Lawmakers, Employer Groups Call For Increased NLRB Oversight

Earlier this month, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), which the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) is a member of, sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate’s Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee and the U.S. House of Representatives’ Education and the Workforce Committee urging lawmakers on those panels to exercise their oversight authority and rein in the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and its current general counsel.

In its letter, available here, the CDW argues the NLRB is deliberately creating conflicts between federal antidiscrimination and labor laws, is trapping employers in an impossible position with regard to compliance, and is potentially exposing workers to harassment and discrimination in the workplace.

This issue is not the only one for which the CDW has taken the NLRB to task. A few days after sending the letter, the CDW filed an amicus brief with the 9th Circuit of Appeals in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific v. NLRB. That case concerns an NLRB decision that altered union representation election processes to essentially eliminate secret ballot elections.

In its brief, the CDW asked the court to set aside and decline to enforce the NLRB’s order, which takes away employees’ right to choose union representation without pressure or coercion. Read the CDW’s statement about this case here. Read the amicus brief here.