Julie Su, Acting Director of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), recently announced that union petitions in American workplaces have more than doubled in fiscal year (FY) 2024 as compared to FY 2021. The number of petitions is up 27% in FY 2024, when the NLRB received 3,286 petitions, from FY 2023, when the NLRB received 2,593 petitions.
Su pointed to the failed economic policies of the past as the impetus for workers acting collectively to demand their fair share. She also noted that the strongest labor market in memory, record-low unemployment rates, higher wages, and over 16 million jobs created during the Biden-Harris administration have given workers the power and leverage to demand the pay and benefits they feel they deserve.
In addition to the number of union petitions filed, the rate of unfair labor practices filings increased 7% from FY 2023 to FY 2024, rising from 19,869 to 21,292 cases. The NLRB field offices received the highest total number of cases in FY 2024 in over a decade. NLRB General
The NLRB also saw increases in its adjudicative side, with a 22% increase in unfair labor practice and representation cases in FY 2024 over FY 2023. The NLRB also increased its productivity by 5%, deciding 259 cases in FY 2024. However, the significant intake case growth also led to a 46% increase in pending cases for FY 2024 over the previous year.
Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo attributes the uptick in cases to workers increasingly knowing and exercising their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Abruzzo called for full funding of the NLRB to promptly and meaningfully resolve the pending cases, as the agency is now working with limited resources to address a steadily surging backlog.
Over the past 20 years, staffing in NLRB field offices has shrunk by 50%. In FY 2011, the last time the NLRB saw similar case numbers to today, the agency had 62% more field staff to handle the cases, resulting in much quicker resolutions. Funding for the NLRB remained flat for almost 10 years before Congress gave the agency a much-needed $25 million increase in FY 2023, filling critical positions previously frozen and preventing furloughs. However, in FY 2024, Congress refused to increase NLRB funding, leaving it flat at $299.2 million.
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