WASHINGTON, D.C. — During the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) second annual Women’s Business Summit, President Biden announced new resources to support women small business owners.
Patrice Onwuka, director of the Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) at Independent Women’s Forum, issued the following statement:
“We are proud of the 12 million women-owned businesses in America today. Women are resourceful, resilient, and innovative. Thanks to a dynamic economy women can create their own fulfilling, financially rewarding, and flexible opportunities.
“But flexible work and small businesses are at risk from President Biden’s union-boosting policies. He advocates for the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act which would result in the reclassification of many of the nation’s 64 million freelancers. Ripped straight from California’s legislative playbook, the PRO Act will destroy flexible independent contracting work that women depend upon similar to the hardship brought on by California’s Assembly Bill 5. Women-owned franchises stand to lose from the PRO Act’s restrictions as well.
“Harmful policies for freelancers and franchises that Congress won’t pass are on track to be implemented through federal agencies such as the National Labor Relations Board and the Department of Labor. Furthermore, President Biden has nominated Julie Su, DOL’s current deputy secretary to head the agency. Su would nationalize the devastating policies that she previously implemented in California.
“The president can’t in good faith claim to support women business owners while pushing for policies that will pull the rug from under them.”