Justice delayed is justice denied. The NLRB has been starved of resources for years. Workers and unions are not able to count on the agency to protect their rights. Things will surely get worse during the second Trump administration, but the status quo is already broken. (12/12)
Why has the NLRB slowed to a crawl? In 2015, the NLRB had a $274 billion budget and 1,587 Full-Time Equivalents (FTEs). In 2023, the agency had a $299 billion budget and 1,196 FTEs. This is a budget cut of 15% after accounting for inflation, and a 25% reduction in staff. (11/12)
Not only is the NLRB issuing complaints more slowly, but the NLRB is even issuing fewer complaints than during the middle of the Trump era! From 2018-19, the NLRB issued a total of 2,004 complaints. From 2022-23, this dropped to fewer than 1,500 complaints. (10/12)
The time it takes for a complaint to be issued has ballooned. In 2022, the average time from the filing of a charge to the issuing of a complaint was 85 days. In 2024, the average was 168 days. Workers now spend months waiting for any sign of progress. (9/12)
The NLRB's regional offices investigate the allegations in the charge. If the regional office determines that a charge has merit, it issues a complaint (unless the parties settle first). (8/12)
Let’s switch gears to the NLRB’s other primary responsibility—investigating unfair labor practice charges. Most commonly, a charge alleges that a company violated workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act. (7/12)
The delay can kill the momentum and excitement of an organizing drive among the workers. It can make a union appear weak when workers are forced to wait months just to be able to exercise their right to vote. Months of delay can be fatal to a unionization effort. (6/12)
Why does the delay matter? It gives companies months to terrify workers into voting against the union through a variety of tactics—making threats about what the company will do if workers vote for a union, promising benefits if they don't, interrogating workers, etc. (5/12)
After the hearing, it takes time for the NLRB regional office to issue a decision. In 2017, the median time to hold an election in a case that required a hearing was 36 days after the petition was filed. Not bad! But by 2023, the median time had nearly tripled to 106 days. (4/12)
If a company wants to slow down the process, it can force the NLRB to hold a hearing before the election. Most commonly, the company will claim that the bargaining unit the union seeks is inappropriate, and that certain groups of workers need to be included or excluded. (3/12)
Let’s start with elections. Once a union has a sufficient level of support among a group of workers, it can file a petition for an election with the NLRB. If all goes well, the union and company can agree to quickly hold an election. But all does not always go well. (2/12)
The NLRB is struggling to function due to years of staffing cuts and stagnant budgets. Companies are easily able to delay union elections for months, while the agency is taking far longer to investigate unfair labor practice charges and is issuing fewer complaints.🧵(1/12)
