Letter To President Biden - February 23

February 23, 2021

The President

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

On January 20, 2021, your Inauguration speech emphasized national unity and the importance of all Americans working together. Minutes after you took your Oath of Office, however, you delivered an ultimatum to NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb to resign or be fired by 5:00 p.m. that day. Fortunately, Mr. Robb did not resign and is resisting your termination decision. The following day, on January 21^st, you continued with a similar demand that Mr. Robb’s Chief Deputy Counsel, Alice B. Stock, also resign or be fired by 5:00 p.m. that day. Ms. Stock refused to resign, and you proceeded to terminate her. These actions certainly were inconsistent with your call for unity, and we, the undersigned, state our strong opposition to such extreme decisions.

The removal of an incumbent General Counsel of the NLRB is an extraordinary breach of longstanding precedent that threatens to upend the independence of that office. No president since the establishment of the independent Office of General Counsel to the NLRB in 1947 has ever removed a sitting General Counsel before the end of their term. During this 73-year period, both Democratic and Republican presidents have considered unilateral removal of various NLRB general counsels and have properly concluded that such an action was not a good decision from both a legal and policy perspective. Indeed, the longstanding precedent has been to permit general counsels to complete their term even if it continues into the term of a different political party occupying the White House. A recent example of this was the decision to permit former Democratic NLRB General Counsel Richard Griffin to serve the remainder of his term 10 months into the Trump presidency, notwithstanding General Counsel Griffin’s consistent pattern of taking positions contrary to the administration’s position on various labor law issues.  

When Congress passed the Taft-Hartley Amendments to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in 1947 to create the independent Office of General Counsel, it explicitly specified that the term of the General Counsel would last for four years. As with other term appointments, the purpose of establishing a set duration for the General Counsel’s term was to ensure that the presidentially-nominated and Senate-confirmed individual holding the office would be free from undue political influence or interference. The General Counsel is integral to the adjudication of cases under the National Labor Relations Act. He or she is expected to enforce such duties to the best of his or her ability, without regard to the political or policy preferences of any given administration. Your extreme and unprecedented actions of firing Mr. Robb and Ms. Stock—reportedly due to pressure from organized labor leaders—suggest a troubling notion to the contrary. If these actions are allowed to stand, they will no doubt politicize enforcement and undermine the effectiveness and credibility of the NLRB now and in the future. 

We, therefore, request that you reconsider your decision to remove Mr. Robb and Ms. Stock. We further request that you immediately reinstate Mr. Robb to his lawfully-held General Counsel position and allow him to complete his term which expires on November 16, 2021. We also request that you immediately reinstate Ms. Stock to her Deputy General Counsel position. 

Respectfully,

American Pyrotechnics Association

American Trucking Associations

Associated Builders and Contractors

Associated General Contractors

Commercial Vehicle Solutions Network

Foodservice Equipment Distributors Association

Franchise Business Services

Future Workplace Policy Council

Georgia Motor Trucking Association

HR Policy Association

Independent Bakers Association

Independent Electrical Contractors (IEC)

International Foodservice Distributors Association

International Franchise Association

National Association of Flour Distributors

National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors

National Franchisee Association

National Grocers Association

National Marine Distributors Association

National Ready Mixed Concrete Association

National Restaurant Association

NorthAmerican Transportation Association, Inc.

Outdoor Power Equipment and Engine Service Association

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council

Truck Renting and Leasing Association

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Wood Component Manufacturers Association

Workplace Policy Institute