The historian gives “Union Joe” the next grade than any president since FDR

Joe Biden has repeatedly promised to go further in his support for U.S. labor rights than any of his predecessors.

“I intend to be the most pro-union president, leading the most pro-union administration in American history.” Biden said at a gathering on the White House in September 2021, bringing together unusual staff, union leaders and government officials.

He expressed this intention again and again and sometimes made his goals clear.

For example in In 2023 he said in Chicago that his government was to “facilitate the empowerment of workers by making it easier to join a union.”

Based on mine Research on the history of organized labor in AmericaI’d give Biden a minus for his record on staff' rights. In my opinion, the person called “Union Joe” has lived as much as the claim, with one notable flaw.

Clung to this message for 4 years

Biden has set many precedents related to organized labor.

In 2021, Biden encouraged staff at an Amazon facility in Alabama vote to affix a union. In a video messageHe claimed that there must be “no intimidation, no coercion, no threats, no anti-union propaganda” from employers towards union efforts.

Although these staff selected not to affix the union, this speech marked a milestone. No president had ever made such a press release on behalf of a union during an organizing campaign.

In 2022, Biden used executive orders to enhance conditions for work on federal projects, including using Project labor contracts for federal construction projects, which requires hiring unionized staff. His government also created latest rules Equal pay for federal employees.

And a Biden working group also released a report with 70 measures the administration could implement Strengthen unions.

In 2023, he became the primary president to conduct a picket line, which happened through the United Auto Workers' only strike in a long time. The historical record shows that no previous president ever even considered taking such an motion.

In 2024, the Biden administration has increased the pace.

It is within the month of April alone the non-competition clauses are prohibited This can discourage staff from taking one other job in the identical industry in the event that they quit. prolonged entitlement to extra time pay to individuals earning as much as $58,656 per yr, up from the present cap of $35,568, and urged pension funds to take a position only in firms that maintain high working standards.

Coordinated policy

Under the leadership of Biden's appointees, the National Industrial Relations Committee – an independent agency tasked with protecting rights within the workplace – has investigated allegations that StarbucksThe Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and other firms have intimidated their employees to discourage unionization efforts.

Biden also supports the law protecting the correct to arrange, higher generally known as the PRO Act. Lawmakers have introduced the measure 3 times since 2019 and the House has passed it twice.

This bill would, amongst other things, impose significant financial penalties on firms that They illegally interfere with the union rights of their employees and would speed up the collective bargaining process after staff win a union election.

Public mood

The Biden administration's pro-union stance is in step with public sentiment: approval rankings for unions are at their highest in several a long time.

About 7 out of 10 Americans say they support unionsin accordance with polls commissioned by Gallup and the AFL-CIO.

This public support could possibly be strengthened by current events.

High-profile campaigns amongst staff employed at Amazon, Starbucks, showbiz studios, hospitals, etc Car manufacturer have kept unions within the news no matter what the White House does.

A big selection of staff, from strippers to UPS truck drivers, have achieved large gains in wages and advantages by leveraging their collective power.

Teachers were already on strike before the COVID-19 pandemic. They have continued to say their rights to do that across the country.

On the opposite hand …

To make sure, a few of Biden's aspirations to enhance the situation for staff remain unfulfilled.

The Percentage of U.S. staff who belong to a union has continued to say no and can fall to 10% by 2023. The purchasing power of the federal minimum wage, which has been $7.25 an hour since 2009, has remained unchanged further eroded as a result of inflation.

Several states have now relaxed their child labor laws, although the variety of child labor laws is increasing Children and young people without papers The variety of staff in dangerous jobs which might be taboo for minors is increasing.

As far as Biden's actions were concerned, the low point got here 2022 when he used the Railway Labor Act of 1926 to forestall the railway staff' union from striking for higher sick leave. Biden officials argued that the economy couldn’t afford a rail shutdown, but political considerations about inflation ahead of the midterm elections likely contributed to the administration's response.

At the identical time it’s The Biden administration continued to work behind the scenes They put pressure on the railroad firms to satisfy staff' demands, and for probably the most part they did. Union leaders praise Biden for this We will help them achieve this victory for his or her staff.

Congress and Supreme Court

There is barely a lot a president can do to advance labor rights. As with some other concern, they’re limited by the broader political climate and economic realities.

Given the commonly weak track record of his predecessors, dating back to the late Forties, I’d argue that Biden is the one most pro-union president since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

However, FDR commanded enormous majorities in Congress when he signed into law two measures that protect U.S. labor rights to at the present time: the National Labor Relations Actwhich protects the correct of personal sector staff to form unions without fear of reprisal, and the Fair Labor Standards Actwhich set and made a minimum wage most child labor illegal.

Biden, however, has struggled with a narrow Democratic majority within the Senate throughout his presidency, and Republicans gained a narrow majority within the House of Representatives within the 2022 midterm elections.

He also seeks to expand labor rights at a time when the Supreme Court's conservative majority has done so take consistent motion against unions.

To make sure, there are several necessary employment law cases that would potentially find yourself on the Supreme Court docket. It will take time to see whether unions will change into more powerful because of Biden's actions and their very own organizing, or whether the court will proceed to erode labor laws.

That's because, historically speaking US judges had not less than as much say in determining labor rights as president.