Rather than double down on the Biden-Harris approach, as Senator Hawley proposes, the GOP can choose to put the American worker first.
T he current labor union model is failing workers — and the federal government just released the numbers to prove it. Republicans should respond by siding with the millions of workers who want better.
On January 28, the federal government announced that labor union membership fell to 9.9 percent in 2024 — down to the single digits for the first time on record. This is a far cry from the unions’ heyday, when they represented about one out of every three American workers. Their decline is all the more remarkable because, over the past four years, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris used every lever of power they could to force more workers to unionize, with little to show for it.
Joe Biden billed himself as the most “pro-union president” in history, and he tried his best to keep the current, moribund union model going. His administration backed the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would have subordinated workers’ interests to labor leaders’ demands. Among other things, it would have deprived workers of the information they need to make an informed decision on unionization. It also would have allowed the federal government to force contracts on workers if they struggled to reach an agreement with employers. And when the PRO Act couldn’t pass Congress, Biden and Harris imposed many of its provisions via regulation.
These moves were transparently designed to tip the scales in favor of organizing and reverse the decades-long decline in union membership — but they didn’t work. That’s because the vast majority of workers aren’t buying the model that unions are selling.
While Democrats put an outdated union model ahead of workers’ wishes, Republicans have tended to put workers first. But there’s a glaring exception: new legislation proposed by Senator Josh Hawley. At its core, his proposal is PRO Act lite, and it involves the codification of many failed Biden-Harris ideas.
Where to start? Senator Hawley’s proposal would prevent workers from hearing both sides before a unionization election, which they would need to make an informed decision. Employers would be prohibited from holding meetings with workers. Unions would also be able to force ambush elections, depriving workers of time to do their own research and make up their minds. And, like the PRO Act, the proposal would even give unelected federal bureaucrats the power to force union contracts on workers, employers, and even unions.
As the Biden-Harris years proved, this is not what workers want. When government puts its thumb on the scale, it only buys unions a little more time while curbing workers’ freedom. Worker want — and deserve — better.
In the immediate term, Congress can end the many one-sided government policies that prop up the failed union model. It can also be proactive. The Employee Rights Act, for instance, would give every worker the right to a secret-ballot election, protecting him from the current card check system that can lead to workers’ being harassed or deceived into unionization.
But what’s really needed is a wholesale reform of labor law, which would take more time. Workers are avoiding unions not because it isn’t easy to join them. They’re avoiding unions because unions don’t give modern workers what they want. Federal law grants unions monopolies in the workplace, coercive power over workers, and the ability to impose one-size-fits-all contracts that restrict workers’ flexibility. In this broken system, unions don’t need to serve workers or focus on their needs.
Lawmakers who really want to help should champion a new model altogether — one based on voluntary association. That way, unions would have to prove that they provide real value to both employees and employers; they would grow by giving workers a reason to join and by showing employers that they are not barriers to productivity. This would be far preferable to tilting the playing field against workers.
The longtime union model is broken, and the Biden-Harris years proved it. Instead of doubling down, Republicans can and should put the American worker first.