{"id":4019,"date":"2023-11-28T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/?p=4019"},"modified":"2023-11-25T22:36:58","modified_gmt":"2023-11-25T22:36:58","slug":"support-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/support-workers","title":{"rendered":"Labor News: What the DOL Has Done So Far This Autumn to Support Workers and Unions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

Workers need all the help they can get when it comes to standing up for their rights in the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While union support is one of their most critical resources, they particularly need the support of federal agencies that make and enforce labor laws. That\u2019s something the Biden administration has been focused on since the start of his presidency, and his pro-labor Department of Labor (DOL) continues to demonstrate a commitment to strengthening unions and worker power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really respect the collective bargaining process … and the desire and choice to form a union is up to workers, full stop,\u201d says Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su<\/a>. \u201cBut I also think continuing economic policies that create good jobs and that create upward incentives on wages and working conditions is a good thing for all workers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some of the most recent initiatives undertaken by the DOL that aim to protect workers and boost union power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOL Investigating Starbucks\u2019 Compliance with LMRDA<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Starbucks has used legal, illegal, and gray-area tactics to fight employees every step of the way in worker efforts to unionize various locations around the country. To illustrate, baristas have successfully organized at over 300 Starbucks locations in the past two years, but none have secured a first contract because of the company\u2019s heavy-handed approach to union busting, efforts the company has worked hard to hide or deny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnder [company founder and former CEO Howard] Schultz\u2019s leadership, Starbucks (and its legal team at the employer-side firm Littler Mendelson) has expanded this template of strategic avoidance,\u201d reports E. Tammy Kim<\/a>, contributing writer at The New Yorker, a strategy that has continued under the current CEO Laxman Narasimhan.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the company can no longer avoid the consequences of some of its actions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On October 4, 2023, a federal court in Seattle, Washington, ruled that the company must comply with a DOL\u2019s Office of Labor-Management Standards\u2019 (OLMS) administrative subpoena requesting documents regarding money spent in persuader activities in fiscal years 2021 and 2022. The company fought the subpoena, saying the DOL didn\u2019t have the authority to issue it, explains Peter Romeo<\/a>, editor at large for Restaurant Business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The court disagreed and ruled that the OLMS does have that power \u2014 given by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) \u2014 and Starbucks must comply so the department can do its investigation into persuader activity<\/a> conducted by the company during union campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act is an important tool that allows workers to understand \u2018who is doing what\u2019 to counter an organizing campaign,\u201d says OLMS Director Jeff Freund<\/a> in a DOL news release. \u201cBy enforcing the department\u2019s subpoena, the court will help us determine if Starbucks must file a report on its response to its workers\u2019 efforts to organize.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a critical win for workers and the union because it forces the company to expose the extent of its use of anti-labor consultants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe transparency created by these requirements is designed to better inform workers in making determinations regarding the exercise of their rights to organize and bargain collectively,\u201d explains the DOL<\/a>. \u201cFor example, with the knowledge that the source of the information received is an anti-union campaign managed by an outsider, workers will be better able to assess the merits of the arguments directed at them and make an informed choice about how to exercise their rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Woman<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOL Grants to Boost Number of Women in Registered Apprenticeship Programs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A career in the trades offers men and women the opportunity to be financially stable and fulfilled in their profession. The problem is there aren\u2019t enough women in the trades. A report by Zippia<\/a> shows only four percent of all tradespeople are women.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The federal government wants to bring more women into the trades through its Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations (WANTO)<\/a> Grant program. To achieve that end, the DOL awarded $5 million in 2023 to organizations in seven states to attract more women to registered apprenticeship programs. It is the largest award of such grants to date.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWomen make up nearly half of the nation\u2019s workforce but remain vastly underrepresented in industries like construction, which needs more skilled workers needed to fill these high-paying jobs,\u201d says Women\u2019s Bureau Director Wendy Chun-Hoon<\/a>. \u201cThe Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations program prepares women for promising careers and provides the technical assistance to employers and unions to recruit and retain more women effectively.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One recipient, Hope Renovations<\/a> in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, says the funds will extend the organization\u2019s reach and more than triple the number of women who complete its pre-apprenticeship program. The anticipated end result will be 150 women placed in industry jobs and apprenticeships.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOL Proposed Rule Offers Protections for Temporary Farm Workers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In September 2023, the DOL proposed a rule<\/a> that would strengthen workplace protections for H-2A (temporary) farm workers in the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe federal government has recognized for decades that farm workers often face abuses on the job, including poor housing and wage theft,\u201d writes Sky Chadde<\/a>, assistant editor and senior reporter for Investigate Midwest. \u201cH-2A workers\u2019 time in the country is tied to their employer, which advocates and experts have said lead workers to not complain about abuses.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In an attempt to rectify this, the new rule:<\/p>\n\n\n\n