By BERRY CRAIG
Alliance for Retired Americans
"In my White House, you’ll always be welcome," President Joe Biden promised a gathering of union officials and rank-and-file members at the White House on Sept. 8, 2021.
He added, "You know, you’ve heard me say many times: I intend to be the most pro-union President leading the most pro-union administration in American history.
"....Workers who join unions gain power — power over the decisions and the decision-makers that affect their lives. Workers’ voices are heard and heeded. In a simple word, a union means there is democracy. Democracy. Organizing, joining a union — that’s democracy in action."
Not just unions are giving Biden high marks. "I would argue that Biden is the most pro-union president since Franklin D. Roosevelt," wrote University of Rhode Island historian Erik Loomis in an Ohio Capital Journal op-ed last month.
"Based on my research regarding the history of organized labor in America, I would give Biden an A-minus for his record on workers rights," he added. "In my view, the man dubbed 'Union Joe' has lived up to the claim, with one notable error." (More on that in a minute.)
Explained Loomis: "Biden has set many precedents related to organized labor.
"In 2021, Biden encouraged workers at an Amazon facility in Alabama to vote in favor of joining a union. In a video message, he asserted that there should be 'no intimidation, no coercion, no threats, no anti-union propaganda' from employers toward unionizing efforts.
"Although those workers chose not to join the union, this address marked a milestone. No president had ever issued such a statement on behalf of a union during an organizing campaign."
Loomis also wrote that in 2022, the president signed "executive orders to improve conditions for work on federal projects, including the use of project labor agreements for federal construction projects, which requires the hiring of unionized workers. His administration also created new rules around pay equity for federal workers.
"And a Biden labor task force also released a report laying out 70 policies the government could implement to strengthen labor unions."
Last year, Biden "became the first president to walk a picket line, which happened during the most effective United Auto Workers strike in decades. The historical record indicates that no prior president had ever even considered taking such an action," according to Loomis.
This year, the administration "has picked up the pace," the historian noted.
"In the month of April alone, it banned the noncompete clauses that can stop workers from taking another job in their same line of work if they quit, expanded eligibility for overtime pay to people making up to US$58,656 a year, up from its current cap of $35,568, and pushed pension funds to only invest in companies that adhere to high labor standards."
When he was prsident, Donald Trump packed the National Labor Relations Board with bare-knucks union-busters. Biden's NLRB "has investigated allegations that Starbucks, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and other companies have intimidated their employees to discourage unionization drives," Loomis wrote.
(Historians rank Trump the worst-ever president across the board.)
In addition, Biden backs the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, or PRO Act for short. Trump and GOP lawmakers adamantly oppose the legislation, which House Democratic majorities twice passed.
"Among other things, this bill would impose significant financial penalties on companies that illegally interfere with their employees’ union rights and would speed up the collective bargaining process after workers win a union election," Loomis explained.
Loomis dinged Biden for invoking the Railway Labor Act of 1926 to keep rail unions from striking for improved sick leave in 2022. "Biden officials argued that the economy could not afford a rail shutdown, but political considerations around inflation before the midterm elections probably contributed to the administration’s response.
Yet Loomis conceded that simultaneously, "the Biden administration continued working behind the scenes to pressure rail companies to grant the workers their demands, and they largely did. Union leaders credit Biden for helping them get this victory for their workers."
Biden has had a tougher row to hoe with Congress than Roosevelt. "FDR, however, had enormous majorities in Congress when he signed into law two measures that safeguard U.S. labor rights to this day: the National Labor Relations Act, which protects the right of private sector workers to organize unions without fear of retaliation, and the Fair Labor Standards Act, which established a minimum wage and made most child labor illegal." Loomis wrote.
"Biden, in contrast, has had to contend with a narrow Democratic majority in the Senate throughout his presidency, and the Republicans gained a slim House majority in the 2022 midterm elections.
"He’s also seeking to expand labor rights at a time when the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has been consistently ruling against unions."
When he was president, Trump, who supports state "right to work laws" and pledged to sign a national RTW law, appointed half of the high court's hard-right majority.
Anyway, Ronald Reagan, too, claimed to be the blue collar champion. He turned out to be the most anti-union president since the GOP trio of Warren G Harding, Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover whose Only Rich Lives Matter policies brought on the Great Depression.
"A union member voting for Ronald Reagan would be like a chicken voting for Col. Sanders," said a sign in a Paducah union hall. That goes double for The Donald.