Sen. Bill Cassidy
U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) alleges that the head of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has shown “a troubling pattern of politically motivated decision-making” that favors unions and undermines the legitimacy and fairness of the NLRB’s election system.
“I write to express my concerns about this trend, and to demand answers regarding the board’s failure to carry out apolitical, fair, and consistent elections during your tenure as chair of the NLRB,” wrote Sen. Cassidy in a July 15 letter sent to NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran. “These reports and allegations of repeated impropriety within NLRB elections are deeply concerning.”
Sen. Cassidy pointed out that since McFerran became chair in 2021, the NLRB has routinely ignored reports and findings — including from its own Office of Inspector General (OIG) — that its election processes are tainted by political interference, inconsistent administration, and “nonsensical decisions” that are contrary to existing law.
The NLRB, which is statutorily charged with enforcing the National Labor Relations Act without favor to unions, employers, or workers, he wrote, has been uninterested in neutrality.
“Instead, it has spent three years issuing decisions and conducting elections in a way that ensure big labor unions get a leg up in the process,” wrote the senator.
On June 6, for example, the NLRB OIG released a report detailing “serious issues” in the NLRB’s mail ballot election system, including the board’s failure to ensure that all employees received a ballot in a union election, according to Sen. Cassidy’s letter.
OIG found that 49 percent of audited elections had instances of at least one voter not receiving a ballot.
“This gross mismanagement undermines the union election process, preventing all workers from having a voice on whether they want their workplace to be unionized,” he wrote. “This trend of politicized mismanagement and lopsided enforcement is unacceptable.”
The senator called on McFerran to answer several questions by July 30, including what actions she or the NLRB have taken to ensure that all NLRB election processes, including the mail ballot election process, are administered so that all voters receive and are able to timely return their ballot, among several others.