Biden Vetoes Republican Measure In Row Over Contractors’ Unions

Democratic US president Joe Biden has vetoed a key Republican-backed labour measure amidst a dispute over how much responsibility companies should have for contract workers – a question that notably affects tech giants such as Google.

The dispute concerns a rule brought in last year by the US National Labor Relations Board that treats companies as “joint employers” of contract and franchise workers if they exert control over key working conditions such as pay, scheduling, discipline and supervision.

As joint employers those companies are required to bargain with those workers’ unions, a controversial proposition for companies in Silicon Valley, where unions have not historically played a significant role.

A federal judge in March blocked the NLRB rule from taking effect, a decision that is likely to face appeal.

Labour dispute

In the meantime Republican-backed legislation was narrowly approved by Congress that would have repealed the NLRB rule.

Biden vetoed the measure on Friday, saying the NLRB’s rule would ensure employers cannot evade their legal obligations by controlling workers indirectly through contractors.

“Republicans are siding with union-busting corporations over the needs of workers and their unions,” Biden said.

It is unlikely Republicans will be able to gather the two-thirds majority to override the veto.

Google contractors

Critics of the NLRB rule, including major business groups, say companies should not be forced to negotiate with unions when they have little control over working conditions.

In January the NLRB upheld an earlier ruling that Google had illegally refused to bargain with a group of unionised Texas-based contract workers for YouTube Music who went on strike in February 2022 over Google’s policies forcing them to return to the office.

The union for the group of more than 40 argued that many had been hired to work remotely for as little as $19 per hour and that adding commute costs would represent an unsustainable burden.

Google refused to negotiate with the workers, who were employees of supplier Cognizant, and later laid them off.

Unionisation pressure

The firm said contracts with suppliers “routinely end on their natural expiry date”.

But the NLRB said Google should be considered a joint employer of the contract workers, under its new rule, and as such was obliged to negotiate with their union.

Last month Google removed a 2019 policy that the NLRB had cited as evidence of Google’s control over contractors’ working conditions.

Google is appealing the NLRB’s decision.

Amazon has also faced increasing pressures to allow its workers to join unions at facilities such as warehouses.