Why American Workers Have Been Left Out of Our Life-and-Death Decision-Making

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John Macdougall/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images

Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a meeting of federal ministers, industry associations, and trade union representatives to discuss economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, March 13, 2020, in Berlin.

By now, almost every worker in America has been affected by the coronavirus. As grocery stores ramp up, restaurants close, flights get canceled, and hospitals get swamped with patients, workers are on the front lines of dealing with the consequences of this crisis.

For too many American workers, this crisis is happening to them, not with them. With only approximately 6 percent of the American private-sector workforce in unions, the vast majority of workers have no voice in the decisions that businesses are making in response to the pandemic.

Our laws fail to ensure that workers have an adequate voice in important decisions that affect their lives. The current crisis highlights the ways that our labor law leaves workers out of these critical conversations.

For too many American workers, this crisis is happening to them, not with them.

First, it is too hard for workers to organize unions in our country. That weakness leaves almost 94 percent of all American workers with no right to bargain over how their employers respond to the pandemic—including whether employers cut their pay, hours, or benefits or refuse to implement measures to avoid exposure to COVID-19. McDonald’s employees, for instance, still have no union despite extensive organizing efforts that the company has been able to thwart, and most have no paid sick leave. That leaves hundreds of thousands of people who wear a McDonald’s uniform out of luck if they get COVID-19. With a union, they would be able to talk to McDonald’s about why they need this lifesaving protection.

It does not have to be this way. The law could create tools for workers and employers to collaborate on the best way to confront a crisis like the coronavirus.

In much of the world, collective bargaining happens at the sectoral level, instead of on a workplace-by-workplace basis, which is what we have in the United States. Under sectoral bargaining, companies can come together and negotiate basic terms with workers across their whole industry.

In a disaster such as this pandemic, sectoral bargaining provides a mechanism for coordination and relieves any concerns about companies putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage if they undertake expensive measures to support their workers at risk. In Germany, for example, the union that represents fast-food workers came to an agreement with the association representing fast-food companies to provide up to 90 percent of wages for all workers.

Sectoral bargaining relieves concerns about companies putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage if they undertake expensive measures to support their workers.

The U.S. also could adopt the works council system, which exists in many European countries. Works councils are consultative workplace groups that provide a forum for the sharing of information and ideas between workers and management. Unfortunately, U.S. labor law actually prohibits works councils unless workers first have been able to win formal collective bargaining.

In Europe today, works councils are addressing a wide range of coronavirus-related topics in a productive and collaborative manner. Some of these topics seem small, but are important steps toward preventing transmission of the disease. Works councils have devised adjustments to the start times of factory shifts for workers who still have to go to work, so that all the workers aren’t congregating at the entrance at the same time. They are figuring out how many more parking spots workers need so they don’t need to take public transportation to their workplaces. They can also take on other critical workplace policies, such as how to distribute personal protective equipment like masks and gloves.

Unions and employers in other countries are also coming together around the big economic policies that are needed to deal with the crisis. In Denmark, unions, companies, and the government reached a landmark agreement to provide income support and paid leave for workers affected by the crisis. Spain reached a similar deal after negotiations between employer associations and unions. In Germany, unions and employers together are supporting policies to spread reduced hours among more workers, rather than laying off some workers completely. These work-sharing arrangements were widespread in Germany during the Great Recession and are credited with markedly softening the impact of that economic downturn there.

Employers can make decisions about these topics unilaterally, but they would make better decisions if they involved their workers. Workers know best how to do their jobs and protect their families. Too many American workers are being left out of life-and-death decisions because our labor laws have permitted employers to stifle their voices. At a time with little margin for error in how best to save lives, it is a shame that our law stands in the way of workers contributing their voice to making better decisions.