IFPTE Welcomes White House Report on Biden Administration Actions and Recommendations to Support Union Organizing and Worker Rights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, DC – The executive officers of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) issued the following statements after the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment released its Report to the President.  

IFPTE President Matthew Biggs:

Our union commends the work of the Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment and we thank President Biden and Vice President Harris for continuing to make good on their commitment to working Americans by using the power of the Executive Branch to support the right to organize and bargain collectively. The Biden Administration’s effort to ensure the federal government is a model employer for federal employees and use its purchasing power to support worker rights is reflected throughout the Task Force’s report. We are also encouraged to see that the report's recommendations include federal labor-management partnerships, addressing misclassification in federal agencies and the private sector, allowing union organizers access to federal properties, improving enforcement of employment and labor standards for all workers, and continue the federal government’s engagement with unions. 

While American workers continue to require legislation to repair labor laws involving union organizing and collective bargaining protections, particularly in the private sector, the Task Force's report and continuing work to provide immediate steps that the federal government can take to support democracy in the workplace is a needed and welcomed endeavor. IFPTE is committed to making sure the Senate confirms the President’s appointees so that the federal government can support worker rights and unions as a public good.

IFPTE Secretary-Treasurer Gay Henson: 

By and large, the professional employees in federal government, in state and local government, and in the private sector, support the right to form and join unions. Public approval of unions is the highest it has been since the 1960s, but there are real obstacles to organizing that the federal government must address. IFPTE thanks President Biden, Vice President Harris, Labor Secretary Walsh, and the Task Force staff for talking to unions and incorporating IFPTE's recommendations in this important report. As our union continues to organize and build our membership and leadership, we look forward to assisting the Biden Administration in any way we can to ensure these recommendations are implemented effectively.

Across the United States and Canada, IFPTE represents 90,000 highly skilled workers in the federal, public, and private sectors. IFPTE is an affiliate of the AFL-CIO and the CLC. More information can be found at www.IFPTE.org.

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Download a PDF of this statement here.

Read the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment’s Report to the President here.