On Monday, the White House delivered a long-awaited report from its labor task force. It highlighted low union involvement in the federal government. Moreover, it offered over 70 suggestions for how the government may assist workers in joining labor unions and bargaining collectively.
According to the survey, more than 300,000 federal employees, the country’s largest employer, will be able to join a union but have not done so. According to the sources, the government would provide unions with more access to federal employees. It will urge organizations like the National Labor Relations Board and the Federal Labor Relations Authority to collaborate on worker organizing. The 43-page report also encourages the Labor Department to ensure that workers who engage in collective bargaining experience no retribution.
Decades-Long Drop-In Union Membership
President Joe Biden formed the task team in April to reverse a decades-long drop in union membership. He named Kamala Harris, the Vice President, as chair of the task force. Moreover, Marty Walsh, the Secretary of Labor, became a vice-chair of the committee, including over 20 agency heads and Cabinet members.
Biden’s success in multiple Rust Belt states in the Midwest and Northeast received aid from union backing in 2020. Those voters’ choices in 2022 will significantly impact congressional and gubernatorial races.
According to the White House, just 10.3 %of the US workforce was represented by a union in 2021; down from more than 30% in the 1950s. The percentages are considerably lower for private-sector workers. Their union membership has dropped from 16.8% in 1983 to 6.1 %in 2021.
Biden has never shied away from expressing his desire to strengthen the labor movement in the United States, including through a host of measures in his legislative proposals.
The White House study does not specify how much union membership has increased since Biden entered office a little more than a year ago. However, it does suggest that the epidemic has increased union approval. Currently, 68% of Americans approve of labor unions, the highest proportion since 1965.
