For the first time in nearly a decade, Congress has moved to increase the annual budget of the National Labor Relations Board.
The NLRB Union, which warned last month that the federal agency tasked with enforcing U.S. labor law faces “budgetary Armageddon” and has long advocated for more resources, welcomed lawmakers’ proposal to allocate an additional $25 million to the NLRB in fiscal year 2023.
“Our national nightmare is over,” the NLRB Union tweeted on Tuesday morning, referring to the inclusion of the proposed funding boost in a must-pass $1.7 trillion package, half of which is devoted to military spending. If passed by the House and Senate, “the funding Armageddon we warned of has been avoided—for at least this year.”
“To be clear, we were hoping for more funds,” the union continued. “As we have documented, the NLRB has been left dramatically understaffed after nearly a decade of flat funding, and this is not enough to replenish the agency. But breaking the streak is a tremendous accomplishment for board advocates.”
“For every employee who has faced retaliation, harassment, or surveillance simply for wanting to join a union, strengthening the NLRB will make a difference.”
Because congressional Republicans have refused to approve a funding increase for the past nine years, the NLRB’s annual budget has been frozen at $274.2 million since FY2014. Adjusting for inflation, the agency’s budget has been cut by 25% over that time period—resulting in a hiring pause and the threat of involuntary furloughs.
Since FY2002, overall staffing at the cash-starved agency has decreased by 39%, while the number of NLRB officials who oversee union elections and investigate employer abuses has been reduced by a full 50%.
The $299.2 million NLRB budget proposed in the end-of-year omnibus bill is lower than the Biden administration’s request for $319.4 million—the bare minimum required to begin rebuilding staffing capacity—and even lower than House Democrats’ push for at least $368 million.
While inadequate, the pending increase was far from guaranteed before a sustained wave of agitation from progressive lawmakers and organized labor, including the NLRB Union and the NLRB Professional Association—a separate union representing 122 staff attorneys and Freedom of Information Act specialists at the agency.
“We will continue fighting for a fair budget for the NLRB and to obtain the resources necessary to carry out the agency’s mission,” the NLRB Union wrote Tuesday on social media. “For today, we are relieved that Congress has finally noticed our struggle and—assuming passage this week—given us a foothold for future negotiations.”
AFL-CIO president Liz Shuler said in a statement that “we must get this funding over the finish line and onto President Joe Biden’s desk.”
“Without these funds, the NLRB is unable to do its job—enforcing workers’ right to organize and engage in collective action,” said Shuler. “Right now, NLRB employees face furloughs and understaffing at a historic time when workers are rising up and calling for change nationwide.”
While the NLRB’s budget has effectively been slashed over the past decade, its workload has soared as workers at Starbucks, Amazon, Apple, Trader Joe’s, Chipotle, and other powerful corporations try to organize in the face of persistent—and often unlawful—employer opposition. The agency recently reported that from FY2021 to FY2022, the number of union representation petitions and unfair labor practice charges filed grew by 53% and 19%, respectively.
Last month, the NLRB requested a nationwide cease-and-desist order to stop Starbucks from terminating workers for engaging in legally protected union activity. In addition, a federal judge recently filed a nationwide cease-and-desist order requiring Amazon to halt retaliatory firings of pro-union workers, a move that came in response to an NLRB complaint.
“We can’t stop now and let corporations freely intimidate workers who want to join a union and collectively bargain,” Shuler said Tuesday. “This is a workers’ rights issue. For every employee who has faced retaliation, harassment, or surveillance simply for wanting to join a union, strengthening the NLRB will make a difference.”
