I’m an Economist: 4 Changes That Could Be Coming to Unions If Kamala Harris Wins the Election
Written by
Angela Mae
Edited by
Chris Cluff
Commitment to Our Readers
GOBankingRates' editorial team is committed to bringing you unbiased reviews and information. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate financial products and services - our reviews and ratings are not influenced by advertisers. You can read more about our editorial guidelines and our products and services review methodology.
20 Years
Helping You Live Richer
Reviewed
by Experts
Trusted by
Millions of Readers
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 10% of salaried and non-salaried workers — roughly 14.4 million people — belong to a union.
Joining a union poses many potential benefits. The American Federation of Labor & Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) estimates that union members earn an average of $191 more per week than non-union members. Benefits, like pensions and health insurance, tend to be better too. Plus, union members often have more of a “voice on the job” and greater job security.
While not everyone is part of a union or sees the need to join one, those who do should make themselves aware of the potential changes to unions after the presidential election. It is possible that if Kamala Harris wins, some of her policies could impact unions — mostly for the better.
GOBankingRates spoke with Chuck Warren, a political economist and the host of the “Breaking Battlegrounds Podcast,” to find out what changes to unions could occur if Harris wins the election.
Also see a prediction for the job market if Harris were to be elected.
Legislative Changes
With each president comes new legislation and policies. In relation to unions, Warren believes Harris’ policies could have a fairly direct impact.
“Harris has always stood by labor rights, and in her capacity as a senator and deputy president, she proved this,” Warren said. “Her regime would most likely promote policies that are consistent with the progressive agenda such as enforcing workers’ rights and improving the terms of union activities.”
An example of this is the PRO Act, or the Protecting the Right to Organize Act. Warren said that he believes Harris would take charge of this act to try to empower employees on matters like their ability to form their own union at companies that don’t currently have one. Further, Harris could further support employees in their collective bargaining rights. This essentially allows workers to negotiate with their employers on things like the hours they work, their wages and other conditions related to their job.
All of this would “signify a major move toward endorsing unionism and provide better chances for increased growth and survival rates among employee organizations at workplaces,” Warren said.
By strengthening the PRO Act and making it easier to form or join unions, it would become harder for employers to call workers “independent contractors” — thus giving them more protections. Workers in right-to-work states might also benefit.
Right-to-work laws exist to let employees work without requiring that they join a union. The downside is that workers in these states tend to have fewer benefits and lower wages. With Harris’ potential legislative changes, this could change.
Expanded Federal Protections
If Harris wins the election, Warren predicts that certain federal programs that exist to protect employees will be expanded upon. This, he said, could be done by increasing the federal budget toward union training programs and other initiatives that support unions as a whole.
Not only that, but Warren said that Harris could potentially bolster the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). This is an independent federal agency that strives to help private-sector employees through wage improvements and better working conditions — among other things. Harris’s increased support for the NLRB could also make it easier to implement labor laws.
Union Safeguards
As Warren pointed out, Harris has long been an advocate for improving workers’ rights. And a big part of this involves creating safeguards for unions and those who want to join one.
By implementing these safeguards, issues like lower wages or unfair termination could become less prevalent. Take wages as an example. Right now, the federal minimum wage for nonexempt employees is $7.25 an hour. However, there are talks of increasing this to $15 an hour — not enough in some areas, perhaps, but a significant improvement.
Strengthening unions could also help those who simply need more representation — whether they’re full-time workers or otherwise. This could also be useful in employment-at-will states where a company can fire an employee at any time with or without cause (barring any other laws that override these ones).
States like Montana and North Carolina are “at-will” states, but so are many other parts of the country. With greater union support, it may be harder for employers to terminate employees without just cause.
More Talk About Unions
“In light of the prevailing political environment and her pro-labor orientation, it would make sense to expect that [Harris’s] presidency would bring about more favorable conditions for trade unions,” said Warren.
Recently, the United Auto Workers endorsed Harris for president.
UAW president Shawn Fain said, “We can put a billionaire back in office who stands against everything our union stands for, or we can elect Kamala Harris who will stand shoulder to shoulder with us in our war on corporate greed.”
The UAW’s members tend to lean Democrat anyway, but this is a good sign that Harris could be good for unions going forward. Much remains to be done and these changes are only theoretical, but with Harris in office, there could be more talk about improving the state of unions, expanding current labor laws, increasing wages and bringing about greater equality in the workplace.
Editor’s note on election coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
More From GOBankingRates
