A-

The Conversation asked me to write an article about Biden’s labor record and to give it a grade. I gave him an A-, which is as high as I’d give FDR.

Biden has set many precedents related to organized labor.

In 2021, Biden encouraged workers at an Amazon facility in Alabama to vote in favor of joining a union. In a video message, he asserted that there should be “no intimidation, no coercion, no threats, no anti-union propaganda” from employers toward unionizing efforts.

Although those workers chose not to join the union, this address marked a milestone. No president had ever issued such a statement on behalf of a union during an organizing campaign.

In 2022, Biden used executive orders to improve conditions for work on federal projects, including the use of project labor agreements for federal construction projects, which requires the hiring of unionized workers. His administration also created new rules around pay equity for federal workers.

And a Biden labor task force also released a report laying out 70 policies the government could implement to strengthen labor unions.

In 2023, he became the first president to walk a picket line, which happened during the most effective United Auto Workers strike in decades. The historical record indicates that no prior president had ever even considered taking such an action.

In 2024, the Biden administration has picked up the pace.

In the month of April alone, it banned the noncompete clauses that can stop workers from taking another job in their same line of work if they quit, expanded eligibility for overtime pay to people making up to US$58,656 a year, up from its current cap of $35,568, and pushed pension funds to only invest in companies that adhere to high labor standards.

The A- comes from some rather poor handling of the railroad strike issue in 2022:

In terms of Biden’s actions, the low point came in 2022, when he used the Railway Labor Act of 1926 to stop the railroad union from striking for better sick leave. Biden officials argued that the economy could not afford a rail shutdown, but political considerations around inflation before the midterm elections probably contributed to the administration’s response.

At the same time, the Biden administration continued working behind the scenes to pressure rail companies to grant the workers their demands, and they largely did. Union leaders credit Biden for helping them get this victory for their workers.

The real issue with how Biden handled that was about public relations, allowing the left to create a narrative that Biden is a unionbuster. That’s bullshit, but it was awkward, to say the least.

In any case, Biden has been amazing for organized labor, far, far, far better than the neoliberal trio of Carter, Clinton, and Obama, not to mention Republicans who are universally horrible.