Congressional members demand explanation for the administration’s elevation of union officials to top government jobs given conflict of interest concerns

Ethics waivers are latest example of union playbook to push radical agenda

 

Washington, D.C. – The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), composed of hundreds of organizations representing millions of businesses that employ tens of millions of workers nationwide in nearly every industry, released the following statement today in response to House Oversight and Reform Committee Ranking Member James Comer (KY-1) and House Education and Labor Committee Ranking Member Virginia Foxx (NC-5) asking Acting OMB Director Shalanda Young for answers over reports of multiple high-ranking ex-union employees receiving ethics waivers from the White House to communicate with their former large union employers.

The following statement is attributable to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:

“To much fanfare, President Biden promised the American people and even signed executive orders on day one declaring his administration would be held to the highest ethical standard, yet these reported ethics waivers are a formal invitation for collusion and corruption enabling Big Labor bosses with unfettered access to coordinate their deceptive campaign to push the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act.

“Representatives Comer and Foxx are right to demand answers from the Biden administration about this blatant conflict of interest that threatens to undermine the administration’s promise of strict ethics standards.

“It’s really shocking that President Biden would allow this unethical action to be taken, which will likely open the door to abuse and wrongdoing that could result in scrutiny and investigations.

“Time after time we have seen union bosses change the rules in their favor to advance their interests. They’re using the same playbook with their push for the PRO Act, legislation that would strip workers of important privacy protections, subject employees to unwanted union intimidation, and lead to massive job losses and closures of thousands of small businesses across the country.

“Businesses and workers across the country are slowly getting back on their feet after the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but rewriting our nation’s labor laws solely to benefit Big Labor bosses would cause irreparable harm to our country’s economic recovery efforts.”

Click here for more information on the negative impacts of the PRO Act.

 

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About The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace

CDW is a broad-based coalition of hundreds of organizations representing hundreds of thousands of employers and millions of employees in various industries across the country concerned with a long-standing effort by some in the labor movement to make radical changes to the National Labor Relations Act without regard to the severely negative impact they would have on employees, employers, and the economy. CDW was originally formed in 2005 in opposition to the so-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) – a bill similar to the PRO Act – that would have stripped employees of the right to secret ballots in union representation elections and allowed arbitrators to set contract terms regardless of the consequence to workers or businesses.

 

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