CDW Chair: “They cannot and will not serve as neutral arbiters of the law.”

Washington, D.C. – The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), composed of more than 600 major business organizations representing millions of businesses employing tens of millions of workers nationwide, released the following statement today ahead of the nomination hearings this week of former union officials, David Prouty and Gwynne Wilcox, to become members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB):

The following statement is attributable to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:

“David Prouty and Gwynne Wilcox, having represented some of the largest unions and their campaigns for almost the entirety of their careers, would have glaring conflicts of interest if confirmed as members of the NLRB.

“Based on their past union employment and activities, David Prouty and Gwynne Wilcox may not be able to fairly adjudicate cases and may have predetermined notions on policy outcomes prior to analyzing the case or circumstances in question.

“If confirmed, both Wilcox and Prouty will face conflicts of interest based on their previous employment histories, the organizations they have represented, and the litigation and issues they have previously supported. They cannot and will not serve as neutral arbiters of the law.

“Due to the NLRB’s back and forth over its recusal policies, these nominees will create additional uncertainty for the Board and all stakeholders under their jurisdiction.

“We strongly urge Congress to reject Prouty and Wilcox’s nominations for the sake of our country’s small businesses and workers.”

Click here for more information on the negative impacts of the PRO Act.

 

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About The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace

CDW is a broad-based coalition of hundreds of organizations representing hundreds of thousands of employers and millions of employees in various industries across the country concerned with a long-standing effort by some in the labor movement to make radical changes to the National Labor Relations Act without regard to the severely negative impact they would have on employees, employers, and the economy. CDW was originally formed in 2005 in opposition to the so-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) – a bill similar to the PRO Act – that would have stripped employees of the right to secret ballots in union representation elections and allowed arbitrators to set contract terms regardless of the consequence to workers or businesses.

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