Biden’s NLRB is doing everything possible to ease the path to unionization. Those tactics include the Cemex decision and the board’s new final joint employer rule, which is currently on hold pending an appeals court ruling. Yet the board isn’t the only tool used to grease those wheels.
Indeed, the White House’s support for union interest runs far and wide, right into taxpayers’ wallets and to the detriment of an automaker now left twisting in the wind. Let’s start there and work our way backward.
Earlier this year, electric truck maker Rivian paused construction on a $5 billion Georgia facility that would create up to 7,500 jobs. CEO RJ Scaringe requested federal dollars available under the Inflation Reduction Act to finish construction.
As Bloomberg News now reveals, the Department of Energy told Rivian to adopt “a friendlier position to the [UAW] if it expected federal funds.” Rivian hasn’t caved to this “friendly” suggestion yet. Scaringe insists that the company is committed to finishing the Georgia plant – even though Rivian opted to expand an Illinois plant after hitting pause in Georgia.
Currently, the site remains secured by Rivian amid ongoing questions from the state, and Rivian remains contractually on the hook, to funnel $5 billion into the site before 2030. As stated above, federal funding will depend on Rivian opening its arms to unions.
Similar heavy-handed government moves are ongoing, so let’s look at what is happening here.
The CHIPS & Science Act, signed into law by Biden in 2022, aimed to boost semiconductor manufacturing in the U.S. by parceling out $52.7 billion for research and workplace development. The legislation drew praise from the AFL-CIO, and as it turns out, those subsidies come with strings attached, including company friendliness toward unions.
These monetary strings likely paved the way for the United Steel Worker’s victory at Blue Bird during its ongoing quest to build electric buses with federal subsidies as part of the CHIPS and Science Act.
In March 2024, the White House also revealed a tentative $8.5 billion in federal funding to Intel for building semiconductor plans in several states. These dollars also require zero company opposition to union activity on these various campuses, which would create up to 30,000 jobs.
Recently, the targeting of chipmakers by unions became crystal clear when Communication Workers of America (CWA celebrated impending talks for a labor peace agreement with Micron. That agreement is tied to $6.1 billion in CHIPS funding, too.
In the above instances, the Biden administration will put employers’ wallets on the line to promote Big Labor. In the process, employers are being encouraged to cede the right to run their businesses as they see fit and acquiesce to third-party interference.
This behind-the-scenes pocketbook maneuvering and subtle pressure on employers by the federal government does not serve the interests of employee choice regarding union representation but certainly aids a key Biden constituency.
