Merry Christmas, PRO Act Grinches, 30x30
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Good afternoon and Merry Christmas Eve!
Welcome to Outsider on the Inside. I hope this dispatch from in and around the nation’s capital on underreported topics finds you well.
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Sights and Sounds from the Past Week
Big Labor Grinches Undermining Freelancing With PRO Act
Becoming your own boss is the greatest gift one can give themself this Christmas. While millions of Americans are celebrating self-employment this holiday season, threats against flexible, independent work could put a damper on spirits.
Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, union organizations and labor activists recently announced a “‘Pass the PRO Act’ Holiday Tour” to urge passage of the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.
Their goal is to pressure Senate holdouts, namely Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, Mark Kelly and Mark Warner, to get on board.
The bill, if passed, would abolish right-to-work laws, make employment conditional on union membership and misclassify independent workers as employees under a proposed ABC test, among many proposed provisions.
Who seeks to benefit most from the PRO Act? Powerful labor union special interests.
Margaret Byfield on 30 By 30
“The last time I counted, we had over 120 counties across the nation that have filed resolutions to oppose 30 by 30. So, you know, there’s some circles where it hasn’t really reached the reached. I think the educational process where people are aware of it as to what it really is. But those areas that have been educated are absolutely opposed to this.” — Margaret Byfield, executive director of American Stewards for Liberty
In Episode 237 of District of Conservation, Gabriella welcomes American Stewards for Liberty executive director Margaret Byfield to the program. Margaret came on to discuss her background in property rights, Endangered Species Act reforms, and fighting 30×30 – the misleading initiative to conserve public waters and lands by 2030. Margaret goes into great detail about the dubious nature of the proposal, the grassroots movement that has resulted, and why true conservationists should put this policy high on their list in 2022.
Listen on Apple Podcasts
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—Gabriella