Ranking Member Cassidy Releases Report on Biden Weaponizing the Federal Government to Aid Political Backers at Expense of American Workers
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a report detailing how President Biden has weaponized his executive authority over U.S. labor and employment policy to strip workers of opportunity, flexibility, pay, and protection against discrimination, in a bid to court the political backing of large labor unions.
Examples of these Biden administration policies include:
- The Department of Labor’s (DOL) final independent contractor rule, which dismantles the gig economy and jeopardizes the ability of 27 million Americans to work as independent contractors. Independent contractors are exempted from unionization, making the elimination of this worker classification a top priority of labor unions.
- The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new joint employer rule, which threatens the viability of the franchise business model that employs over nine million Americans and has empowered Americans from all communities to become successful business owners. According to the International Franchise Association, when the Obama administration imposed a similar policy, small businesses lost $33.3 billion per year collectively due to increased liability costs, and 376,000 job opportunities were eliminated.
- DOL’s final overtime rule dramatically increases the overtime pay threshold by 65 percent, eliminating jobs and raising prices on American families.
- NLRB’s new decision that deprives workers of the democratic right to a secret ballot election and exposes them to intimidation tactics by threatening to renew "card check” in the unionization process.
- NLRB’s rule that condenses the timeframe for union elections down to as little as three weeks after a petition is filed. Shortening the union election timeframe hinders an employer’s ability to reply to the petition, preventing employees from hearing from both sides and making informed decisions about whether to unionize.
The Biden administration has also used its authority to target employers to promote unionization in the workplace:
- DOL’s new policy to force businesses to produce information related to union activity, such as employee wages, that is beyond the scope of the agency’s authority.
- DOL’s new “walkaround” rule, which allows outside union officials to inject themselves into workplaces that have not voted to be represented by the union by participating in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) workplace inspections. This politicizes OSHA inspections, which are critical for worker safety.
- DOL’s new H-2A regulation to promote unionization of temporary foreign workers by allowing union officials access to the workplace and to employer-sponsored housing. As a result, many small farmers and growers may not participate in the H-2A visa program, exacerbating labor shortages and raising food prices on American families.
Concurrently, the administration has dramatically reduced oversight of union activities. In 2022, DOL rescinded a Trump-era rule requiring unions to disclose funds invested in joint management-labor trusts that gave union members transparency into the organization’s finances to prevent embezzlement or other improper uses of funds.
“The Biden administration’s attempts to serve its political allies is a shortsighted strategy that harms workers more than it helps labor unions,” wrote Dr. Cassidy. “These actions have stalled economic growth and disadvantaged American workers – including the millions who choose to not unionize. The ceding of power to labor unions has turned federal agencies into slush funds for special interest groups, leaving workers and their families behind in the process.”
“Employees deserve safe workplaces, to have all the information before a crucial union vote, proper oversight of both employers and unions, and a fair union election process that advantages neither side over the other,” continued Dr. Cassidy. “The advancement of policies that tip the scale proves the Biden administration’s agenda has never been about the American worker, but instead hand-outs to political allies.”
Read the full report here.
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