Garamendi Leads Letter Calling on the Department of Defense to Fully Enact Military Base Access for Union Organizing

WASHINGTON, DC— Today, U.S. Representative John Garamendi (D-CA) and the co-chairs of the Congressional Labor Caucus, Representatives Mark Pocan (D-WI), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), and Steven Horsford (D-NV) led a letter cosigned by 47 House Democrats calling on the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to fully enact the Biden-Harris Administration's stated policy regarding base access for union organizing of civilian workers at military installations.

In April 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order 14025, which established the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, co-chaired by Vice President Kamala D. Harris, to encourage worker organizing and collective bargaining. In February 2022, the Task Force called for standardized guidelines for union organizer access on military base as. Yet, the DoD has not taken substantial action, with base access policies lacking specificity and uniformity across service branches and defense agencies.

“As members of the Congressional Labor Caucus, we write regarding the Department of Defense’s failure to implement fully the Biden-Harris Administration’s stated policy on improving base access for union organizing of civilian workers, including contractors and subcontractors at military installations. Despite clearly articulated Presidential policies and repeated Congressional direction, the DoD has yet to implement the necessary reforms or issue sufficient, standardized guidance to base commanders,” the members wrote.

“The DoD must replace base-specific access policies with national standards providing union organizers greater access to civilian contractors and other workers at military installations. The standards should allow for expedited access to installations for representatives from a labor organization or a federally recognized labor-management committee, as outlined in the White Task Force’s recommendations. Furthermore, policies and protocols should be established for timely identity verification and enhanced interoperability of DoD-authorized access credentials, allowing consideration of an individual’s participation in other federal security credentialing programs that require vetting at a level commensurate with that required by the Department when making determinations for expedited access to DoD facilities,” the members continued.  

“We understand the necessity of safeguarding DoD installations and preventing civilians with unescorted base access privileges from hampering base operations, compromising sensitive sites and materiel, or even engaging in potential sabotage. We also clearly understand the prohibition on organizing members of the armed forces. However, standardizing and improving base access privileges for union organizing of civilian workers does not undermine these considerations. Indeed, it will help the DOD to fulfill the Administration’s stated policy and allow civilian workers to exercise their collective bargaining rights under federal law,” the members concluded.

A full copy of the letter is below. Click here for an electronic version.

In addition to Representative Garamendi (D-CA-08), the letter was cosigned by Representatives Donald Norcross (D-NJ-01), Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06), Mark Pocan (D-WI-02), Steven Horsford (D-NV-04), Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-10), Chris Deluzio (D-PA-17), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI-07), Jill Tokuda (D-HI-02), Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10), Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ-11), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA-07), Ro Khanna (D-CA-17), Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24), Veronica Escobar (D-TX-16), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19), Joe Courtney (D-CT-02), Lori Trahan (D-MA-03), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Donald M. Payne, Jr. (D-NJ-10), Barbara Lee (D-CA-12), Angie Craig (D-MN-02), Delia C. Ramirez (D-IL-03), Greg Landsman (D-OH-01), Cori Bush (D-MO-01), Daniel T. Kildee (D-MI-08), Ilhan Omar (D-MI-05), Betty McCollum (D-MI-04), Lloyd Doggett (D-TX-37), Eric Swalwell (D-CA-14), Haley M. Stevens (D-MI-11), Jahana Hayes (D-CT-05), Greg Casar (D-TX-35), Rosa L. DeLauro (D-CT-03), Linda T. Sanchez (D-CA-38), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D. (D-NY-16), Kevin Mullin (D-CA-15), Paul D. Tonko (D-NY-20), James P. McGovern (D-MA-02), Joseph D. Morelle (D-NY-25), Melanie Stansbury (D-NM-01), Stephen F. Lynch (D-MA-08), Julia Brownley (D-CA-26), Dina Titus (D-NV-01), Val Hoyle (D-OR-04), Juan Vargas (D-CA-52).
 

Full Text of Letter:

Dear Secretary Austin:

As members of the Congressional Labor Caucus, we write regarding the Department of Defense’s failure to implement fully the Biden-Harris Administration’s stated policy on improving base access for union organizing of civilian workers including contractors and subcontractors at military installations. Despite clearly articulated Presidential policies and repeated Congressional direction, the DoD has yet to implement the necessary reforms or issue sufficient, standardized guidance to base commanders.

In April 2021, the President issued Executive Order 14025 establishing the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment and directing all federal agencies including the DoD to promote organizing and collective bargaining of workers. In February 2022, the White House Task Force published a report to the President recommending that the DoD standardize guidance across all service branches and defense agencies for union organizer access to military installations. The report also recommended that the DoD issue uniform guidelines to ensure that union organizers can more readily access non-federal employees working on base including those employed by private contractors or subcontractors. To our knowledge, the DoD has yet to act on these recommendations in any meaningful way more than two years later, which is simply unacceptable.

In March 2023, the White House Task Force’s progress report noted that the “DoD previously developed consistent policies for installation access control.” As confirmed by the nation’s leading labor organizations, those base access policies are neither specific to union organizing on DoD installations nor are they standardized across all service branches and defense agencies. The White House Taks Force’s progress report noted further that the DoD “developed and distributed a brochure providing non-DoD personnel guidance on the installation access.” These efforts clearly fall short of what needs to be done.

In addition, Section 2851 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (Public Law 118-31) directs the DoD to issue standardized guidance for determining the fitness of individuals for access to its facilities and installations. We urge the Department to move expeditiously in implementing this requirement, particularly as it relates to contractor and subcontractor personnel, union organizers, and other civilians who require frequent or recurring access to one or more DoD facilities. In meeting this legal mandate, DoD must also remove impediments for union organizers to reach potential or current union members working on installations. Requesting base access to organize civilian workers, including privately employed contractors or subcontractors, or inform workers of their collective bargaining rights is a legitimate reason to get on base, even without an appointment.

The DoD must replace base-specific access policies with national standards, providing union organizers with greater access to civilian contractors and other workers at military installations. The standards should allow for expedited access to installations for representatives from a labor organization or a federally recognized labor-management committee, as outlined in the White Task Force’s recommendations. Furthermore, policies and protocols should be established for timely identity verification and enhanced interoperability of DoD-authorized access credentials, allowing consideration of an individual’s participation in other federal security credentialing programs that require vetting at a level commensurate with that required by the Department when making determinations for expedited access to DoD facilities.

We understand the necessity of safeguarding DoD installations and preventing civilians with unescorted base access privileges from hampering base operations, compromising sensitive sites and materiel, or even engaging in potential sabotage. We also clearly understand the prohibition on organizing members of the armed forces. However, standardizing and improving base access privileges for union organizing of civilian workers does not undermine these considerations. Indeed, it will help the DoD to fulfill the Administration’s stated policy and allow civilian workers to exercise their collective bargaining rights under federal law.

These steps are crucial for empowering civilian workers at military installations, particularly privately employed contractors and subcontractors. Thank you for your leadership and consideration. We look forward to your response.

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