An independent federal agency, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) was originally a product of the New Deal era, when Democrats led by President Franklin Roosevelt sought to strengthen the power of organized labor. The NLRB was created in 1935 to enforce the National Labor Relations Act, which reinforced the rights of employees to bargain collectively. The primary duties of the board over the years have been to ensure workers’ desires to form unions, and to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices, whether committed by labor organizations or businesses. But with the arrival of President Ronald Reagan in the 1981, the NLRB ceased to be a diehard friend of labor, as Reagan’s appointees to the board brought about a decidedly pro-business shift. Similar complaints about the board’s conservative orientation arose during the administration of George W. Bush, as Democrats on Capitol Hill complained that the NLRB failed to support employees’ efforts to bargain collectively. Those complaints were echoed by NLRB board member Wilma Liebman, a Democrat first appointed by President Bill Clinton. Liebman was elevated to chairman of the NLRB by President Barack Obama on his first day of office. Liebman took charge of an agency in turmoil, with three vacancies on its five-member board.
The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) was enacted by Congress in June 1933 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal” that sought to assist the nation’s economic recovery during the Great Depression. The NIRA represented a unique experiment in US economic history, as it sanctioned, supported, and in some cases, enforced an alliance of industries. Antitrust laws were suspended, and companies were required to write industry-wide “codes of fair competition” that effectively fixed prices and wages, established production quotas, and imposed restrictions on entry of other companies into the alliances. The act further called for industrial self-regulation and declared that codes of fair competition—for the protection of consumers, competitors, and employers—be drafted for various industries and subject to public hearings. Employees were given the right to organize and bargain collectively and could not be required, as a condition of employment, to join or refrain from joining a labor organization. Congress also created the National Labor Board in 1933 to enforce the collective bargaining provisions of the NIRA, although the board had little power to do so.
Around the same time as the passage of the NIRA, Roosevelt created the National Recovery Administration (NRA) by executive order. The NRA was empowered to make voluntary agreements dealing with hours of work, rates of pay, and the fixing of prices. From the beginning, the NRA came under attack from businesses, members of Congress and labor unions, and was challenged in court. In May 1935, in the case of the Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, the US Supreme Court invalidated parts of the NIRA and nullified the National Labor Board.
In response to the court’s decision, Senator Robert Wagner (D-NY) sponsored new legislation creating a more comprehensive labor law and a strong three-person National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA),or Wagner Act, passed both houses easily and was signed on July 5, 1935. The new law and labor board sought to govern relations between unions, employees and employers, and guarantee employees the right to organize and bargain collectively with their employers.
Again, opponents challenged the new labor law, but this time, the court upheld the Wagner Act and the NLRB in 1937. From then on, the NLRB took an active role in supporting and extending labor’s right to organize during the late 1930s.
The NLRB functioned during World War II, but labor relations were mainly handled by the National War Labor Board (WLB), which existed from 1942 until 1945. After the end of WWII, the NLRB’s role began to change. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 expanded the board from three members to five, but it also removed its power to prosecute, leaving it a solely judicial agency. And whereas the Wagner Act had focused exclusively on restraining unfair practices by employers, Taft-Hartley required the NLRB to examine unfair practices by unions as well. Also, the legislation required union chiefs to prove they were not Communists before the board could take action on any complaints filed against employers.
In 1959, Taft-Hartley was amended by the Landrum-Griffin Act (also known as the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act), which repealed the requirement that a union must file a non-Communist affidavit and a financial report in order to obtain a hearing before the NLRB. The act also gave the states permission to assume jurisdiction over cases that the NLRB declined, even when interstate commerce was involved. Organizational and recognition picketing (that is, picketing of companies where another union is already recognized) were made unlawful, and the NLRB general counsel was required to seek an injunction against such picketing if a violation was proved.
The NLRB’s power was subsequently extended to postal workers (1970) and private health care institutions (1974). The 1970s represented a high-water mark for the board, as its caseload shot up 71% during the decade.
But with the arrival of President Ronald Reagan in the White House in 1981, the power of organized labor and the NLRB began to wane. With pro-business appointees taking the helm of the board, the NLRB ceased being a friend of unions. Things improved somewhat during the 1990s under President Bill Clinton, but the NLRB has yet to recover and return to its zenith of importance and power that existed prior to the “Reagan Revolution.”
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent federal agency that administers the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) and other subsequent amendments that govern relations between unions and businesses. The NLRB is supposed to ensure the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively with their employers, or to freely refuse the right to participate in a union. The board oversees labor issues stemming from areas of interstate commerce, other than airlines, railroads, agriculture, and government. It does not act on its own accord, but rather in response to complaints filed either by unions or employers.
The NLRB is organized into two major components: a five-member governing board, and the Office of the General Counsel. Board members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate to five-year terms, with the term of one member expiring each year. The General Counsel is also appointed by the President, for a four-year term, and confirmed by the Senate. The board is a quasi-judicial body that decides labor issues, while the General Counsel investigates and prosecutes cases.
When an unfair labor practice (ULP) charge is filed, an NLRB field office conducts an investigation to determine whether there is reasonable cause to believe the NLRA has been violated. If the regional director determines that the charge lacks merit, it will be dismissed unless the charging party decides to withdraw the charge. A dismissal may be appealed to the NLRB’s General Counsel’s office in Washington, DC.
If the regional director finds reasonable cause to believe a violation of the law has been committed, the region seeks a voluntary settlement to remedy the alleged violations. If these settlement efforts fail, a formal complaint is issued and the case goes to hearing before an NLRB Administrative Law Judge. The judge issues a written decision that may be appealed to the five-member board in Washington for a final agency determination. The board’s decision is subject to review in a US Court of Appeals.
The National Labor Relations Board spent $375 million this decade on contractors, according to USAspending.gov. A total of 371 contractors were paid by the NLRB for such services as facility operation and maintenance services ($168 million), legal services ($33 million), automated information system design and integration services ($30,5 million), lease or rental of facilities and office buildings ($27 million), and software ($26.4 million).
The top five recipients of NLRB contracts were:
- Hewlett-Packard $171,488,292
- US Government $42,270,490
- Netstar-1, Inc. $38,406,657
- Harvey Holzman $33,118,318
- Thomson Company Inc $27,589,655
NLRB Accused of Violating Labor Law
Washington Post columnist Joe Davidson reported in January 2009 that “the National Labor Relations Board has problems with its own labor relations.” The NLRB has refused to obey a ruling by a sister agency that settles disputes between the federal government and unions representing federal employees. The controversy stems from NLRB’s refusal to negotiate with a bargaining unit that combines employees from the two sides of the agency (the general counsel and the board). That refusal disobeyed a ruling by the Federal Labor Relations Authority. The union has picketed NLRB General Counsel Ronald Meisburg and called on him to resign if he doesn’t obey the law. It has been 19 months since the union won its case requiring the NLRB to negotiate with the consolidated unit. Meisburg strongly disagrees with the authority’s decision and wants to take the case to court.
Democrats Accuse Labor Board of Being Pro-Business
Senate and House Democrats attacked the Republican-led National Labor Relations Board in December 2007, saying its recent decisions had favored employers over workers. The Democrats focused on 61 board decisions issued in September that, among other things, made it harder for unions to organize workers and harder for illegally fired employees to collect back pay. “This board has undermined collective bargaining at every turn, putting the power of the law behind lawbreakers, not law victims,” said Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. At a Congressional hearing, Wilma Liebman, a Democratic member of the five-member board, repeatedly clashed with the board’s Republican chairman, Robert J. Battista. “Virtually every recent policy choice by the board,” Liebman charged, “impedes collective bargaining, creates obstacles to union representation or favors employer interests.” Liebman is now herself the chair of the NLRB.
“No Fraternizing” Ruling Sparks Lawsuit
The National Labor Relations Board caused an uproar in 2005 by upholding an employer’s rule against employees fraternizing with each other—on or off the premises. The ruling involved a complaint brought against an employee of Guardsmark, a large security company, over the company’s rule that warned employees not to “... fraternize on duty or off duty, date or become overly friendly with the client’s employees or with co-employees.” Guardsmark said it needed the rule because, “A security officer who is overly familiar with a fellow security officer or a client’s employee may overlook signals that, if detected, could be instrumental in preventing workplace violence.” The NLRB ruling brought criticism from employee-rights advocates and newspaper columnists, as well as from a union lawyer representing the guard, Daniel Higgins. “It is absurd,” remarked labor lawyer Antonio Ruiz. “How do you define what fraternizing is?” In February 2007, the DC Court of Appeals ruled against Guardsmark, and in favor of workers rights to fraternize.
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Founded: 1935
Annual Budget: $262.5 million
Employees: 1,680
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National Labor Relations Board
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A native of Philadelphia, PA, Wilma B. Liebman was designated chairman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) by President Barack Obama on his first day in office: January 20, 2009. Liebman holds a BA from Barnard College in New York City and a JD from the George Washington University Law Center.
From 1994-1996, she served as special assistant to the director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). In this role, she mediated the baseball strike of 1994, and she was a member of the Mediator Task Force on the Future of FMCS, an 18-member employee group charged with “articulating a vision and recommendations to lead the agency into the 21st century.” She also served for two years as deputy director of the FMCS, acting as the chief operations officer and overseeing arbitration, alternative dispute resolution, international affairs and labor-management cooperation grants programs. In addition, Liebman advised the FMCS director on issues involving major labor disputes and participated in negotiations as needed.
In 1997, President Bill Clinton appointed Liebman to the NLRB. She was reappointed by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate to a second term that expired on August 27, 2006, and to a third term that will expire on August 27, 2011.
Liebman has donated $8,650 to Democratic candidates, including President Obama, since 1995, according to OpenSecrets.org.
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