The Biden administration has finalized a rule that will now allow outside union officials into non-union workplaces as part of safety inspections by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The rule is President Biden’s latest election-year gift to organized labor, as he continues to pile up endorsements from major unions. He has billed himself as an unabashed friend of labor, often bragging that he’s the “most pro-union president in history.”
It also has drawn a sharp rebuke from business groups and Republicans, who say it permits union representatives into workplaces where they might be antagonistic to employers. They also blasted it as a workaround to traditional union membership drives.
Finalized this week by the Labor Department, the regulation will empower OSHA to approve anyone it deems “reasonably necessary” to conduct a site inspection. That will expand the pool of people who could participate in an OSHA inspection to attorneys, translators and even union representatives.
Under the rule, OSHA won’t need an employer’s approval to bring the third-party participants along. If an OSHA inspector decides a community activist or a union representative should participate in the inspection of a non-union worksite, the employer can’t object.
Employers can only prohibit union representatives from locations where trade secrets might be exposed, the rule states. It would also allow union representatives to participate in official OSHA inspections of unionized locations.
Prior to the rule’s approval, OSHA was only permitted to bring along safety engineers and industrial hygienists to assist the agency’s inspectors.
The administration said the rule will improve work safety because it increases the number of experts participating in inspections, as well as increases worker access to union representation.
“This proposal aims to make inspections more effective and ultimately make workplaces safer by increasing opportunities for employees to be represented in the inspection process,” the assistant secretary for OSHA, Doug Parker, said in a press statement.
Unions immediately hailed the rule as a victory.
“This proposal intends to level the playing field and ensure that workers can fully participate in OSHA investigations just as employers and their representatives already do,” Rebecca Reindel, the AFL-CIO Labor Federation’s director of safety, said in a statement.
Now that the rule is finalized, it heads to Mr. Biden’s desk for approval. He is expected to sign it.
Employers are weighing legal challenges.
Marc Freedman, vice president of workplace policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said his group is considering all options, including litigation, in response to the rule.
“We are disappointed OSHA has chosen to inject union organizing tactics into inspections that should be focused solely on workplace safety,” he said. “This regulation further demonstrates this administration’s determination to aid unions whenever possible, even at the expense of an agency’s core mission.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy, Louisiana Republican, sent a letter to the Department of Labor blasting the rule, saying it calls into question the department’s impartiality between unions and businesses.
“OSHA inspections are crucial to protect workers’ safety and should never be co-opted to promote a political agenda,” said Mr. Cassidy, the ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “The union has a vested interest in harassing a non-union employer. Giving them the power to influence an inspection is a potential weapon against a workplace that has chosen to be non-union. This is wrong.”
Rep. Virginia Foxx, North Carolina Republican, called the rule “regulatory voodoo.”
“This has absolutely nothing to do with keeping workers safe,” she said. “OSHA giving the green light to union operatives and activists to infiltrate non-union worksites during safety inspection walk-arounds is blatantly intended to give unions access to employer private property and aid in organizing efforts. The Biden DOL would do well to respect the autonomy of the private sector and not aid hostile takeover attempts by union cronies.”
The administration fast-tracked the rule, which was proposed and finalized in seven months. In comparison, a proposed rule that would regulate OSHA’s COVID-19 policies in the healthcare sector has been under review for 16 months.
Having the rule published in the federal register makes it more difficult for Republicans to rescind it if they win control of the White House in November. It also blocks Congress from canceling the rule through the Congressional Review Act.
The rule is part of Mr. Biden’s plan to bolster his campaign by capitalizing on the power and reach of big labor. Former President Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, has tried to make inroads with rank-and-file union workers even as their leaders pump up Mr. Biden.
In 2016, Mr. Trump was able to exploit the divide between the solid blue union leadership and rank-and-file members by peeling them away from his campaign. But in 2020, union workers returned to their Democratic party roots, going heavily for Mr. Biden.
Roughly 56% of union households backed Mr. Biden in 2020, compared to 40% who went for Mr. Trump.
Recent polls show Mr. Biden still has the backing of union households, but it is much tighter than in the last election. An NBC News poll found that 50% of union households plan to vote for Mr. Biden in November, compared with 41% who say they will vote for Mr. Trump.
The same NBC News poll found that Mr. Biden has a 52% disapproval rating in union households, but the 46% approval rating among union households is still higher than his overall approval rating of 38%.
Mr. Biden has swept up endorsements from a slew of leading labor groups, including the AFL-CIO, Teamsters, United Auto Workers, American Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the United Steelworkers union.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.