Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Unions and Defy Trump Passes House Vote

The idea of workers’ rights has long been entrenched in US society. American labor unions date back to the very formation of the country and have seen a transformation to include all groups as the nation has progressed and evolved. Still, a sharp partisan divide in support for labor unions persists, with Democrats being twice as likely to agree that unions have a positive impact on the country as Republicans. Despite this, members from both sides of the political aisle in the House of Representatives joined together on Thursday to pass the Protect America's Workforce Act, which would strengthen protections for federal union contracts. What makes the Republican support on this bill even more surprising is that it is in direct opposition to a string of executive orders issued by President Trump earlier this year. 

The entire Democratic caucus, joined by 20 Republicans, voted in favor of the bill to strengthen and enshrine collective bargaining rights for employees of federal agencies, making the final vote 231-195. The vote was not only a win for America’s workers, but also a demonstration of Republican defiance. In March of this year, Donald Trump issued an executive order (EO) targetting unions for federal workers. The EO required over 30 federal agencies to end their union contracts, gutting collective bargaining rights for tens of thousands of federal employees. Agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Veteran Affairs were forced to terminate their union contracts. In late August, Trump issued another executive order, extending the ban on unions to include more agencies, such as NASA and the National Weather Service. While the Trump Administration cited national security concerns as the primary reason for the termination of federal unions, the absence of these protections mean that federal workers are unable to negotiate for better pay, benefits and just treatment.

While numerous legal challenges regarding the executive orders have been brought against the Trump Administration, the fate of federal workers’ collective bargaining rights remains unclear. However, the Protect America’s Workforce Act would officially return those protections. Spearheaded by Democrat Rep. Jared Golden of Maine and Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, the bill seeks to return collective bargaining rights to the workers of the federal agencies affected by Trump’s executive orders. Beyond the specific issue that the proposed legislation seeks to address, the House’s success in passing the bill has massive political significance. The vote is the first time that the House has managed to secure enough votes to overturn one of Trump's executive orders in his second term. However, the bill’s passage is certainly more symbolic than anything else. 

The Protect America’s Workforce Act certainly faces an uphill battle. To become law, the bill would have to make it through the GOP-controlled Senate. Even if it managed to do that, it’s doubtful that President Trump would sign into law a bill to overturn his own executive orders. A Presidential veto would be all but guaranteed, which would then mean that Congress would have to scrounge up a two-thirds majority vote to override Trump’s veto and force the bill to pass. Getting 20 Republicans to defy Trump and pass the bill in the first place was a modern political miracle. Getting two-thirds of a majority Republican Congress to defy the Republican President over an issue that is already not very popular within the Republican Party seems highly unlikely. Still, the bill passing the House of Representatives defies not only the President, but also the idea that bipartisan agreement is impossible. 

Extemp Question: What does the House’s passage of the Protect America’s Workforce Act signify for the rest of Trump’s term? 

Extemp Analysis by Brogan Jones

Background: Here is where you would need to talk about everything that Trump’s executive orders did regarding federal labor unions and why the act was necessary in the first place. 

Answer/SOS: If I got this question, my answer would be that it signifies bipartisan resistance and a renewed willingness to check Trump’s actions for three key reasons… 1) The bill was a bipartisan effort, 2) The vote is unprecedented, 3) It shows Republicans are willing to cross party lines, even on issues they typically wouldn’t, just to defy Trump. 

For the first point, I would talk about how the bill was not only sponsored by both a Democrat and a Republican, but also that 20 Republicans crossed party lines in order to vote for it. 

The second point is going to be really important, and it’s where you’ll want to mention that this is the first time that the House of Representatives has actually managed to secure enough votes to overturn a Trump executive order throughout this entire first year of his second term. I would use this to show how people are growing more frustrated with the Trump administration or more willing to stand up to it. 

Finally, I would talk about how labor unions are not even a particularly popular issue with Republicans, and most Republicans view labor unions negatively impacting the country. Despite this, several Republicans still crossed party lines to vote for the bill, potentially indicating that their vote was partially influenced by discontent with Trump rather than a genuine passion for the bill. The clearest way to make this point is that if Republicans are willing to cross partisan lines for an issue that they don’t typically care about, then they are certainly willing to stand up to the Trump administration and the rest of his term is going to see much more resistance.

Read more here: 

• Julianna Bragg, Axios

• Drew Friedman, Federal News Network

• Sam Stevenson, Newsweek

• Zoë Richards, NBC News