The NLRB’s Starbucks situation gets weird

Presented by Reduce The Backlog

With help from Eleanor Mueller

QUICK FIX

IG INTRIGUE: The NLRB inspector general’s decision to open an inquiry into legal issues surrounding a subpoena recently issued to an agency staffer has unleashed a flurry of questions and roused suspicions in Congress.

David Berry on Wednesday informed congressional staff that he would begin looking into whether the subpoena issued to whistleblower Rebecca Dormon for information related to the NLRB’s handling of Starbucks unionization cases could run afoul of parts of either the National Labor Relations Act or the federal Antideficiency Act, which concerns proper use of agency resources.

Aides on both sides of the aisle said Berry’s move is highly unusual and lacks a clear-cut comparison, either in the NLRB or the federal government more broadly.

“This is not under their purview; it is not their responsibility to investigate whether the issuance of a congressional subpoena was proper,” said a Republican staffer on the Senate HELP committee, who was granted anonymity to speak freely about an ongoing probe.

Republicans have raised alarms about the potential for intimidation, though Berry has told multiple people that the whistleblower is not a focus.

“From my perspective, that’s really all I need to hear,” Dormon’s attorney, former Rep. Bradley Byrne, told POLITICO. Byrne also said that they’re already in the process of turning everything over to Congress.

Berry has told people the inquiry centers on whether the act of complying with the subpoena invites legal problems for the NLRB, according to three congressional staffers. Additionally Berry is also seeking a review from the Government Accountability Office, part of the legislative branch, according to people familiar with the matter.

Still committee aides aren’t quite sure what the result of the inspector general’s probe will be, though it has undoubtedly heaped GOP scrutiny onto Berry and the NLRB that is unlikely to dissipate anytime soon.

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On the Hill

FIRST IN SHIFT: Advocacy groups and organized labor will convene care workers for the first time in D.C. later this month as part of their renewed effort to spur federal investment in child care, home care, and more, they tell our Eleanor Mueller.

“Nothing like this has ever happened before — where workers in the care economy have come together to basically build power together,” National Domestic Workers Alliance President Ai-jen Poo said in an interview.

“It’s really about relaunching a campaign to make care a top policy priority in Washington,” Poo added. “We really think that it should be defining of the next few years, and that it should be bipartisan.”

NDWA is joining with SEIU, AFL-CIO, AFSCME, AFT, Care in Action, Community Change and Care Can’t Wait to host the event at the Salamander hotel on April 18 and 19. Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) as well as Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Nikema Williams (D-Ga.), Angie Craig (D-Minn.), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) are among those planning to attend.

Among the sessions: One “that will bring together workers with experts to really talk about: ‘How do we design economic policy that actually accounts for the essential role that care and care workplace?’” Poo said. Another will focus “on the ballot initiative in New Mexico, for example, that created universal child care.”

Enacting billions for child care, home care and paid leave gained momentum during the pandemic, when Covid-19 stretched each to a breaking point. President Joe Biden included the trio of priorities in an initial draft of his Build Back Better package — but congressional Democrats later sliced the funding amid opposition from moderates and Republicans. Since then, a Republican-controlled House has relegated the White House to the bully pulpit.

More hill news: “Bipartisan bill aims to increase penalties for US child labor violations,” from Reuters.

Around the Agencies

THE CASE AGAINST SU: More than 30 trade groups signed onto a letter opposing Julie Su’s nomination to lead the Labor Department, citing her pre-DOL record in California and several delicate labor negotiations in the works.

Those include ongoing talks involving the West Coast ports as well as upcoming negotiations between UPS and the Teamsters, “which, if mismanaged, could have devastating consequences for the U.S. economy,” the trade groups wrote to the heads of the Senate HELP committee.

But much of the letter focused on Su’s tenure as California’s top labor official and her support for a fast food-sector labor legislation, tightening the rules on independent contractor classification and handling of California’s unemployment benefit system.

“Confirming a labor secretary with a track record of putting roadblocks in the way of solving the current workforce shortage would negatively affect every American, every business (particularly small businesses), and the economy.”

The signatories include the National Retail Federation, National Restaurant Association International Franchise Association, Associated Builders and Contractors, among others.

More agency news: “Convincing Gen Z to work in the federal government,” from The Washington Post.

In the Workplace

PAY GAP GOES GLOBAL: The European Parliament on Thursday approved binding pay-transparency rules, placing pressure on employers to do more to fix gender-based disparities.

Under the new rules, employers will have to provide employees with access to information on how they determine salaries, broken down by gender, POLITICO Europe reports. It would bar employers from asking about an applicant’s previous salary.

The directive will have to be formally adopted later this spring and then countries will have three years to pass legislation adhering to it.

Meanwhile Australia passed a law of its own that requires companies of more than 100 employees to release gender pay gap data, starting early next year, Reuters reports.

More workplace news: “It’s the End of the Weekend as We Know It,” from The Wall Street Journal.

Unions

CHANGING OF THE GUARD: The top two officials at the Laborers’ International Union of North America are retiring at the end of the month after more than two decades in charge.

“Every day, every week, every month, every year that I stay here is one day, one week, one month, one year of somebody’s opportunity to chart the direction of organization,” LIUNA General President Terry O’Sullivan told Shift. “To me you can’t be a leader if you don’t have a bench, and you can’t have a bench if you don’t have the ability to continue to move forward.”

The announcement of O’Sullivan and Secretary-Treasurer Armand E. Sabitoni’s retirements, both effective April 30, came the same day as news that Joseph Sellers, the head of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, would be stepping down at the end of May.

It is just the latest in a series of leadership changes at prominent labor unions. Last month, Communications Workers of America President Chris Shelton said he would not seek reelection, and insurgent challengers toppled much of the United Auto Workers’ hierarchy — including the incumbent president.

More union news: “Tesla and Musk Lose Ruling on Factory Union Issues,” from The New York Times.

Immigration

REPRIEVE FOR H-1B SPOUSES: A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging the ability for spouses of H-1B visa holders to also work in the U.S., Bloomberg reports.

“US District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Tuesday issued a decision upholding the Obama-era rule under which the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has issued H-4 visas to the spouses of hundreds of thousands of H-1B workers in the US, 70% of whom hold science and engineering jobs in the tech sector. Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Google, Microsoft Corp. were among the companies who urged the judge to let the rule stand.”

More immigration news: “More Chinese migrants are coming to the U.S. on foot, officials say,” from NBC News.

What We're Reading

— “Do We Know How Many People Are Working From Home?,” from The New York Times.

— “The Fed’s Fight Against Inflation Could Cost Black Workers The Most,” from FiveThirtyEight.

— “Why Americans Care About Work So Much,” from The Atlantic.

— “Blizzard May Face Labor Board Action Over Union’s Allegations,” from Bloomberg.

— “Amazon Spent $14 Million On Anti-Union Consultants In 2022,” from HuffPost.

THAT’S ALL FOR SHIFT!