Most Americans aren’t aware of the obstacles workers face when trying to form unions—but they certainly wouldn’t expect the law or the agency set up to protect those rights to get in the way.  Unfortunately, workers rarely win when they end up at the National Labor Relations Board.

The NLRB administers and enforces provisions of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).  This federal law, signed in 1935, regulates relations between unions, employees, and employers in the private sector.  According to the NLRA, “encouraging the practice and procedures of collective bargaining” is the policy of the United State s. It provides that if workers decide to form a union, the union and employer are required to engage in good faith negotiations to establish terms and conditions of employment.

Unfortunately for workers, a huge chasm exists between what the law says, and how it is interpreted and enforced.  The NLRA is an outdated law  that does little to protect workers’ rights in modern times, compounded by its enforcement by an agency whose members are appointed by an anti-worker, anti-union administration.  Our broken labor law system allows employers to delay and even extinguish union organizing attempts, and does little to discourage the firing, harassment, and discrimination of workers who exercise their legal rights to form a union and collectively bargain.  By shining a spotlight on how the NLRB enforces this flawed law, we will showcase the injustices that occur day in and day out as workers seek to organize unions.