The Biden administration has been better than initially expected in a range of policy areas, including labor policy. In his supportive remarks on the union drive at Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama, fulfillment center, the president staked out a fairly bold position: “You should all remember the National Labor Relations Act didn’t just say that unions are allowed to exist; it said we should encourage unions.”

Shortly thereafter, the administration issued an executive order proclaiming that “the policy of the United States is to encourage worker organizing and collective bargaining and to promote equality of bargaining power between employers and employees.” To that end, the order established the Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, with vice president Kamala Harris as chair and labor secretary Marty Walsh as vice-chair. Since April, it has been holding a series of “listening sessions” with union leaders, academics, and nonprofits to gather ideas for growing unions and other worker organizations and to promote collective bargaining.

This is all a welcome departure from previous Democratic administrations going back to Jimmy Carter, all of which paid lip service (at best) to the labor movement while promoting corporate power at home and around the world. Despite the administration’s pro-union rhetoric, however, the task force’s recommendations are likely to be underwhelming.