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Workers' Rights Threatened

A Discussion of the Pending National Labor Relations Board Cases

September 22, 2006, 9:00am – 10:30am

About This Event


This fall, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will decide on a trio of cases commonly known as the “Kentucky River” cases. The NLRB’s decision could broaden the definition of “supervisor” to include anyone who assigns or directs work of others, including those who are not officially part of management. According to a July report from the Economic Policy Institute, this broad expansion of the definition could strip as many as eight million private sector workers of their remaining federal labor law protections to form unions and bargain collectively.

Workers in nearly every occupation and industry are at risk of being deemed “supervisors” by the NLRB. For example, EPI finds that 843,000 registered nurses—more than one-third of all the private sector RNs in the country—may be stripped of federal labor law protections. Nearly 400,000 computer systems analysts—more than one in four—could also lose coverage.

Friday, September 22, 2006
Program: 9:00 A.M. to 10:30 A.M.
Light Breakfast Will Be Served
Admission is free

Center for American Progress
1333 H Street NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Map and Directions

Nearest Metro: Blue/Orange Line to McPherson Square or Red Line to Metro Center

Join us for a lively conversation that explores the threat to workers' rights posed by the “Kentucky River” cases.

Keynote Speaker:

The Honorable Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)

Featured Speakers:

Ross Eisenbrey, Vice President and Policy Director, Economic Policy Institute
Fred Feinstein, Visiting Professor and Senior Fellow in the Office of Executive Programs, University of Maryland
Sarah Fox, Counsel, Bredhoff & Kaiser, PLLC, Former Member, National Labor Relations Board
Cheryl Johnson, R.N., President of United American Nurses, AFL-CIO

Moderated by:
Cassandra Butts, Senior Vice President for Domestic Policy, Center for American Progress

Location

Center for American Progress
1333 H St. NW
Washington, DC 20005

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Rosa DeLauro represents Connecticut’s Third District. She was first elected to Congress in 1990 and is currently serving her eighth term. She sits on the House Appropriations Committee, and serves as ranking member of the Agriculture Subcommittee and the Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Subcommittee. She also serves on the House Budget Committee, and was elected and re-elected Assistant to the Democratic Leader by her colleagues in 1999 and 2000.

During her tenure in Congress, DeLauro has taken a special interest in health care issues, leading the fight for affordable, quality health care. Children and education have also been a top priority for the Congresswoman, as she has worked for legislation making child care more affordable and improving public education by reducing class size and modernizing public schools. In February 2005, DeLauro was appointed ranking member of the House Appropriations Agriculture Subcommittee and charged with overseeing what she considers to be the core responsibilities of our federal government. Over the course of her career, Congresswoman DeLauro has been recognized by a host of organizations for her dedication and service, including the Connecticut Job Corp Center and Latin American Women's Association of Connecticut. Prior to her election to the House of Representatives, Rosa DeLauro served as Executive Director of EMILY'S List, a national organization dedicated to increasing the number of women in elected office. DeLauro is a graduate of Marymount College, where she received her B.A. with honors. She earned her Masters in International Politics from Columbia University, and studied at the London School of Economics.

Ross Eisenbrey is a lawyer and former commissioner of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. He worked for many years as a staff attorney in the House of Representatives, as legislative director for Rep. William Ford, and as a committee counsel in the U.S. Senate. He served as policy director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 1999 until 2001. He is a graduate of Middlebury College and the University of Michigan Law school.

Fred Feinstein is a Visiting Professor and Senior Fellow at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, Office of Executive Programs. He conducts research, writes on labor issues, and develops executive education programs on subjects such as the challenges facing unions in new work environments. Mr. Feinstein served as General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) until 1999 after being nominated and confirmed in 1994. During his tenure as General Counsel, Feinstein was recognized for efforts to improve the administration of the National Labor Relations Act and received four "Hammer Awards" for innovations in the operations of the Office of General Counsel. From 1977 to 1994, Mr. Feinstein served as Counsel, Staff Director, and Chief Counsel to the Subcommittee on Labor-Management Relations of the U.S. House of Representatives. Mr. Feinstein received his BA in political science, with high honors, from Swarthmore College and his JD with honors from Rutgers Law School.

Sarah Fox is an Of Counsel for Bredhoff & Kaiser, PLLC, and former member of the National Labor Relations Board. Before the NLRB, she served as Majority Chief Labor Counsel to the Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee from 1990-1994, and Minority Chief Labor Counsel from 1995-1996. From 1982 to 1990, she was counsel to the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen. A native of Buffalo, New York, Ms. Fox was a reporter for the Buffalo Courier-Express from 1973-1979. She received her B.A. from Yale University and her J.D. from Harvard Law School.

Cheryl Johnson, R.N. is a nurse and labor leader with more than 30 years experience who has led the fight for greater respect and safer working conditions for all staff nurses. Johnson has served as a national voice against dangerous mandatory overtime requirements and unsafe levels of hospital staffing that have led to nursing shortages which rapidly approach crisis proportions. In addition to serving as president of the United American Nurses, AFL-CIO, and spokeswoman for thousands of staff nurses across the country, Johnson continues her work as a critical care nurse at the University of Michigan Health Systems in Ann Arbor, Mich. As the highest-ranking elected leader of the nation's largest RN union, Johnson brings to light the concerns and ideas of more than 100,000 nurses represented by UAN and its 27 state nurses associations. Johnson also serves on the AFL-CIO Executive Council, the only RN to serve on this body. In 2005, she was named a vice president for the Coalition of Labor Union Women.

Cassandra Butts is Senior Vice President for Domestic Policy. Prior to joining The Center for American Progress, she was a senior advisor to Representative Richard A. Gephardt and volunteered as the policy director on his 2004 presidential campaign. Cassandra coordinated the formulation of policy on Rep. Gephardt's presidential campaign that included a universal health care plan and economic development proposals. Prior to her service with Rep. Gephardt, Cassandra was an Assistant Counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, where she worked on civil rights policy and litigated voting rights and school desegregation cases. She also served as Legislative Counsel to Senator Harris L. Wofford of Pennsylvania. Cassandra is a recipient of the Georgetown Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship and the Stennis Congressional Staff Fellowship. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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