LANSING – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has 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 of protecting American workers’ rights to unionize.
Attorney General Nessel and the coalition filed the brief (PDF) yesterday 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. YAPP USA Automotive Systems Inc. is an auto parts manufacturer charged by the NLRB for engaging in alleged unfair labor practices, including interfering with, restraining, and coercing employees in the exercise of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). YAPP’s lawsuit seeks to stop the NLRB’s administrative proceedings, arguing the NLRB’s structure and administrative proceedings are unconstitutional. Attorney General Nessel 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’ rights to collectively bargain for better wages and improved working conditions.
“The NLRB plays an important role in ensuring workers can collectively bargain for fair wages, safe workplaces, and better benefits,” Nessel said. “Undermining the NLRB would have a devastating impact on Michigan’s workforce, where unions have long fought for better conditions. I am proud to stand with my colleagues in defending the NLRB’s ability to protect workers and make sure their voices are heard.”
The NLRB is the federal agency responsible for administering the NLRA, which guarantees American workers the right to unionize, bargain for better wages and working conditions, and engage in activities like strikes and pickets. Under the law, the NLRB investigates violations of labor laws, adjudicates labor disputes, certifies the results of union elections, helps improve wages and working conditions, and reduces industrial inequality while establishing uniform regulations nationwide.
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.
The brief filed by Attorney General Nessel and the coalition explains 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 boosts the broader economy by decreasing inequality and stabilizing labor-management relations.
The brief is part of Attorney General Nessel’s efforts to protect workers’ rights and preserve the NLRB. On Feb. 28, Attorney General Nessel filed a brief in support of a challenge to President Trump’s unlawful attempt to remove NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox in the middle of her five-year term. Attorney General Nessel was part of a coalition urging the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to grant Wilcox’s motion for summary judgement and to order the defendants in that case to allow her to continue performing her responsibilities as an NLRB member.
Joining Attorney General Nessel in submitting this brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.
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