Not only does something called the Bird Union Communications Workers of America Local 1180 exist, but it could be the entity that fundamentally changes how labor law is enforced in the United States.
Created by the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, the National Labor Relations Board is charged with the supervision of union elections and the investigation of unfair labor practices across the country. However, unlike environmental laws, when the NLRB attempts to enforce an alleged labor law violation, it does not go to federal court as the Environmental Protection Agency does.
Instead, NLRB complaints are heard by NLRB employees called administrative law judges. Administrative law judges are appointed by the president like real federal judges, but they cannot be impeached by Congress or removed by the president as with other executive branch employees. This gives them a unique constitutional status that has become increasingly questioned by the Supreme Court.
This spring, the Supreme Court held in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy that a defendant charged with securities fraud by the SEC deserved a jury trial instead of a hearing in front of an SEC administrative law judge. The defendant also argued that SEC administrative law judges were unconstitutional since they could not be removed by the president, but the Supreme Court did not reach that matter since it determined the defendant’s right to a jury trial was sufficient for his conviction to be overturned.
By sidestepping the removal matter, the Supreme Court left the constitutional status of administrative law judges in limbo.
Enter the Bird Union Communications Workers of America Local 1180, which is in contract negotiations with the National Audubon Society. From its beginning, the Audubon Society has been deeply involved in lobbying Congress, with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 being one of its first major conservation victories.
Despite the fact that cats, and not climate change, have long been the No. 1 killer of birds in America, the Audubon Society has since branched out into other environmental issues and now has a staff of over 600 and annual revenues of over $150 million.
In 2021, some members of Communications Workers of America convinced some Audubon Society employees to form a union, and after the union was certified by the NLRB, the Audubon Society and the Communications Workers were in negotiations for a contract. No deal has been made yet.
In 2022, the union filed a complaint against the Audubon Society, and the NLRB investigated and then filed a complaint against the Audubon Society, a complaint that will be heard by an NLRB administrative law judge.
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In its response to the Communications Workers’ complaint, the Audubon Society argued that just like the SEC administrative law judges, the NLRB administrative law judges are unconstitutional.
Now, this case has a long way to go. It still has to be decided by the NLRB administrative law judge and the full NLRB members and then appealed to federal court. But considering the skepticism the Supreme Court has shown to unaccountable federal agencies, the Bird Union could be the union that brings down the NLRB.