Joe Biden’s Radical Anti-Right to Work Agenda Labor-Policy ‘Californization’ Would Be Disastrous For Employees

Late this winter, and to the surprise of many seasoned political observers, former Vice President Joe Biden broke away from the unusually large 2020 pack of Democrat presidential hopefuls to become his party’s presumptive nominee.

With an eye towards November, Mr. Biden is styling himself as more of a political “moderate” than Vermont U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the only other Democrat candidate to win substantial support in the presidential primaries this year.But on a host of key policy issues, Mr. Biden is no moderate. Federal labor policy is a case in point.

Just for starters, Mr. Biden has vowed to push for adoption of the cynically mislabeled “Protecting the Right to Organize” Act, or PRO Act, (H.R.2474/S.1306), a package of new special privileges for union bosses that includes effective elimination of the 27 state Right to Work laws now on the books.

The PRO Act, which passed the Nancy Pelosi-controlled House of Representatives on February 6, is a veritable wish list of Big Labor priorities.

Each is designed to further empower union bosses to force their so-called “representation” on as many workers as possible, and then force the workers to pay dues for the privilege of keeping their jobs.

Mr. Biden Vows to Be Even More Pro-Union Coercion Than the PRO Act!

Mr. Biden’s own campaign website admits that he not only “strongly supports” the legislation, but will even “go beyond the PRO Act” to further tilt the playing field in favor of Big Labor.

“The PRO Act represents the most brazen Big Labor power grab we’ve seen in decades,” National Right to Work Committee Vice President Greg Mourad commented.

“After he championed so-called ‘Card Check’ as vice president, it’s not surprising to see Joe Biden promising to continue his pattern of promoting Big Labor’s interests at the expense of individual workers,” Mourad added.

Mr. Biden has also doubled down on his support for one of Big Labor’s newest pet projects: California’s A.B.5, a massive expansion of forced unionism that seeks to rob independent contractors of their workplace freedoms.

A.B.5 reclassified over 1.5 million independent contractors, such as drivers for Uber and Lyft, as “employees” under California law.

As a result, these workers are now vulnerable to union monopoly bargaining, and being forced to pay dues, or be fired.

The results so far have been disastrous.  

Independent workers are losing flexibility and freedom, and companies in California are predicting job loss on a massive scale.

Of course, none of this matters much to union bosses, who see independent workers as prime targets to grow their forced-dues ranks and fill union coffers.

Union-label majorities have already passed — or are currently working to pass — similar laws in Big Labor-dominated Illinois and New York.

Joe Biden wants to replicate California’s results nationwide.

“Why should any Americans be denied the right to bargain for themselves, forced to accept Big Labor ‘representation,’ and pay dues or fees in order to make a living?” asked Mourad.

“These people are private citizens, conducting private business. It is wrong to pretend they are somebody’s employees just so some union boss can collect tribute out of these private citizens’ incomes.”

Fortunately, the members of the National Right to Work Committee have a powerful tool at their disposal to put pressure on politicians seeking office.

The Right to Work Candidate Survey program has already contacted every presidential candidate, asking each to go on the record in support of a national Right to Work law and other pro-employee policies.

Right to Work Federal Survey Program Holds Candidates Accountable

The fact is, even within a Democrat primary, full-throated hostility to Right to Work is not enough for candidates to gain much support.

For example, Elizabeth Warren returned her survey with a big “NO” written on it.

Tom Steyer even posted a video online of himself ripping up his survey, presumably in the hopes that his show of devotion to Big Labor would win the favor of primary voters. After these antics, both the Warren and Steyer campaigns quickly faded.

Mr. Mourad said that, as the year goes on, the Right to Work Committee will continue to push Mr. Biden, and every other candidate, to go on the record in support of Right to Work, regardless of where they have stood in the past. The program is well underway.

He concluded: “Every Right to Work supporter, and indeed all Americans, deserve to know where their candidates for office stand on worker freedom.”