The Biden campaign is recognizing efforts by staff at its Wilmington, Delaware, headquarters to unionize, kickstarting a bargaining process that could address wages, working hours and working conditions for some of the individuals pushing to reelect President Joe Biden.
The unionization effort is affiliated with the Campaign Workers Guild, a non-partisan labor union founded in 2017 to represent workers on campaigns and political committees, and negotiations between the union and campaign are expected to begin in the near future.
“We are thrilled to announce that the Biden Union-Campaign Workers Guild has been recognized by campaign leadership,” the Biden Union-Campaign Workers Guild said in a statement. “All workers deserve a union, and we look forward to working with management to build an equitable contract that is in line with the values this campaign fights for and raises the bar for campaign and political workers across the country.”
Democratic campaigns and committees have embraced moves by their staff to unionize in recent years as they look to live up to the pro-labor platforms they pitch to voters. It comes as the president has sought to strengthen his union bona fides as he prepares to face off against former President Donald Trump, who is also making a play for union voters heading into November.
More than 175 people currently work at Biden campaign headquarters and there are plans to expand the staff in Delaware in the coming months, a source familiar with the matter said. Part of the bargaining process will include determining which headquarters staff would be eligible to join the union, sources familiar with the matter said.
Negotiations are expected to touch on wages, working hours and working conditions for staffers at the campaign’s main office in Delaware. Sources tied to the…
Read the full article here