What Happens to the NLRB If the Government Shuts Down? (w/ Michael Bilik & Colton Puckett)

Working People

It is looking increasingly likely that Congressional Republicans will bring the federal government to a shutdown starting this weekend. "U.S. government services would be disrupted and hundreds of thousands of federal workers would be furloughed without pay if Congress fails to provide funding for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1," Reuters reports. "Workers deemed essential would remain on the job, but without pay." Among the many agencies that will be furloughing workers in the event of a shutdown is the National Labor Relations Board. Not only will unionized staff workers at the NLRB itself be hurt by the government shutdown—after years of enduring chronic and politically motivated underfunding and understaffing—but so, too, will working people around the country who depend on the NLRB to enforce labor law, investigate Unfair Labor Practice charges, manage union elections, etc. In this urgent mini-cast, we talk with Michael Bilik and Colton Puckett, legislative co-chairs of the National Labor Relations Board Union and full-time NLRB staff workers, about the daily work NLRB staff do, the role that work plays in the broader labor movement, and what it will mean for workers if the government shuts down and nearly all of NLRB staff are furloughed.

Additional links/info below…

• National Labor Relations Board Union website, Twitter/X page, and Instagram
• Jacob Bogage, Marianna Sotomayor, & Jeff Stein, The Washington Post, "Shutdown Looks More Likely, as House GOP Leaders reject Senate Plan"
• Reuters, "US Government Shutdown: What Is It and Who Would Be Affected?"
• Gay Semel, Labor Notes, "Viewpoint: The NLRB is Underfunded and Understaffed—And That’s a Big Threat to the Current Organizing Wave"
• Li Zhou, Vox, "The Republican vs. Republican Feud behind the Government Shutdown Fight, Explained"
• Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "Congressional Staffers Are Demanding the Senate Let Them Unionize"

Permanent links below...

• Working People Patreon page
• Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show!
• Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

• Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song