As workers’ actions continue from Hollywood to Detroit and new unions emerge at companies like Starbucks and Amazon, the White House on Monday highlighted its efforts to strengthen worker organization across the U.S.

President Biden is counting on crucial labor support as he campaigns for a second term, holds his first re-election campaign in June at a Pennsylvania union building and declares, I am proud to be the most pro-union president in American history. The White House and the Treasury Department released a joint analysis on Monday about what the administration sees as the importance of labor unions, as well as the White House’s efforts to protect and strengthen them.

There is evidence that unions strengthen the middle class and grow the economy by raising their members’ wages and improving health care and pensions

other predictable planning plan

benefits, according to the analysis.

There have been recent signs of a revived labor movement, as petitions for the 2022 union elections have bounced back from the pandemic to their highest level since 2015, the analysis said, and public opinion on the unions has shifted at the highest level in more than fifty years old.

Vice President Kamala Harris, leader of the White House Labor Task Force, created to work with federal agencies to use their existing authority to support labor organizing and bargaining, told reporters that unions are critical.

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When unionized workers negotiate higher wages, it increases pressure on non-union firms to also raise wages to remain competitive in the labor market, she said.

The government’s show of support comes as unprecedented organization of workers, from strike permits to work stoppages, has hit multiple industries this year, including transportation, entertainment, hospitality and healthcare.

Workers calling for higher wages, better working conditions and job security, especially since the end of the pandemic, have become increasingly willing to leave their jobs as employers face a greater need for workers.

The Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations Labor Action Tracker recorded 424 work stoppages, including 417 strikes and seven lockouts involving approximately 224,000 workers by 2022.

Despite reports of strikes and a government claiming to be friendlier to unions, membership numbers are still declining nationwide. A January Bureau of Labor Statistics report said 11.3% of U.S. workers will be unionized by 2022, down 0.3% from a year ago. Globalization, automation and the deterioration of legal support for workers over decades have reduced union membership, government officials say.

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Hollywood writers have been on strike since early May and have yet to strike a deal with the studios. Starbucks employees have joined more than 350 stores nationwide, and a group of Amazon employees have joined the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in hopes of gaining union recognition.

Most recently, auto workers, represented by the United Auto Workers union, which has still not supported Biden’s 2024 presidential election, voted overwhelmingly to give leaders the power to call strikes against auto companies Stellantis, General Motors and Detroit-based Ford if no contract agreement is reached.

The contract expires in September.

Since Biden came to power, the administration has introduced a slew of executive orders, made it easier for union representatives to organize on federal property and strengthened protections against retaliation for private sector workers.

The nation’s top labor organizations, including the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, have endorsed Biden’s 2024 campaign.

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Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said the government’s findings on unions call into question arguments that unions are holding back growth.

Unions could help reverse the sharp increase in inequality we’ve seen in recent decades, promoting growth across the economy, she said.

Hussein writes for the Associated Press.