Workers Win Long-Overdue Funding for NLRB to Handle Labor Complaints & Union Elections

Last month, Congress increased funding for the National Labor Relations Board by $25 million with the passage of the 2023 omnibus bill. While Congress provided only 60 percent of the level of funding the NLRB requested, it is a much-needed cash infusion after the board had been flat-funded since 2014. In the lead up to the vote, the Maine AFL-CIO had very productive meetings with Senator Angus King, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree and Congressman Jared Golden’s staff about why it was critical to support this measure and we thank them for supporting it.

“With the additional funding, the National Labor Relations Board will continue to uphold our Congressional mandate of promoting collective bargaining and safeguarding employees’ rights to organize, engage with one another to seek better wages or working conditions, and choose whether or not to have a collective bargaining representative negotiate on their behalf with their employer,” NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and NLRB Chairman Lauren McFerran said in a joint statement.
 

Due to a lack of adequate funding, agency staffing levels have dropped and staffing in NLRB Field Offices has shrunk by a 50 percent. At a time when union election petitions are up 53 percent and the unfair labor practice complaints against union busting corporations have spike dramatically, this 9 percent bump in funding will allow NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo to hire about 200 field lawyers and staff to handle the Board’s massive workload and bring justice to more workers.

Protections for Pregnant Workers & Nursing Mothers

The recently-passed omnibus spending package also includes two important measures — the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act and the PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act — that will make a major difference in the lives of working people. These new laws will set clear standards requiring employers to provide reasonable accommodations to workers with pregnancy-related limitations and the need to pump while on the job.

“Workers should never have to choose between their health and a paycheck,” said national AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler, “and these overdue protections will give pregnant and postpartum workers the security to ask for what they need without the fear of retaliation.”