President Biden Moves Quickly To Work With Labor Unions

[PoliTalker]

Biden moves quickly to show union workers that Democrats care

"Just hours after his inauguration, Biden took the unprecedented step of firing the sitting general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, who had been blasted as anti-union.

His choice for secretary of Labor, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, comes straight out of the labor movement. Biden’s pick for U.S. trade representative, Katherine Tai, was of one of two candidates endorsed by union leaders.

Among the flurry of executive orders that marked Biden’s earliest days in the White House were directives to ensure collective bargaining rights for federal employees and a $15 -an-hour minimum wage for them as well as the thousands of contract employees who make up a large share of the government workforce."

...

" Biden’s initiatives on green energy and plans for billions of infrastructure spending and manufacturing growth are in sync with labor goals for more jobs."

'Public approval for unions is at its highest in nearly two decades, surveys show. Calls for addressing income inequality and social and racial injustice have reached levels unseen for years.

And there are signs of organizing life in some seemingly unlikely places. Google engineers in California recently formed a union. Thousands of workers at an Amazon warehouse in Alabama will vote next month on whether to unionize, marking one of the biggest efforts in the South and at an online retail operation."

...

"The pandemic has shown a particularly bright light on the vulnerability of millions of workers who have not been on the medical front lines but have been unable to work from home and avoid risks of infection.

Government officials at all levels quickly recognized the need to prioritize protection of doctors, nurses and others directly involved with COVID-19. Millions of relatively unskilled and lower-income workers who had to either leave home to work or lose their paychecks were largely left to fend for themselves.

Now, union officials say, workers such as janitors, grocery clerks, meatpacking workers and those in the vast gig economy are voicing complaints about safety, pay and working conditions."

[PoliTalker]

Would be nice if someone wanted to join a polite political discussion.

I promise: I won't bite!

Just looking for an academic discussion of what's going on in our nation.

It doesn't have to get personal.

I'd like to hear some different perspectives. Anybody?

[PoliTalker]

We need stronger unionization in this country.

Without unions we would not have weekends!

Does everyone realize that?

The 5 day work week.

Overtime pay.

Workplace safety laws.

Unions have been the voice of labor to stand up against capitalist oligarchy.

Of course greedy capitalists want to destroy unions. That way the rich get richer and everybody else gets left behind.

We need strong unions in order to have a strong economy.

If wealth inequality becomes too extreme then economic activity slows down.

Trump thought he could get the economy really fired up by greasing the rich. It didn't work.

The major populace has to have money in their hands before they can spend it and create a strong economy.

You can't build a good strong building without a good strong foundation.

[Gamewell45]

I will say--as a lifelong union worker--that I have a good feeling with Biden at the helm when it comes to organized labor in this country.

Trump claimed to champion union rights, yet he supported a nation right-to-work law, something that would hurts unions and negatively impacts organizing rights.

With Biden calling the shots, the next four years should be years in which unions work to organize and increase their numbers through organizing.

[PoliTalker]

Hello Gamewell45,

I will say--as a lifelong union worker--that I have a good feeling with Biden at the helm when it comes to organized labor in this country.

Trump claimed to champion union rights, yet he supported a nation right-to-work law, something that would hurts unions and negatively impacts organizing rights.

With Biden calling the shots, the next four years should be years in which unions work to organize and increase their numbers through organizing.

I wonder if the Biden administration can make a law which supersedes all the state RTW laws - which makes unionization a guaranteed right. It is ridiculous that unions sacrifice to make wins for workers, but RTW laws force employers to share those wins with non-union workers. It's nothing but a union-killing measure. If a union gets a concession out of an employer that ought to be for the union members only.

RTW laws are designed to remove any incentive to join a union.

And if a union wants to make an employer a union-only shop, then they should have that right. If anyone wants to work there they need to join the union.

[Gamewell45]

Hello Gamewell45,



I wonder if the Biden administration can make a law which supersedes all the state RTW laws - which makes unionization a guaranteed right. It is ridiculous that unions sacrifice to make wins for workers, but RTW laws force employers to share those wins with non-union workers. It's nothing but a union-killing measure. If a union gets a concession out of an employer that ought to be for the union members only.

RTW laws are designed to remove any incentive to join a union.

And if a union wants to make an employer a union-only shop, then they should have that right. If anyone wants to work there they need to join the union.

The repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 would go a long way to restore some of the power labor unions once had that put the country to a maximum union membership of over 30% in the private sector.

As it stands right now, in right-to-work states, union membership is not required as a condition of employment, however by law the union is required to represent the employee even though the employee contributes nothing towards the costs of doing so. It's basically legalized robbery on the part of the employee.
'
We have a fighting chance with Biden being pro-labor to make certain changes; I hope he can accomplish that given the current anti-union attitude that exists in the country.

[PoliTalker]

Hello Gamewell45,

The repeal of the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 would go a long way to restore some of the power labor unions once had that put the country to a maximum union membership of over 30% in the private sector.

As it stands right now, in right-to-work states, union membership is not required as a condition of employment, however by law the union is required to represent the employee even though the employee contributes nothing towards the costs of doing so. It's basically legalized robbery on the part of the employee.
'
We have a fighting chance with Biden being pro-labor to make certain changes; I hope he can accomplish that given the current anti-union attitude that exists in the country.

I know Biden wants to work across the isle, and I applaud that, but I think that should be assumed to be an offer which will be refused. I can easily see Republicans pulling a bait-and-switch, just like they did with Obamacare. They could pretend to be receptive to bipartisan negotiations just to delay Democratic progress, then when it comes right down to it, not a single one of them will vote for any Democratic legislation.

Democrats should not give Republicans any more time than a simple chance to either be onboard or not. We all know how the Republican party works. If they don't show total dedication to the Republican Party, they are castigated, primaried, and thrown out.

Democrats should be receptive to moderate Republican overtures, but set a time-frame at the outset of any legislation. Republicans need to be warned that delay tactics will not be tolerated.