During a teleconference sponsored by the National Nurses Organizing Committee, one of the nation’s largest nurse’s unions, Jill Biden said of presidential nominee Joe Biden, that he “will be the most pro-union president since [Franklin Roosevelt]. He will govern with the understanding that health care is a right, not a privilege.”

HCA Healthcare is currently fighting the union over its push to unionize 1,600 registered nurses at HCA-owned Mission Health. The votes will be counted by the National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday, Sept. 16. 

Jill Biden promised to bolster unions in the health care industry. Though she never mentioned Mission Health by name, HCA was blasted by union representatives during the event.

RWP Labor has been hired to educate HCA nurses against unionization. Please read our stance and my quotes in the Carolina Journal here.

On September 10, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) inducted the “Rosies” into their Labor Hall of Honor. The “Rosies”–represented by the iconic Rosie the Riveter–encompassed the women who worked as riveters, welders, and industrial workers during World War II.

Through their contribution to industries crucial to the war effort, such as manufacturing planes, tanks, guns, munitions, and supplies needed at home, an estimated 5 to 7 million women proved that they could do jobs that were often reserved for men and ensured that production of critical machinery and supplies met the demands of our nation’s military.

The Labor Hall of Honor induction highlighted the Rosies’ contributions to labor and freedom, as well as their inspiration for women’s advancement in the workforce. Read more about the “Rosies” here and watch the DOL’s induction video on YouTube here.

In a scripted virtual town hall between AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka and presidential candidate Joe Biden, Biden made a host of promises to labor unions if he were to get elected. Those promises include signing the Butch Lewis Act, which provides bailouts for failing union pensions, and passing what is known as the “PRO Act,” which includes banning state Right-to-Work laws, eliminating secret-ballot elections on unionization, and making California’s “ABC” test a federal law.

“Right-to-Work” laws, currently active in 27 states, prevent unions from requiring workers who are covered under a collective bargaining agreement to either pay a union or be fired from their jobs.

Read more about Biden’s town hall here.

After labor leaders released a statement to the Associated Press (AP) on Saturday threatening walkoffs, many businesses are concerned their unionized workforces will be ramping up their protest efforts in a lead up to the presidential election, primarily in support of the Black Lives Matter social cause, aimed to force local and federal lawmakers to pass police reform and address systemic racism.

Some of the nation’s biggest union names added their support to the AP statement, including branches of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and affiliates of the National Education Association (NEA). Members of these groups include teachers, autoworkers, truck drivers, and clerical staff, among others.

In addition, the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union, which represents hundreds of workers within civil rights groups and think tank organizations, signed the statement with a comment to the AP that “the fights for workers’ rights, civil rights, and racial justice are inextricably linked.”

Read more about it here: https://www.foxnews.com/us/union-workers-to-walk-a-picket-line-and-give-up-paycheck-to-support-black-lives-matter-before-election

A recent Gallup reading (Jul 30 – Aug 12) shows a national approval rating for United States labor unions at 65%, the highest it has been since 2003. Approval rating breakdowns by political affiliation are 45% for Republicans, 64% for Independents, and 83% for Democrats.

The highest approval rating for unions on record was 75% in 1953 and 1957, and the lowest hovered around 50% between 2009 and 2012. Historically, union approval dips during weak economic times.

Union membership also remained steady in comparison to previous readings with 10% of people saying they are a union member and 16% saying they have a union member in their household.

Read more about the Gallup results here.

On August 10 this year, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) members Marvin E. Kaplan and Lauren McFerran were sworn in for their second terms.

Marvin Kaplan began serving as an NLRB member on August 10, 2017 and was confirmed by the Senate for a five-year term on July 29, 2020. His new term will expire on August 27, 2025.

Mr. Kaplan, who holds a B.S. from Cornell University and a J.D. from Washington University in St. Louis, previously served as Chief Counsel to the Chairman of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, as counsel for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and as policy counsel for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Lauren McFerran served on the Board between December 17, 2014 and December 16, 2019 and was confirmed for renomination on July 29, 2020. Her term will expire on December 16, 2024.

Ms. McFerran, who earned her B.A. from Rice University and her J.D. from Yale Law School, has served as Chief Labor Counsel for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP Committee) and as the Committee’s Deputy Staff Director. Previous positions have also included Senior Labor Counsel for Senators Ted Kennedy and Tom Harkin for the HELP Committee and law clerk for Chief Judge Carolyn Dineen King on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Read more about Mr. Kaplan and Ms. McFerran here.