Deregulation and outright corporate favoritism marked the years of the Trump administration. President Biden has thrown his support to workers and the unions that represent millions of them.
Under Trump, everything from a failed attempt to enable tip-skimming by employers to lessening child labor protections and allowing companies to provide less medical coverage than required by the Affordable Care Act were part of a comprehensive anti-worker regime. Trump appointees to the Labor Department, the National Labor Relations Board, the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary were corporatist, anti-union, anti-worker zealots.
President Biden has worked to counter these actions. Unfortunately, because some of the Trump-appointed judges are embedded in the justice system, some of his Administration’s efforts are thwarted.
The Trump Administration undermined workplace safety requirements. Reporting of workplace injuries was lessened. Evading requirements of the Affordable Care Act was permitted. Failing to protect workers during the COVID-19 pandemic occurred as Trump touted drinking bleach to cure the virus.
Workers’ wages were cut by the DOL when it denied overtime pay to eight million plus workers. The shared liability rule for joint employers’ wage and hour violations was revised to make it more difficult for workers to receive back pay.
The Trump NLRB made collective bargaining more difficult and obstructed unionization efforts by ignoring unfair labor practices by employers. President Biden has demonstrated his support for workers and union by countering these measures and by appointing officials who follow the national labor law.
Under Trump management rights were paramount. Workers’ rights were trampled. Trump policies were a dream for the Chamber of Commerce, corporate interests and right-wing advocacy groups; they were a nightmare for workers.
President Biden has reversed what he could in his first administration and will continue to protect the rights of working people, their families and their unions in a second administration.
