{"id":2566,"date":"2021-08-03T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-03T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uniontrack.com\/blog\/?p=2566"},"modified":"2021-08-30T20:57:35","modified_gmt":"2021-08-30T20:57:35","slug":"pro-union-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/pro-union-president","title":{"rendered":"Presidential Report Card: Is Biden Living Up To His Promise To Be A Pro-Union President?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ken Green
CEO & Founder
UnionTrack<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his first six months in office, President Biden has made every effort to keep his campaign promise to be an advocate for unions and workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBiden\u2019s administration may be the most overtly pro-union since Harry Truman left the Oval Office nearly 70 years ago,\u201d write Los Angeles Times reporters Noah Bierman and David Lauter<\/a>. \u201cBiden has put unions at the center of policy \u2014 viewing them as vehicles not only to rebuild middle-class jobs but also to address climate change and racial and gender inequity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through his words and actions, Biden is demonstrating his determination to strengthen unions so they can provide more workers with greater powers in the workplace. That isn\u2019t to say all of his efforts to date have been successful or that he has achieved as much as union leaders and labor advocates had hoped, but he has made positive strides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biden Signals Intent to be a Pro-Labor President<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Biden didn\u2019t hesitate to kick off his presidency in a way that signaled his intent to be a pro-labor president.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On his first day in office, he made the unprecedented move of firing Pete Robb, general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). It was the first time in the history of the agency that the General Counsel was fired, notes retired labor lawyer Gabrielle Semel<\/a>, who was district one counsel at Communication Workers of America (CWA) Local 1014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a strong message from the president meant to communicate his determination to put the NLRB \u2014 and the federal government \u2014 back on track to protecting the rights of working people. The president hasn\u2019t slowed down since, taking a number of other actions meant to advance his pro-labor agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Openly Supported Unionization Efforts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the most historic union votes<\/a> happened during Biden\u2019s first six months in office at the Amazon fulfillment center in Bessemer, Alabama. Had the drive been successful, it would have been the first union at an Amazon facility in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahead of the vote, Biden released a video message in which he spoke of the importance of workers having a choice to join a union and he condemned union-busting practices commonly used by companies during a union vote. While he didn\u2019t mention the Amazon vote specifically, he did make a reference to the workers in Alabama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Labor historian Erik Loomis<\/a> called Biden\u2019s remarks \u201carguably the most pro-union public statement by a president in support of unions in the entirety of American history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prioritized Union Growth in Legislation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Biden has released a number of key pieces of legislation aimed at getting the economy back on track after the global health crisis and addressing the challenges workers and families have been confronting. One of those legislative priorities, the American Jobs Plan<\/a>, explicitly calls for creating union jobs and passing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act as key elements in successfully rebuilding America\u2019s infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 24<\/a> notes, the American Jobs Plan aims to \u201ccreate good-quality jobs that pay prevailing wages in safe and healthy workplaces while ensuring workers have a free and fair choice to organize, join a union, and bargain collectively with their employers.\u201d Through this bill, Biden affirms his commitment to unions and workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt its core, the American Jobs Plan is not only committed to investing in our infrastructure, but also investing in the American people,\u201d says Jimmy Hoffa<\/a>, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. \u201cThis plan creates good-paying jobs now and in the future while urging real action, through the PRO Act, to level the playing field for middle class workers who have been fighting for their right to join a union free from employer intimidation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"two<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Put Labor Leaders in Key Federal Positions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Union leaders have been a key part of Biden\u2019s administration even before he even took office. As president-elect, reports the Labor Tribune<\/a> in November 2020, he added 27 union leaders to his transition team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since taking office, he has appointed labor leaders<\/a> to various key positions. Most notably, Biden nominated former Baltimore Mayor Marty Walsh as Labor Secretary and appointed Lauren McFerran, former senior labor counsel, deputy staff director and chief labor counsel for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, as chairman of the NLRB. He also nominated Jennifer Abruzzo, special counsel for strategic initiatives for the Communications Workers of America (CWA), as the new general counsel of the NLRB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Met with Union Leaders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The president has not hesitated meeting with union leaders to learn more about what unions and workers need from his administration. For example, on February 17, 2021, less than one month after taking office, he invited 10 union leaders to talk about COVID relief, infrastructure, and jobs creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richard Trumka<\/a>, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) president, called the meeting \u201cthe most productive Oval Office meeting in years\u201d for working people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe never met with President Obama in the Oval Office in eight years,\u201d said North America\u2019s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey<\/a>. \u201cNever has the word \u2018union\u2019 flowed off a political leader\u2019s tongue so easily as it has with President Biden.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Signed Numerous Executive Actions in Favor of Workers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Not content to wait for Congress to act, the president has signed a number of executive actions in his first six months aimed at improving the lives of working Americans and strengthening unions. Those executive actions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n