Restore Workplace Protections: Confirm Bipartisan Package of National Labor Relations Board Nominees

Recipient: Tom Harkin and Lamar Alexander

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Senator Tom Harkin, Chair
Senator Lamar Alexander, Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions
428 Senate Dirksen Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Harkin and Ranking Member Alexander:

On behalf of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of over 210 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States, we urge swift approval of the full bipartisan package of nominations to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).  Prompt confirmation of the nominations is necessary to restore stability to our system of labor-management relations and ensure workers receive full protections under the law.

The Leadership Conference believes that workers’ rights—including the right to organize unions and engage in collective bargaining—are fundamental civil and human rights.  Workers need the NLRB to enforce laws aimed at protecting workers’ rights to form unions and bargain collectively with their employers. It is imperative that the nominations be confirmed quickly, because without a functioning NLRB, employers may fire or retaliate against workers with impunity for what should be protected activity.

Currently, two of the five seats on the Board are vacant and the term of one of the three current Board members will expire in August. Without swift confirmation, the NLRB will be left without the quorum of at least three members that is required in order for the Board to perform its important functions.  The Senate now has the opportunity to approve the nominations and ensure the NLRB will be able to operate, protecting the vital rights of employees to collectively improve their job standards.

Working families and a recovering job market need and deserve a confirmed NLRB. It is crucial that the Senate act promptly to confirm the bipartisan package in order to keep this important agency operational. We urge swift confirmation of the NLRB nominees. Please contact Lexer Quamie, Senior Counsel at (202) 466-3648 or [email protected], if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Wade Henderson
President & CEO

Nancy Zirkin
Executive Vice President