On February 11, Catherine A. Rein Professor of Law Cynthia Estlund testified before the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions. The hearing, titled "Emerging Trends at the National Labor Relations Board," was called to discuss how recent actions taken by the NLRB are affecting job creation.
“Numerous actions by the board suggest it’s eager to tilt the playing field in favor of powerful special interests against the interests of rank-and-file workers.” said Congressman David P. Roe (TN), chairman of the subcommittee in his opening statement.
In his opening remarks, subcommittee member Robert Edwards (N.J.) questioned the need for a hearing on the NLRB and said that the Committee's time would be better spent focusing on unemployment. Estlund’s testimony challenged whether the NLRB has truly moved in a ‘radical’ direction. "In my view, these recent proposals and actions are modest by any measure, and well within both the boundaries of the Board's statutory authority and the traditional scope within which past Boards and general counsels have exercised that authority." Estlund went on to say, "In short, nothing that the Board is doing or has proposed to do will work a major change in the labor relations landscape."
Watch the full hearing at the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee’s website.
Posted February 16, 2011
