President Obama issued a series of pro-labor executive orders Friday, sparking new worries for providers and other employers that even more pro-union action could be forthcoming.
Obama reversed an earlier presidential order that allowed unionized shops to post signs telling workers they could decertify. Pro-labor advocates had complained that the order did not also require non-union shops to alert employees that they could unionize.
Obama also signed orders to “level the playing field” so that employees can contend better with employers by: requiring federal contractors to offer current workers jobs if contracts change; erasing a Bush order that mandated federal contractors let workers know they can limit support of unions that are their bargaining representatives; halting reimbursement of federal contractor expenses related to trying to influence workers to form a union or engage in collective bargaining.
“We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests,” Obama said. “I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem. To me, it’s part of the solution.”
Employers, including most long-term care providers, are worried that Obama and Congress will soon follow through with vows to promote so-called card-check bills. Opponents of such measures say they would make it much easier for employees to unionize.
