On June 4, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) sent a letter to the House Education & Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions for its hearing, “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the NLRB.” Drawing on an analysis from LRI Consulting Services of 190,743 unfair labor practice charges filed from 2016 to 2026, the letter documents how the enforcement and policy decisions of former General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and the former Board majority produced a historic case backlog that tripled the inventory of open employer charges, collapsed settlement rates, and drew repeated, pointed rebukes from federal appeals courts. CDW urged Congress to clear the backlog, confirm President Trump’s Board nominees, and reverse the Abruzzo-era decisions that continue to burden employers and employees alike.

The following statement can be attributed to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:

“Jennifer Abruzzo and the former Board majority broke the NLRB. Their radical, ideologically driven agenda sowed confusion across the regulated community, was repeatedly discredited by federal courts of appeals, and left behind a historic backlog that delayed relief for employees and saddled employers, especially small businesses, with years of legal uncertainty and excessive litigation costs.

“General Counsel Crystal Carey has moved decisively to undo that damage, but the recovery she has begun cannot succeed without a fully functioning Board. We urge the Committee to use its oversight authority to help the agency clear the backlog, restore stability, and begin overturning the most legally untenable precedents of the Abruzzo era.”