On April 19, the NLRB announced Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted in favor of union representation. The vote was held via secret ballot in an NLRB-supervised election at the workplace. The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen: “Secret ballot elections are the gold standard for a reason. They guarantee workers can […]

On April 11, CDW sent a letter to members of the House of Representatives urging them to support the Start Applying Labor Transparency (SALT) Act, which would amend the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act to require labor organizations register “salts” with the Department of Labor. The following can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen: […]

On April 10, the Senate passed HJRes 98, a Congressional Review Act resolution to nullify the NLRB’s joint employer final rule. The resolution already passed the House, meaning the bill is headed to President Biden’s desk for signature. The following can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen: “The NLRB’s final rule was a massive expansion […]

Washington, DC – On March 29, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued a final rule allowing unions and other third parties, potentially with an agenda against the employer, to participate in OSHA inspections. The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen: “OSHA’s final rule allows individuals with an agenda against the employer […]

Washington, DC – On March 21, Congressional appropriators released the minibus for FY25 that includes funding for the National Labor Relations Board. The minibus provides the NLRB with the same funding levels as it received in FY24 and includes the long-standing policy rider that prohibits the Board from implementing electronic voting in union representation elections. […]

Washington, DC – On March 14, CDW sent a letter to House and Senate appropriators urging them to protect secret ballot elections in union representation elections by maintaining a bipartisan policy rider that prohibits the NLRB from implementing electronic voting in representation elections. The letter also urges Congress to condition any increase in NLRB funding on […]

On March 8, the District Court for the Eastern District of Texas invalidated the NLRB’s joint employer final rule, finding it too broad and in violation of the NLRA. As Judge Barker stated, the rule “would treat virtually every entity that contracts for labor as a joint employer because virtually every contract for third-party labor has […]

On February 28, CDW and several other employer organizations filed a motion before the Supreme Court in Starbucks v McKinney, a case considering the criteria the NLRB must meet to seek Section 10(j) injunctive relief under the National Labor Relations Act. The motion requests the Supreme Court reverse a 6th Circuit decision and clarify the […]

Washington, DC – On February 9, CDW along with several other employer organizations filed an amicus brief before the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in Cemex v NLRB, a case in which the NLRB rewrote the rules for union representation elections in a manner that will make card check the default way for […]

Washington, DC – On February 6, 2024, CDW sent a letter to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and House Education and the Workforce Committee calling on them to use their oversight authority to question the National Labor Relations Board and the Board’s General Counsel about the current tension and inconsistencies their actions […]

Washington D.C. – On December 12, CDW sent a letter to the House Education and the Workforce Committee in support of the Employee Rights Act (ERA) (H.R. 2700), Modern Worker Empowerment Act (H.R. 5513), and Save Local Business Act (H.R. 2826). The bills would protect workers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses from the biases and misinformed […]

Washington, DC – On December 8, 2023, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, in conjunction with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, Inc., and National Retail Federation filed an amicus brief urging the 3rd Circuit to hold that the National Labor Relations Act precludes the award of […]

The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) released the following statement in response to the US Court of Appeals 5th Circuit’s decision to grant Tesla’s petition for review and deny the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) application for enforcement in Tesla v NLRB. CDW filed an amicus brief in the case. Tesla requires its employees […]

On November 9, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), along with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, American Hotel and Lodging Association, Associated Builders and Contractors, Associated General Contractors of America, International Franchise Association, Longview Chamber of Commerce, National Retail Federation, National Association of Convenience Stores, Restaurant Law Center, Texas Association of Business, and Texas […]

Washington, DC – On November 7, 2023, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to review an appellate court decision in Starbucks Corporation v. NLRB. Courts normally require parties seeking preliminary injunctive relief to demonstrate they are likely to succeed on the merits in the case. In […]

On October 26, the NLRB released its final rule on determining joint employer status under the NLRA, which would radically expand the joint employer standard under the NLRA. By explicitly stating that either possessing the authority to control one or more essential terms and conditions of employment (regardless of whether it is exercised) OR exercising […]

On August 25, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board issued its decision in Cemex, imposing a new framework which greatly expands the Board’s ability to impose unions on employees without a secret ballot election. The Board’s decision reverses a half-century of NLRB precedent and is at odds with long-standing Supreme Court rulings. The Board also made this […]

On August 24, 2023, the NLRB issued its direct final rule reinstating the Obama-era ambush elections rule, which promoted speed of union representation elections at the expense of employees’ right to be fully informed before choosing whether or not they wanted union representation in the workplace. The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen […]

Washington, DC – On August 2, the NLRB issued its decision in Stericycle, putting at risk employers’ common sense workplace policies.  The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen: “The Board’s decision makes it nearly impossible for employers across the country to provide safe, hostile-free workplaces for workers. The Board has inserted […]

Washington, DC – On July 24, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in Loper Bright, a case considering the limits of Chevron deference. Our brief urges the Court to consider the impact Chevron deference has had on the predictability and workability of labor law for regulated parties. The following statement can […]

Washington, DC – On July 12, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee passed Gwynne Wilcox’s nomination out of committee without a hearing, ensuring Senators never had an opportunity to question Wilcox about her troubling tenure on the Board, including overturning long-standing precedent and ignoring the stakeholder community. The following statement can be attributed […]

Washington, DC – On July 11, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace sent a letter to Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Bernie Sanders to urge him to delay the committee’s vote on the nomination of Gwynne Wilcox to serve another terms on the NLRB in order to review her record, […]

Washington, DC – On June 13, the NLRB issued its decision in The Atlanta Opera, which defies the explicit directions of the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and narrows opportunities for independent contractors and self-employed individuals. The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen: “In today’s decision, the Board reinstates […]

Washington, DC – On June 1, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Glacier Northwest, in which the Court firmly held that unions cannot intentionally destroy employer property without consequences. The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen: “Unions cannot and should not have a free pass for intentionally destroying someone else’s property. No federal law […]

Washington, DC – On May 22, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace published a white paper, How Neutrality and Card Check Agreements Harm the American Worker, proving that when employers enter into neutrality and card check agreements with unions attempting to organize their workplaces, employees are denied access to critical information they need to make a fully […]

Washington, D.C. – On March 24, CDW sent a letter to members of Congress calling for the rejection of the Protecting the Right to Organize (“PRO”) Act (H.R. 20, S. 567). The bill would “limit workers’ right to secret ballot elections, trample free speech and debate, jeopardize industrial stability, threaten vital supply chains, limit opportunities […]

On March 8, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing on workers’ right to unionize and employers’ “illegal corporate union busting.” The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen: “This hearing was a clear display of how Senator Sanders views the world. Employers are evil, and unions are […]

Washington, DC – On February 27, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace sent a letter to the House and Senate labor committees informing them of the extreme policies being pushed by the NLRB and its General Counsel that “are promoting changes that are contrary to the bedrock principles of our democracy, like free speech, open […]

Washington, DC – Today, House and Senate Democrats announced plans to reintroduce on February 28 the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, a bill that would limit employees’ right to secret ballots, greatly diminished opportunities for those who operate or wish to operate a franchise business, and completely eliminate many pathways to self employment and opportunities for gig […]

Washington, DC – On February 9, CDW filed an amicus brief before the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in Tesla v NLRB. Our brief calls on the court to reverse the Board’s 2022 decision essentially making all uniform and dress code policies in the workplace presumptively unlawful. The Board said if a policy effectively limits the wearing […]

Washington, DC – On February 8, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, along with six other employer organizations, filed an amicus brief before the NLRB on a case against Starbucks in which the Board’s General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo is attempting to eliminate employer speech rights in union organizing drives as well as employees’ right to secret ballots […]

Washington, DC – On February 2, CDW filed comments on the NLRB’s proposed rulemaking eliminating important worker protections related to union representation and elections. The Board is planning to rescind Trump-era policies that ensured workers the right to freely choose whether or not they want union representation and guaranteed workers a secret ballot election. The […]

Washington, DC – On December 7, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace filed comments in response to the NLRB’s notice of proposed rulemaking altering the joint employer standard under the NLRA. As our comments explain, the proposed rule will undermine collective bargaining and destabilize labor relations, is arbitrary and capricious, and diverges from the common […]

Washington, DC – On November 22, CDW requested the NLRB issue a 30-day extension to the comment period for the Board’s notice of proposed rulemaking making several changes to representation-case procedures. The current comment period runs until January 3, 2023, spanning three major US holidays. CDW asked the Board to provide the extension to ensure […]

Washington, DC – On November 8, 2022, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace filed an amicus brief before the Supreme Court in Glacier Northwest, calling on the Court to affirm its own precedent that “unions are not immune from state tort suits when they intentionally destroy an employer’s property.” Without such a ruling, employers will be left without […]

On November 1, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), along with the US Chamber of Commerce, Associated Builders and Contractors, Associated Builders and Contractors of CT, CT Business & Industry Association, CT Retail Merchants Association, National Association of Home Builders, National Federation of Independent Business, and National Retail Federation, filed a lawsuit challenging Connecticut’s recently […]

Washington, DC – On October 27, the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo, continued her assault on free speech rights with her complaint against Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. Abruzzo alleges Jassy violated the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by discussing in media interviews his opinion of the ongoing union effort to organize […]

CDW filed a letter with the NLRB requesting they extend the comment period for the joint employer rulemaking by an additional 60 days. As we explain in the letter, “Given the expansive nature of the proposed standard and the complexity of issues relating the standard’s impact on employers and other entities in different industries, employers […]

Washington, DC – Recent reports have indicated that labor organizations are once again demanding the Senate pass the woefully misguided Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act (H.R. 842, S. 420). The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen: “The PRO Act is a wishlist of radical labor policies that would upend […]

Washington, DC – On September 12, CDW sent a letter to the House Education and Labor Committee expressing serious concerns with the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act and recent activity and policies pursued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and its General Counsel, Jennifer Abruzzo. The following statement can be attributed to […]