MESSAGE
| DATE | 2020-11-13 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] Continuation of Governance by executive EDICT -
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wsj.com
Biden Labor Department to Focus on Executive Actions If GOP Keeps Senate
Eric Morath
8-10 minutes
President-elect Joe Biden ran on an agenda he said would empower
American workers, committing to raise the federal minimum wage and ease
the path to join labor unions, but his ability to fully execute that
vision is doubtful if Republicans retain control of the Senate.
If both Democratic candidates win Jan. 5 runoffs in Georgia, the Senate
would flip to Democratic control, and Mr. Biden would be free to pursue
everything from bolstering union membership to making more workers
eligible for overtime pay.
But if Republicans win only one of the races, if not both, as some
analysts predict, control would remain with the GOP. A Biden
administration then would focus on changes that can be accomplished
through regulation and executive directives, such as increasing
enforcement of worker-safety rules, according to labor-policy analysts.
Democratic Win in Georgia Senate Runoffs Could Signal Political Shift
0:00 / 1:54
1:20
Democratic Win in Georgia Senate Runoffs Could Signal Political Shift
Democratic Win in Georgia Senate Runoffs Could Signal Political Shift
As President-elect Joe Biden still holds a narrow margin in Georgia,
attention is also on the importance of the two Senate runoffs scheduled
for Jan. WSJ’s Gerald F. Seib explains why it's not just control of the
Senate at stake, but why it could also signal a wider political shift.
Photo: Jessica Mcgowan/Press Pool
A Republican majority in the Senate “makes the most ambitious and
contentious labor policies an enormous lift given other priorities, such
as addressing the virus, passing an infrastructure bill and doing
something on taxes,” said Michael J. Lotito, co-chairman of law firm
Littler Mendelson P.C.’s Workplace Policy Institute and an attorney who
represents businesses.
Even without help from Congress, Mr. Biden could change circumstances
for federal employees and contractors, allowing them to receive pay
increases, and making it easier for them to get diversity training or
join unions. He has said he would seek to undo Trump administration
regulations that made it easier for businesses to count workers as
independent contractors who often aren’t eligible for certain worker
protections and benefits.
Mr. Biden’s choice for secretary of labor will have significant
influence over how aggressively the incoming administration will
approach a rewrite of labor rules. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has
been advocating for Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, a former union leader. Mr.
Walsh said Thursday he was honored to be mentioned as a candidate but
was focused on his current job.
Another possibility, Rep. Andy Levin (D., Mich.) was a union organizer
and comes from a political family. Mr. Levin, who won re-election
earlier this month, said in a statement he was “preparing with
excitement to serve in the 117th Congress.”
Aides to Sen. Bernie Sanders, (I., Vt.), another favorite of unions,
have been negotiating with Biden-campaign counterparts since spring over
the possibility of Mr. Sanders taking the role, and Mr. Sanders has
expressed interest publicly.
Sharon Block, the executive director of the Labor and Worklife Program
at Harvard Law School, and a former member of the Obama administration,
is another possible candidate, as is Julie Su, California’s labor
secretary, who has overseen that state’s progressive agenda.
Ms. Su and Ms. Block declined to comment.
The top labor priority for the new president will be addressing high
unemployment resulting from a slowdown associated with the coronavirus
pandemic. There were about 10 million fewer jobs last month in the U.S.
than in February, before many states—trying to slow the spread of the
virus—shut down their economies.
If Congress and President Trump fail to reach a deal for a new relief
package before Mr. Biden takes office, policy analysts say the
Democrat’s administration is likely to push for measures including
renewed unemployment benefits set to expire in December, increasing
benefit amounts and providing aid to state and local governments and
small businesses.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS
Who do you expect Mr. Biden to name as his labor secretary? Join the
conversation below.
As a candidate, Mr. Biden pushed to use federal spending as a
job-creation tool, including a $775 billion plan to increase caregiving
jobs for the elderly and children. That plan may not pass a
Republican-controlled Senate, members of which have expressed concerns
about repeated spending packages amid the pandemic and the economic slump.
“An administration without Congress can’t do much,” said Heidi
Shierholz, senior economist and director of policy at the Economic
Policy Institute. She was the Labor Department’s economist in the Obama
administration. “I have dim hopes for a basic recovery package,” she
said. “I don’t have any hope for progressive priorities, like a really
big investment in the care economy.”
Mr. Biden’s long history in the Senate suggests that a path will be open
to compromise in some areas, such as infrastructure spending, but he is
unlikely to succeed in pushing Congress to more than double the federal
minimum wage to $15 an hour or win passage of the Protecting the Right
to Organize Act, Ms. Shierholz said. That bill would weaken
right-to-work laws, which prohibit mandatory collection of dues from
union-represented workers in 27 states, and impose tougher penalties
against companies that violate labor laws.
The top post at the department’s Occupational Safety and Health
Administration went unfilled during the Trump administration. Mr. Biden
is expected to move quickly to put somebody in charge, allowing the
agency to establish an emergency standard on worker safety during the
pandemic. Such a standard would require an employer to submit a specific
workplace-safety plan to OSHA.
A Biden administration could take several other steps without the need
for legislation.
Mr. Biden has said he plans to double the number of OSHA inspectors,
which is at its lowest level in decades, according to the National
Employment Law Project, which advocates for low-wage workers.
Biden Faces Difficult Task of Picking His Administration
0:00 / 2:02
1:31
Biden Faces Difficult Task of Picking His Administration
Biden Faces Difficult Task of Picking His Administration
As President-elect Joe Biden continues to fight off lawsuits that
dispute the integrity of the election, he also faces the challenge of
picking his administration. WSJ’s Gerald F. Seib looks for clues into
potential new faces in a Biden White House. Photo: Carolyn Kaster/AP
He has said his administration will reverse Trump administration
directives restricting union activity in federal agencies and pursue
regulations that would increase workplace rights for gig workers and
independent contractors.
Mr. Biden also could raise the minimum wage for federal contractors to
$15 an hour, from $10.10 an hour, and scrap orders that restricted
diversity training and pledges to hire minority candidates by
contractors. Last month, Microsoft Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co., both
contractors, were contacted by the Labor Department questioning their
plans to hire more Black employees as they seek to diversify their
management ranks.
—Sarah Chaney Cambon contributed to this article.
Write to Eric Morath at eric.morath-at-wsj.com
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