A White House task report several months in the making is offering nearly 70 recommendations designed to promote pro-union practices and policies throughout the federal government.
Called the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, the report has just been made public after earlier being delivered to President Biden for his review.
The report is the result of a task force set up by Biden last spring via executive order and tasked with facilitating worker organizing across the country.
The task force was headed by Vice President Kamala Harris, who remarked upon the report’s release: “We are determined to be the most pro-union Administration in American history.”
Harris added: “Here’s the bottom line—when unions are strong, America is strong.”
In its final report, the task force argues that union organizing in the private sector is often met with “threats and instances of retaliation by employers against workers exercising their rights.”
Noting that most federal agencies have either “encouraged worker organizing” or been generally supportive of the idea, the report says such examples should be used as “model practices that can be followed by state and local governments, private-sector employers, and others.”
Responses to the report have varied. In a statement, Kristen Swearingen, chair of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, said the document is “nothing more than pro-union propaganda and exemplifies how entrenched pro-union allies are in this administration.”
In a press release, Ben Brubeck, vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs for the Associated Builders and Contractors, charged that the task force’s recommendations will increase infrastructure projects by up to 20%, reduce competition, and discriminate against the “nearly 9 out of 10 members of the construction workforce who choose to be union free.”
Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, said the report underlines the role that unions play in fostering a “fairer economy.” In a statement, Shuler added: “By taking steps to give more workers the right to organize and bargain collectively, the administration is once again demonstrating that it is committed to using its power to support unions.”
Partly in response to the task force’s work, the Interior Department has announced that it is allowing union organizers to talk with employees on federal property; while both the Commerce and Transportation departments say they have established guidelines for federal grants in order to spur union employment.
By Garry Boulard
