WASHINGTON (AP) — There has been a doubling of worker petitions seeking union representation during President Joe Biden’s administration, according to figures released Tuesday by the National Labor Relations Board.
There were 3,286 petitions filed with the government in fiscal year 2024, compared to 1,638 in 2021. This is the first increase in union organizing petitions during a presidential term since Gerald Ford’s administration, which ended 48 years ago.
During Trump’s presidency, union petitions fell by 22%.
President Joe Biden said in a statement carried by The Associated Press that the increase showed his administration has done more for workers than his predecessor, Donald Trump, the current Republican nominee who is vying to return to the White House in the November election .
“After the previous administration sided with big companies to undermine workers — from blocking overtime pay protections to making it harder to organize — my administration has stood with workers,” Biden said. “Because when the unions do well, all employees do well and the entire economy benefits.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, is relying heavily on union support to help voters in this year’s presidential election. But Trump’s push for tariffs on foreign imports has an appeal to workers that has been more important to some unionized workers than his record in office.
Only 16% of voters in 2020 belonged to a union household. Biden secured 56% of those, while Trump got 42%, according to AP VoteCast. The margin of support among union households in this year’s election could determine the outcome of potentially close races in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Employees have also been given more opportunities to report what they consider unfair labor practices. The National Labor Relations Board said its field offices received a total of 24,578 cases last fiscal year, the most in more than a decade.
