Jennifer Abruzzo | |
---|---|
General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board | |
Assumed office July 22, 2021 | |
President | Joe Biden |
Preceded by | Peter B. Robb |
Personal details | |
Born | Jennifer Ann Abruzzo |
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Binghamton University Stony Brook University (BS) University of Miami (JD) |
Jennifer Ann Abruzzo [1] is an American attorney and government official who serves as General Counsel at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). She previously was Special Counsel for Strategic Initiatives for Communications Workers of America (CWA),the largest media and communications union in the United States. She had previously worked for the NLRB for over 20 years in a number of positions,including Deputy General Counsel and Acting General Counsel. [2]
A native of Queens,New York City,Abruzzo was raised in a "large Roman Catholic family". Abruzzo began her nearly 23-year career at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) as a field attorney in Miami,eventually rising to the position of Deputy General Counsel during the Obama administration. [3] Abruzzo later served as acting general counsel in advance of the confirmation of Peter B. Robb to the position. [4]
Abruzzo became special counsel for strategic initiatives at Communications Workers of America (CWA) in February 2018. [4] In 2019,the AFL–CIO recommended Abruzzo for a vacant Democratic seat on the NLRB. [5] During the presidential transition of Joe Biden,she served as an advisor to the President-elect on matters of labor policy. [6]
President Joe Biden nominated Jennifer Abruzzo to become the General Counsel of the NLRB on February 17,2021 after firing the previous General Counsel,Peter B. Robb. [7] [8] Following her confirmation hearing, [9] Abruzzo was confirmed by the Senate in a 51-50 vote,with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans voting against,and Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the tie in favor of Abruzzo's confirmation. [10] [11] She is the second woman to ever serve as NLRB general counsel,after Rosemary Collyer. [12]
The confirmation of Abruzzo received support from unions,and she is expected to improve the investigative and enforcement capacity of NLRB lawyers by reversing budget cuts and staffing reductions implemented during the tenure of her predecessor, [10] as well as ratify actions taken by acting general counsel Peter Sung Ohr after Robb was fired. [13]
As General Counsel Abruzzo issued a memo declaring that college athletes have the right to organize. [14] In office,Abruzzo has pushed for the NLRB to protect immigrants' rights to organize,regardless of their immigration status. [3] In October 2021,Abruzzo stated that employees who participated in Black Lives Matter protests were protected under federal labor law. [15] The success of the Amazon Labor Union organizing drive at the company's JFK8 facility in Staten Island,New York has been attributed in part to Abruzzo's leadership at the NLRB. [16]
In April 2022,Abruzzo issued a memorandum calling for the NLRB to find captive audience meetings unlawful. [17] [18] [19]
General Counsel Abruzzo notified Regional Offices in May of 2023 that non-compete clauses should generally be considered unlawful. [20]
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935,the NLRB has the authority to supervise elections for labor union representation and to investigate and remedy unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of protected concerted activity.
The Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) is an independent agency of the United States government that governs labor relations between the federal government and its employees.
Peter N. Kirsanow is a partner with the law firm of Benesch,Friedlander,Coplan &Aronoff,working within its Labor &Employment Practice Group in Cleveland,Ohio. He is a black civil-rights commissioner and a member of the United States Commission on Civil Rights,serving his fourth consecutive 6-year term,which he was reappointed to by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer in December 2019. He is the longest-serving member among the current commission. He was previously a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from January 2006 to January 2008.
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Guy Otto Farmer was an American lawyer and civil servant. He was Chairman of the United States National Labor Relations Board from July 1953 to August 1955. After leaving government service,he represented the Bituminous Coal Operators Association,the collective bargaining arm of the bituminous coal mining industry in the United States.
NLRB v. SW General,Inc.,580 U.S. ___ (2017),was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that a person who has been nominated by the President of the United States for a position cannot hold the same job on an acting basis while awaiting Senate confirmation.
Peter Barr Robb is an American lawyer who was the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). He was appointed to the position by President Donald Trump. He was fired by President Joe Biden on January 20,2021,after he refused to resign. Both in and out of government,Robb has advanced pro-business and anti-labor causes.
John F. Ring is a corporate lawyer and former government official. Ring was a member of the National Labor Relations Board from 2018 to 2022,serving as chair from 2018 to 2021. He was formerly co-chair of the labor and employment law practice at Morgan,Lewis &Bockius,a pro-management law firm,where his practice included representing employers in collective bargaining,labor contracts,multi-employer benefit funds,and corporate restructurings.
Sharon Block is an American attorney,government official,labor policy advisor and law professor who served during the Biden Administration as the Associate Administrator delegated the duties of the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs from January 20,2021 to February 1,2022. During the Obama Administration,Block served on the National Labor Relations Board and in the United States Department of Labor and the White House. She currently serves as a Professor of Practice and the executive director of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School.
Lauren McFerran is an American lawyer and government official who is a member and chairman of the National Labor Relations Board. She is one of three Democrats currently serving on the board. Prior to serving on the board,she worked as a law clerk,in private practice,and as a labor lawyer for the Senate Committee on Health,Education,Labor,and Pensions.
Jennifer Sung is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
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David M. Prouty is an American attorney currently serving as a member of the National Labor Relations Board since August 2021.
A captive audience meeting is a mandatory meeting during working hours,organized by an employer with the purpose of discouraging employees from organizing or joining a labor union. It is considered a union busting tactic. Critics allege that captive audience meetings are used to intimidate workers and spread misinformation;employees can be fired for failing to participate in the meeting or for asking questions. In the United States,the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (NLRA) broadly permits captive audience meetings but does not allow them to be held in the final 24 hours prior to a union election. Employers defend the practice as protected free speech;critics view the practice as an infringement on workers' rights not to listen.