Boosting the Power of the Federal Workforce

In a welcome reversal from past administrations’ attempts to stifle the power of unions in the federal sector, the Biden administration is actively encouraging more worker participation in collective bargaining.

“We are proud as the Biden Harris administration in what we believe we will be, which is the most pro-union administration in the history of America," Vice President Kamala Harris said on Oct. 20 announcing the new guidelines. Among them are:

• Including bargaining unit status and union affiliation in job announcements
• Giving unions the opportunity to share information with new employees about their right to join
• Directing agencies to issue periodic notices throughout the year on workers’ right to representation

Approximately 1.2 million non-postal government workers are union members, which is 33 percent of the eligible group. The IBEW is among 20 unions that represent 300,000 federal workers under the Federal Workers Alliance.

The directives are part of a larger effort, the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, chaired by Harris, to produce a report on how to address barriers to organizing.