Biden’s labor proxy war against DeSantis
F. Vincent Vernuccio
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Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su is weaponizing $800 million in federal transportation funding against Florida. Why? Because Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a law protecting public-sector workers’ rights. It’s the latest example of President Joe Biden putting labor unions ahead of workers, yet it may ultimately backfire. Su may inadvertently be laying the groundwork for one of the greatest expansions in worker freedom in America’s history.
This brouhaha began in May, when DeSantis signed a law affecting roughly 200,000 public-sector workers. To start, the state is giving public-sector workers more information about their right not to join a union. Additionally, if a government union represents less than 60% of a workplace, there will now be an election to ensure that a majority of workers support the union. These policies are designed to protect workers’ rights to make their own choices about union membership without being intimidated or grandfathered into an arrangement they don’t support.
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Who could oppose these reforms? Not workers. Polling shows that a majority of union households nationwide support similar policies. Yet government unions oppose reforms that threaten their power by informing workers about their rights. They’re especially worried about being required to hold elections. A Florida Senate analysis during the legislation’s debate showed around 40 unions are already below the 60% threshold. They will have to prove to workers that they provide enough value to justify their existence.
Enter Su. She has dusted off the Federal Transit Act, passed as the Urban Mass Transportation Act in 1964, which says that the Department of Labor may withhold federal transportation funding to states. The discretion to make this decision lies solely with the secretary of labor, who must ensure that “the interests of employees affected by the assistance shall be protected under arrangements” that “are fair and equitable.” In June, Su deemed that Florida’s law, which is entirely about worker rights and workplace democracy, is somehow unfair and inequitable. Now the Department of Labor is telling the state that $800 million in funding is in jeopardy.
This comes at a time when Su’s nomination for secretary of labor is in limbo. She could not garner enough votes for confirmation earlier this year due to bipartisan concerns over her extremism, leading the Biden administration to keep her as acting secretary indefinitely. Republicans such as Rep. Kevin Kiley, the chairman of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee, have bluntly stated she “is not qualified to lead the U.S. Department of Labor,” regardless of whether she’s acting or official secretary.
Such concerns are well founded, given Su’s latest move to ignore workers’ wishes in favor of government union demands. In response to her actions, Florida has temporarily exempted transportation workers, essentially exchanging union control for federal funding. Yet it shouldn’t have to make that choice. The Federal Transit Act envisions “fair and equitable” arrangements for employees, not labor unions. While federal law also protects employees’ right to collective bargaining, Florida’s new policy doesn’t limit that right. Just the opposite: Florida is empowering public-sector workers to exercise their right to collective bargaining with full information and without tipping the scales toward unionization.
Su is abusing her discretionary power under the Federal Transit Act. Yet if her actions are allowed to stand, labor unions may come to regret it. Future administrations may interpret the “fair and equitable” provision to require that states enact policies like Florida’s. States such as California, New York, and Illinois may suddenly find themselves out billions of dollars unless they stop giving unions unfair advantages and start protecting public-sector workers’ rights. Those states would surely argue that the Federal Transit Act doesn’t grant the secretary of labor such sweeping authority, but if that’s true, then the Biden administration’s assault on Florida is equally wrong.
Will the situation get that far? Not if one of two things happen. In October, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody sued the Biden administration, asking the federal courts to block Su’s power grab. The state may yet prevail, or the administration can reverse course of its own accord. That may not sit well with the government unions that helped elect Biden. But they stand to lose a lot more members in a lot more states if Florida loses out on that $800 million.
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F. Vincent Vernuccio is the president of the Institute for the American Worker and a senior fellow at Workers for Opportunity, which advised on Florida’s law.