Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief opposing a legal challenge that, if successful, would severely limit the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) ability to carry out its responsibility to protect American workers’ rights to unionize.
AG Campbell and the coalition filed the brief today with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in the case of YAPP USA Automotive Systems Inc. v. National Labor Relations Board. A lawsuit filed by YAPP USA Automotive Systems Inc. (YAPP) seeks to stop the NLRB from addressing allegations YAPP engaged in unfair labor practices prohibited by federal law, arguing the NLRB’s structure and administrative proceedings are unconstitutional. AG Campbell and the coalition are urging the court to deny YAPP’s request for an injunction, which would hamstring the NLRB’s ability to protect workers’ right to collectively bargain for better wages and improved working conditions.
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for administering the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which has guaranteed American workers the right to unionize, bargain for better wages and working conditions, and engage in activities like strikes and pickets since 1935. Under the law, the NLRB adjudicates labor disputes and certifies the results of union elections. The board is also responsible for administering the NLRA uniformly across the country.
According to federal statutes, board members and administrative law judges can be removed from office only for specific reasons, such as inefficiency in office. In its lawsuit, YAPP argues that these removal protections are unconstitutional and that the court should prevent the NLRB from conducting any proceedings while they remain in effect. The Trump Administration has declined to defend the constitutionality of the removal protections.
AG Campbell and the coalition’s brief explains that the removal protections are constitutional, that YAPP is not entitled to relief, and that pausing the NLRB’s operations would seriously harm the public that relies on the board’s administration of the NLRA. Collective bargaining helps workers obtain better wages, benefits, and working conditions. Unions also help nonmembers by creating competition for workers that boosts wages. The NLRA also benefits the broader economy by decreasing inequality and stabilizing labor-management relations.
This matter is representative of AG Campbell’s commitment to champion workers’ rights and protections. On Feb. 28, AG Campbell filed an amicus brief in support of NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox after President Donald Trump purported to dismiss her in the middle of her five-year term, leaving just two members remaining on the five-member board. In September, AG Campbell released the AGO’s annual Labor Day Report, which highlights the Fair Labor Division's work to protect employees over the past fiscal year, including assessing more than $31.5 million in restitution for unpaid wages and penalties.
Workers in Massachusetts who believe their workplace rights have been violated are encouraged to file a complaint with the AGO’s Fair Labor Division at mass.gov/ago/fld. For more information about the state’s employment laws, workers may call the AGO’s Fair Labor Hotline at (617) 727-3465 or visit mass.gov/ago/fairlabor for information available in multiple languages.
Joining Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell in submitting this brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.
Original source can be found here.