Workforce

Democratic candidates and the federal workforce

Westerville, Ohio October 15, 2019: Political candidate Buttons and Pins for sale nearby Otterbein College the eve of 2020 DNC debate.  Eric Glenn / Shutterstock.com

Photo credit: Eric Glenn/Shutterstock.com

A few of the Democratic candidates for president are making federal employment, civil service issues and government procurement part of their campaign platforms. With the Iowa caucuses less than a week away, here's a look at how the candidates stack up on issues of interest to federal employees.

As part of his labor platform dubbed "Workplace Democracy," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) supports the right of public-sector workers to strike and bargain over wages, a tactic that such workers were not allowed to exercise during the 2018 federal government shutdown, forcing them to work without pay or on furlough for 35 days.

Sanders also backs the FAMILY Act, a bill that Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) introduced that would expand the paid-leave policy passed on Dec. 21 to cover those who care for sick relatives.


Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) published a white paper on Jan. 21, titled "Restoring Integrity and Competence to Government After Trump," that outlined exact steps she would take to better protect and strengthen the career civil service, which has seen historic levels of vacancies since the Trump administration first entered office. Among her proposals were removing all political appointees, barring them from becoming career officials and putting a six-year moratorium on lobbyists joining the federal government after retiring from advocacy work.

If elected, Warren would also immediately address key vacancies and allow the Office of Personnel Management to use its direct hiring authority to "identify areas of severe shortage and allow agencies to waive competitive hiring processes in these areas of critical need." She also proposed allowing OPM to reinstate former government officials in a streamlined hiring process, a proposal that the current office proposed and then quickly abandoned. Warren also supports the current 12-week paid-leave policy, but she wants to include leave for those caring for a sick relative similar to the FAMILY Act legislation.

Fellow big-name contenders like former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) support similar legislation with regards to both paid leave and union rights for federal and public sector workers.

Biden, also a proponent of the PRO Act and similar legislation, would reinstate an Obama administration executive order that required the government to consider a company's labor practices when considering them for a federal contract and prevent them from earning contracts if they don't pledge to uphold neutrality during union drives and offer at least $15 an hour minimum wage and other benefits.

Both Klobuchar and Biden pledged to withdraw the controversial workforce orders that President Donald Trump signed into law in May 2018 that public unions have said devastated their ability to conduct routine membership business or negotiate contracts with their agencies.

Biden also said he wants to create a cabinet-level working group devoted to driving union membership in both private and public sectors, as well as empower federal agencies like the National Labor Review Board to eradicate bad-faith bargaining and force employers back to the mediation table when new contracts are being negotiated. Biden also expressed support to expand paid leave to include caring for children, sick relatives or elderly parents.

Buttigieg in comparison, called for "[giving] preference in government contracts to firms that treat their workers well," whose employees are unionized and are offered "good pay and benefits." His platform called for granting more resources to and entrusting the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs to ensure that such companies are given preference when bidding for federal contracts. Like his fellow high-profile Democratic rivals, he also supports the FAMILY Act and would create "a national paid family and medical leave fund similar to successful policies in several states."

Klobuchar touts her co-sponsorship of the Public Service Freedom to Negotiate Act and her support for the PRO Act on her campaign website. Klobuchar's platform also called for guaranteeing back pay to federal contractors during government shutdowns. Like her rivals, she expressed support for 12 weeks of paid family leave, as well as allowing workers to earn paid sick leave.


Featured

  • People
    James Byrne presides at a ribbon coutting of the Federal Health Care Center March 2019  (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jacob Waldrop/Released)

    Deputy secretary Jim Byrne out at VA

    The number two official at the Department of Veterans Affairs was fired Feb. 3 by Secretary Robert Wilkie as the agency faces down a key milestone in a $16 billion tech project.

  • People

    Congratulations to the 2020 Federal 100 Award winners

    Meet the women and men being honored for their exceptional contributions to federal IT.

Stay Connected

FCW INSIDER

Sign up for our newsletter.

I agree to this site's Privacy Policy.