Issued June 26, 2014
WASHINGTON, DC - After the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in the case of Noel Canning v. NLRB, Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), issued the following statement:
In the wake of today's U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Noel Canning case, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) should act quickly to rehear the cases that were remanded by the Court.
"However, given the Senate minority's past obstructionism on executive appointments, President Obama showed strong leadership by appointing three members to the NLRB so that it could do its job protecting the rights of American workers.
"Fortunately, since these recess appointments were made, the Senate filibuster rules were reformed and we now have a fully-functioning NLRB with all members confirmed by the U.S. Senate. It is essential to have a fully-functioning NLRB consisting of members committed to enforcing the rights of workers to improve their lives. In these times of increasing economic instability, it is critical that workers can turn to the NLRB to protect their rights to speak up and take collective action to improve their wages and working conditions. The NLRB also protects workers' ability to stand up together and fight income inequality.
"As a result of the Court's decision to nullify these recess appointments, the NLRB must reconsider scores of cases still pending in Circuit Courts that will be remanded back to the agency. We hope the NLRB will re-issue decisions in these cases quickly for the sake of the working families affected."