Convening for a Pro-Worker Future:

National Labor Relations Board Social Media Toolkit

Last updated April 26, 2023

Overview

Whether we are Black or white, young or old, in big cities or small towns, we work hard for our families and our future. Everyone deserves safe jobs, family-sustaining wages, and time to spend with our loved ones. But far too many of us are still living paycheck to paycheck while greedy corporations try to divide us, hoping we’ll look the other way while they steal the profits from our hard work. By joining together in a union and putting power in workers’ hands, every one of us can care for our families, earn a fair return on our work, and make our voices heard and our rights respected. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) protects workers’ rights under federal labor laws—but funding for the NLRB has not kept pace with the agency’s expanding workload, threatening its ability to fulfill its mission and uphold workers’ rights.  

The Congressional Progressive Caucus Center (CPCC) and the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) put together the following social media tool kit to raise public awareness of the NLRB’s function and the impact it has on workers.

We encourage you to use this tool kit on May Day (Monday, May 1, 2023) and tweet at 11AM Eastern Time.  Please feel free to share one of the tweets, facts, or story below, or share your own story to highlight how the NLRB upholds workers’ rights. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Ross Brennan at ross@progressivecaucuscenter.org  


What Does the NLRB Do?

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is a small, independent federal agency that protects workers’ rights to organize and form unions.

  • The NLRB enforces the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the nation’s fundamental labor law that guarantees most private-sector workers’ rights to unionize and collectively bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions.

  • The NLRB is responsible for conducting union elections—also known as representation cases—to determine if workers wish to be represented by a union. The NLRB also investigates and charges employers who violate federal labor laws. Those violations—also known as unfair labor practices (ULP)—include but are not limited to firing employees for organizing a union, retaliating against workers for filing complaints against management, or refusing to bargain with an established union.


Key Facts and Figures

Accounting for ULP and representation cases, the NLRB’s workload increased by 23 percent in Fiscal Year 2022 compared to the previous year. (source)

  • During the first six months of Fiscal Year 2023, ULP charges filed across the NLRB’s 48 field offices have increased by 16 percent. (source)

  • Fiscal Year 2022 saw the highest number of petitions to hold union elections since 2016, and the highest single-year increase in ULPs and workers seeking to be represented by a union since 1979. (source)

  • In the last six months, workers filed almost 400 ULPs against Amazon, Starbucks, and Apple. (source)

  • In December, Congress gave the NLRB an additional $25 million for Fiscal Year 2023, ending a hiring freeze, preventing furloughs, and allowing the NLRB to backfill some critical staff vacancies. However, the Agency remains understaffed after almost a decade of flat funding. In the past two decades, staffing in Field Offices has shrunk by 50 percent despite NLRB’s expanding workload. (source)

  • The President’s Budget requests $376 million for the NLRB in FY24. This represents a $57 million increase from the President's FY23 budget request of $319 million and a $77 million increase from the NLRB’s FY23 allocation from Congress.


Share Tweets about the NLRB's Importance:

Sample Tweets and Hashtags

Workers' rights are human rights. The NLRB makes sure big business respects our right to form a union and bargain collectively. #FairLaborPracticesNow #WorkersRights

Despite approval of labor unions at the highest point since 1965, corporations and the wealthy continue to break the law to stop workers from bargaining collectively. A strong, independent NLRB holds employers accountable. #FairLaborPracticesNow #WorkersRights

The National Labor Relations Board safeguards workers' rights to organize and bargain collectively. A strong, independent NLRB protects us from exploitation and unfair wages. #FairLaborPracticesNow #WorkersRights

Workers filed nearly 400 charges against @amazon, @starbucks, and @apple for breaking labor laws in the last six months alone. The @nlrb holds employers accountable for violating workers’ rights! #FairLaborPracticesNow #WorkersRights

Share an Infographic with Statistics on the NLRB's Impact:

Use a visual to help spread the word about how the NLRB supports workers' rights and improves labor practices.

 
 

Download Graphics (Instagram versions available too)


Highlight the NLRB's Impact on Workers:

Share your own story about a worker who has benefitted from the NLRB's protections, and explain how their life has improved as a result. Use hashtags like #WorkersRights and #FairLaborPracticesNow to reach a wider audience.

Share this story from a United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) member. The CPCC’s Twitter account (@WeBuildProgress) will Tweet a thread including Pamela’s story below at 11 AM ET on Monday, May 1:

 
 

Download Graphics (Instagram version available)