E&W Blog

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh will make some big claims at this morning’s Education and Labor Committee hearing.

@EdLaborGOP is setting the record straight: 

Walsh: “President Biden has made the creation of good jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union a cornerstone of this Administration.”

Reality check: The Biden administration is pushing unionization and federal control over the workforce regardless of worker preference. 

• In May 2022 President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Secretary Walsh met with union organizers from Starbucks and Amazon at the White House to find new ways for the federal government to insert itself into the American workforce and compel workers across the country to unionize. 

Walsh: “The FY 2023 President’s Budget … renews DOL’s pledge to help all workers and job seekers in America…”

Reality check: Actually, the Biden administration is picky about which workers it decides to help.

• President Biden is trying to redefine employee status under the Fair Labor Standards Act and remove the flexibility and freedom independent contractors have enjoyed for decades. 
• By targeting independent contractors, the Biden administration is attempting to push more workers into unions. 

Walsh: “[T]he American Rescue Plan lays the groundwork for ensuring that all workers can participate and thrive in a growing economy.”

Reality check: The American Rescue Plan is recognized as a primary driver of inflation. This legislation has devastated hardworking families who are now paying more for gas and groceries. 

Walsh: “[W]e continue to urge Congress to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act).”

Reality check: The PRO Act is a union boss wish list—and could cost employers $47 billion annually. The PRO Act:

• Effectively overturns right-to-work laws in 27 states, forcing workers to pay millions of dollars from their hard-earned paychecks to labor unions.
• Subjects workers to well-documented instances of harassment and intimidation because employers are required to hand over workers’ private, personal information to union organizers—without the consent of workers.

Walsh: “[Registered Apprenticeship] is a proven earn-and-learn model that raises participants’ wages and is a reliable pathway to the middle class…”

Reality check: The Biden Department of Labor dismantled Industry-Recognized Apprenticeship Programs (IRAPs) in favor of an outdated apprenticeship model from the Great Depression. IRAPs are employer-led apprenticeships that provide workers with paid opportunities to gain on-the-job experience and specialized knowledge of the industry. 

• Job creators are on the frontlines of their industry every day—they understand the skills workers need better than Washington bureaucrats. 
• Registered Apprenticeships had over 80 years to prove their effectiveness and have failed to meet the needs of the modern American workforce. It is time for a new workforce development model that is more responsive to employers. 

Walsh: “The American Rescue Plan (ARP) authorized special financial assistance (SFA) through the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) to help save severely underfunded multiemployer plans…”

Reality check: Bailing out multiemployer pension plans without fixing the broken system was reckless and foolhardy. 

• Despite spending upwards of $147 billion in taxpayer dollars, these plans will likely become insolvent anyway—this bailout was just another hollow promise from Democrats.
• Almost 75 percent of multiemployer pension plan participants are in plans that are less than 50 percent funded. Decades of chronic underfunding and mismanagement can’t be solved without real reforms. 

Walsh: “During this past year, the Department has worked tirelessly to address acute and long-term supply chain issues…”

Reality check: The Biden administration knew about the baby formula shortage months before the crisis reached a head. In fact, the administration worsened the baby formula shortage when the Federal Drug Administration shut down a critical facility in the infant formula supply chain. 

• This is a major crisis. At the beginning of June 2022, nearly 74 percent of baby formula was out of stock across the country; Bloomberg reports that one in five states saw at least 90 percent of formula out of stock.
• This administration failed to recognize this crisis before it hit American families and did nothing to prevent it.

Walsh: “The Department’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) recovered over $230 million in back wages for more than 190,000 workers…”

Reality check: WHD is getting worse at its job. 

• In FY 2021, WHD recovered $23.5 million less in back wages than it did in FY 2020. This is the lowest amount of back wages returned to workers since FY 2011.
• It assisted 36,585 fewer workers in FY 2021—the fewest workers since FY 1997.
• It concluded approximately 1,400 fewer cases in FY 2021—its worst year on record.
• WHD got markedly worse despite the fact that it had more personnel than in FY 2020.

The DOL is obviously in over its head, unable or unwilling to address the crises facing our country.