As workplace unfairness and economic inequality increase, union support surges
Although the field for the Democratic Party nomination remains large and includes a number of so-called centrist candidates, the field almost uniformly supports progressive policies to address the unfairness and inequality intensifying with each passing year. According to a new analysis published in the New York Times, the 2020 presidential candidates in the Democratic Party are promoting, among other initiatives, measures to increase wages and benefits levels in a systemic way and to end forced arbitration of harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and other workplace-related claims. Perhaps most significantly, the candidates for the Democratic Party’s nomination almost universally embrace unions far more openly and robustly than presidential candidates have for decades.
It should not be surprising that the presidential candidates from the Democratic Party now publicly and repeatedly declare their commitment to improving and expanding workplace rights and, to that end, strengthening the ability of unions to organize and represent employees. The recently publicized analysis shows that approximately 70 percent of people in the workforce want to be represented by a union. Indeed, unions provide an essential check against employer abuses and the resulting unfairness and inequality afflicting so many families now. Unfortunately, decisions and rule-making by the National Labor Relations Board in the past two years are making it even more difficult for unions to organize and represent employees. Elections indeed have consequences.