 2019 at union lobbyists’ behest.

The Steel campaign decried Mr. Rouda’s vote for a “nationalized version” of AB5, which forces independent contractors to be reclassified as employees so union chiefs can grab monopoly-bargaining and forced-dues privileges over them.

By early December, when all but one of the House’s 435 general election contests were decided, nine incumbents on the ballot in November who had voted for the PRO Act earlier in the year, all Democrats, had gone down to defeat. Not one of the victorious challengers had endorsed the PRO Act, and most had publicly spoken out against it.

Among the losers were Abby Finkenauer and Harley Rouda.

Electoral Debacle Won’t Deter Nancy Pelosi From Bringing up PRO Act Again

Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi is no doubt restocking her supply of gourmet ice cream this winter to soothe her disappointment after her Democrat Party unexpectedly lost 10 House seats, largely because of her eagerness to do Big Labor’s bidding. (Credit: The Late Late Show with James Cordon)

Mr. Mix commented:

“It was Big Labor cheerleader Speaker Nancy Pelosi [D-Calif.] who decided to obey the union hierarchy’s command and ram the PRO Act through her chamber despite its manifest unpopularity with the American people. 

“This decision is obviously a significant reason why Ms. Pelosi’s Democrat caucus, confounding the expectations of pollsters and political pundits, shrank by at least 10 seats during the 2020 elections.

“In addition to helping sink Big Labor incumbents like Abby Finkenauer and Harley Rouda, the PRO Act vote handicapped union boss-backed candidates in ‘open seat’ contests as well.

“Despite the ample opportunities for the union political machine presented by an election year in which far more pro-Right to Work congressmen retired from the chamber than did union-boss stooges, Big Labor actually lost ground in ‘open seat’ races. 

“One might think that the electoral debacle for Nancy Pelosi would deter her from obeying union chieftains if they once again demand that she bring up the PRO Act in the new Congress. But it won’t.”

‘A Danger and an Opportunity’ For Right to Work Supporters

As David Shor, who was entrusted by the Obama 2012 team with creating the forecasting model the White House used to predict where the presidential race was going in every competitive state, and others have explained, Democrat politicians largely rely on fired-up union activists to oversee their electioneering.

Consequently, despite the evident risks, Ms. Pelosi simply won’t be able to say “no” to AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and his cohorts if they push for another PRO Act House roll-call vote in 2021 or 2022.

Mr. Mix concluded:

“Another PRO Act vote would represent a danger and an opportunity for Right to Work supporters. On the one hand, it would require a full-scale mobilization of Committee supporters to ensure it doesn’t become law, dealing a brutal blow to the Right to Work movement.

“On the other hand, a PRO Act vote with Joe Biden in the White House and ready to sign this power grab would also create an opportunity to inspire an even more severe citizen backlash against union-label federal politicians than the one they just experienced.”