Americans’ support for unions is surging. Increasing numbers of workers are fighting to unionize and negotiate fair contracts, and Americans are heavily siding with workers during labor disputes. In response, a growing number of public officials are vociferously supporting workers in organizing fights and pushing back against aggressive anti-union rhetoric used by corporations and antiworker politicians.
By using the bully pulpit—a public official’s ability to gain attention and sway key actors through public speech and private convenings because of their prominent position—officials are increasing workers’ confidence that their demands will be respected. At the same time, they are leveraging the bully pulpit to remind corporations that the government will hold lawbreakers accountable. Yet public officials and policymakers at all levels can do more to advocate forcefully for workers throughout the entire span of a unionization and contract bargaining process, particularly when corporations are undermining worker efforts or receiving financial incentives from the public.
The above excerpt was originally published in the Center for American Progress.
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