Amid Backlash, Democrats Mull Banning Consultants From Anti-Union Activity

Following anger over disclosures that Amazon reached out to Global Strategy Group, a renowned Democratic polling firm, to aid its union-busting effort in New York City, the Democratic Party’s governing board is reportedly exploring a strategy to bar its consultants from anti-union action.

According to a report in Politico, “a union-drafted addendum to any contract between a Democratic Party political committee and a consultant would forbid the consultant—or any of its parents, subsidiaries, or affiliates—from participating in an array of union-related activities,” such as “union-busting, assisting an employer in a labor dispute, or lobbying against union-backed legislation.” While a representative for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) informed Politico that the party is “in the midst of considering the idea”, the union leaders said it is definitely happening.

The AFL-CIO president, Liz Shuler, put out a statement in which she applauded “Democratic Party committees’ decision to amend their contract and [request for proposal] processes in light of reporting that GSG had been working for Amazon as they sought to defeat the recent organizing drive.”

Shuler further added, “By amending their contracts and RFP processes to exclude firms actively working with clients who seek to prevent or limit working people’s basic rights to act collectively or otherwise act against their interests as union members, the committees demonstrate their commitment to democracy and shared prosperity.” 

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, took to Twitter to praise the proposed amendment, saying that the relentless worker organizing was having a positive outcome. Nelson tweeted, “Start in the workplace, and the politics will follow. This is happening because workers are taking hold of our power. Every worker who acted in solidarity with their colleagues made this happen.”

CNBC reported a day before Amazon workers at the JFK8 facility in Staten Island won the company’s first-ever union victory in the United States that Amazon had “tapped an influential consulting and polling firm with close ties to Democratic political groups to help the company thwart” the workers’ mobilization drive.

“Global Strategy Group, which served as a polling partner for a pro-Biden super PAC ahead of the 2020 election, has been working for Amazon since at least late last year to produce anti-union materials,” CNBC noted. “At JFK8… and three other facilities on Staten Island, GSG has put together videos featuring Amazon managers and executives, and has distributed flyers to staffers. Amazon has delivered anti-union presentations that workers have been required to sit through at meetings, which were often attended by representatives from GSG.” “GSG employees have also been monitoring the social media accounts of Amazon Labor Union organizers,” CNBC added, referring to the independent, worker-led union that spearheaded the organizing campaign at JFK8.

For a long time, GSG has maintained close links to the Democratic Party, having provided campaign assistance to prominent Democrats such as Sens. Joe Manchin and Kirsten Gillibrand in the past. Jen Psaki, White House Press Secretary, worked for GSG a decade ago and has since retracted some of President Joe Biden’s positive statements on the Amazon unionization campaign.

According to The Intercept’s Alex Weatherhead, GSG has been engaged by various firms with a strong interest in government regulation. These firms include Microsoft, Google, Pfizer, and Goldman Sachs. As a result, the news that Amazon contracted GSG to shore up its aggressive union-busting campaign caused an uproar, with critics claiming that the Democratic Party cannot claim to defend workers’ right to unionize while working with an anti-union consulting firm.

In reaction to the news of the DNC amendment, Progressives have demanded that the Democrats ought to do a lot more. “Democrats should ban consultants from not just specifically working on anti-union activity, but also working for actively anti-union corporations,” stated Jordan Zakarin of More Perfect Union. “Oh, add in every bank and every corporate lobby that actively funds campaigns to defeat Democratic legislation, too,” he further remarked.

Originally published at Commondreams.org, written by Jake Johnson.