Heidi Alexander: “today we are voting on the nomination of Peter Robb for general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, NLRB. As…”

“today we are voting on the nomination of Peter Robb for general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, NLRB. As general counsel, Mr. Robb will have the important job of helping workers who feel their right to organize collectively has been violated or assisting employers when some of their employees want to form a union. Mr. Robb will have an opportunity to help restore the Board to the role of a neutral umpire in labor disputes. While partisanship at the Board did not start under the previous administration, it became far worse. When the Board is too partisan, it creates instability in our Nation's workplaces and creates confusion for employers, employees, and unions. For example, in 2015, at the previous general counsel's urging, an NLRB decision dramatically expanded ``joint employer'' liability, and this increased liability makes it much more likely a company will find it more practical to own and operate its stores, taking away the opportunity for a worker to own and run their own franchise. This decision was the biggest attack on the opportunity for small business men and women to make their way into the middle class that anyone has seen in a long time, threatening to destroy the American Dream for owners of the Nation's 780,000 franchise locations. Or consider the previous general counsel's aggressive application of the National Labor Relations Act to protect certain employees' belligerent, threatening, and discriminatory conduct.…”