Dear Chairman Sanders, Ranking Member Cassidy, and Members of the Committee:
On behalf of the AFL-CIO, representing 12.5 million workers and 60 affiliate unions, I
urge you to confirm Lauren McFerran, who has been renominated as Chair of the National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB), as part of a bipartisan package with Joshua Ditelberg who would be
filling an open seat. Chair McFerran has been confirmed twice before with bipartisan support
and has proven the Senate’s good judgment with her expertise, integrity, and fair-mindedness in
chairing the Board. A true public servant with decades of experience as a labor lawyer, including
as Chief Labor Counsel for the Senate HELP Committee, she has a deep understanding and
commitment to the statute she is charged with administering and to the agency she chairs. Under
her tenure at the Board, she has worked to uphold and effectuate the rights promised by the
National Labor Relations Act while treating all parties fairly.
The NLRB is the sole venue whereby most private sector workers’ rights to organize and
collectively bargain are enforced. With workers turning to the Board for representation elections
and the enforcement of their rights in increasing numbers, the agency’s seats need to be filled to
tackle this increasing workload. And it is vital that the Board is composed of individuals like
Chair McFerran who believe in its mission.
We strongly urge you to confirm Chair McFerran for another term.
Sincerely,
Jody Calemine
Director, Government Affairs