The National Labor Relations Board
Summary
The only federal forum for private-sector labor-rights disputes -- there is no private right of action under the Act -- obligated $299.2 million and 1,213 staff to process 22,497 cases in FY2025, about 88 cents per U.S. resident, even as its FY2027 budget request would trim staffing to 1,149 FTE, 64 fewer than FY2025's actual level.
What is this organization?
What does it do?
In FY2025 the Agency's Regional Offices took in 22,497 cases -- 19,754 unfair-labor-practice charges and 2,743 representation petitions⧉ seeking union elections, and Regional Directors issued 242 decisions. Administrative Law Judges closed 120 hearings and issued 148 decisions⧉, while the Board issued 86 contested decisions⧉, 42 of which needed a federal court to enforce. Most disputes never reach that stage: more than 96.8 percent of meritorious unfair-labor-practice cases were settled by agreement in FY2025⧉, without a full hearing.
What does it cost to run — money and people?
NLRB obligated $299.2 million and staffed 1,213 full-time employees in FY2025⧉ -- about 88 cents per U.S. resident, against the Census Bureau's 341.8 million residents⧉ as of July 2025. Congress's FY2026 enacted budget cuts that to $294.2 million and 1,151 FTE⧉; the Agency's own FY2027 request trims further to $285.5 million and 1,149 FTE⧉, a reduction it says it reached through Deferred Resignation Program and early-retirement departures rather than a formal reduction in force⧉.
View data as table
| Casehandling (ULP + representation cases) | 171 | 873 FTE -- 57.2% of FY2025 obligations |
|---|---|---|
| Mission support (IT, rent, HR, finance) | 92.8 | 199 FTE -- 31.0% of FY2025 obligations |
| Board adjudication | 23.9 | 97 FTE -- 8.0% of FY2025 obligations |
| Administrative Law Judges | 10 | 39 FTE -- 3.3% of FY2025 obligations |
| Inspector General | 1.5 | 5 FTE -- 0.5% of FY2025 obligations |
Why is it good for society?
There is no private right of action under the NLRA -- the Agency is the only recourse for an employee, employer, or labor organization to seek redress of a violation, or to certify who represents a bargaining unit⧉, which the Agency says eases the burden on court systems across the United States and promotes industrial stability nationwide⧉. Its settlement-first practice -- 96.8 percent of meritorious cases resolved without a full hearing in FY2025⧉ -- keeps most labor disputes out of federal court entirely, at a fraction of litigation's cost and delay.
- NLRB's FY2025 actual appropriation ($299.2M, 1,213 ) works out to about 88 cents per U.S. resident; the FY2027 request (~$285.5M, 1,149 ) is $13.7M and 64 below that actual level.
- There is no private lawsuit for an NLRA violation -- NLRB's Regional Offices and Board are the only forum, and 96.8% of meritorious unfair-labor-practice cases settled in FY2025 without a full hearing.
Your handles.* To file an unfair-labor-practice charge or a representation-election petition, use NLRB's E-File system⧉. To find your nearest of the Agency's 26 Regional Offices⧉ by map, zip code, or state, use the Regional Offices directory. For anything else, NLRB's Office of Congressional and Public Affairs⧉ (1-844-762-6572) is the standing point of contact.
Sources(8) ▾
- National Labor Relations Board, National Labor Relations Board Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 Justification of Performance Budget for the Committee on Appropriations (2026-03-30) — NLRB's own FY2027 congressional budget justification, submitted with the FY2027 President's Budget -- gives FY2025 ACTUAL obligations/, the FY2026 enacted level, the FY2027 request, the Board/General Counsel organizational structure, program-activity budget breakdown, and Attachment 3's major workload and output data (case intake, ALJ hearings, Board decisions, court enforcement). Fetched directly (nlrb.gov did not block this newsroom's tools, unlike some other federal agency sites); the Wayback capture above (2026-06-05 snapshot, same document/URL, predating this entry and postdating the document's March 2026 filing date) is the one-click original-document link, requested since a fresh Wayback SPN save returned a 520 at read time (2026-07-16). nlrb.gov · original document
- National Labor Relations Board, 1935: Passage of the Wagner Act (2026-06-30) — NLRB's own official history page on the passage of the National Labor Relations Act (Wagner Act) -- states the exact signing date and that the Act created the Board. Direct fetch succeeded; the Wayback capture above (2026-06-30, most recent snapshot at time of writing) is the one-click original-document link. nlrb.gov · original document
- National Labor Relations Board, Who We Are (2026-06-30) — NLRB's own official 'Who We Are' identity page -- describes the Agency as an independent federal agency created in 1935, vested with power to safeguard employees' organizing rights. Direct fetch succeeded; the Wayback capture above (2026-06-30 snapshot) is the one-click original-document link. nlrb.gov · original document
- National Labor Relations Board, Regional Offices (2026-06-11) — NLRB's own regional office directory page -- confirms 26 regional offices and provides the map/lookup tool a reader would use to find their local office (this entry's handles block). Direct fetch succeeded; the Wayback capture above is the one-click original-document link. nlrb.gov · original document
- National Labor Relations Board, Filing (2026-06-11) — NLRB's own case-filing page -- describes the E-File system a worker, union, or employer uses to file a new charge or petition (this entry's primary handle). Direct fetch succeeded; the Wayback capture above is the one-click original-document link. nlrb.gov · original document
- National Labor Relations Board, NLRB Opens New Southeast DC Headquarters (2015-07-13) — NLRB's own news story announcing its move into its current headquarters, giving the exact street address (1015 Half St. SE) this entry's geo pin uses. Direct fetch succeeded; a fresh Wayback save attempt returned a 520 (archive.org's Save Page Now is in an escalated outage as of 2026-07-16, per this newsroom's standing hazard note) and no prior snapshot of this URL exists, so archiveUrl is recorded null (non-blocking) rather than left unattempted; the live nlrb.gov URL itself serves as the one-click capture. nlrb.gov · original document
- National Labor Relations Board, Contact Us (2026-06-19) — NLRB's own general contact page -- gives the public inquiry phone number and identifies the Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, this entry's third handle. Direct fetch succeeded; the Wayback capture above (2026-06-19 snapshot) is the one-click original-document link. nlrb.gov · original document
- U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Population Growth Slows Due to Historic Decline in Net International Migration (Vintage 2025 national population estimate) (2026-01-27) — The Census Bureau's own Vintage 2025 national population estimate release, giving the U.S. resident population as of July 1, 2025 -- the per-resident denominator for this entry's cost-per-person KPI, per better_metrics.md's sourced-denominator discipline. Same source already sealed and independently verified for this series' and USITC entries; reused here rather than re-sealed since it is the same fixed population estimate. census.gov · original document
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The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency Congress created when President Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act -- the Wagner Act -- into law on July 5, 1935⧉, to enforce private-sector workers' organizing rights rather than merely mediate disputes. A five-member Board, at full strength, decides cases as a quasi-judicial body; it currently has three sitting Members, two vacancies, and no Chairman designated⧉. Independent of the Board, the General Counsel investigates and prosecutes unfair-labor-practice charges and oversees the Agency's 26 Regional Offices⧉, headquartered at 1015 Half Street SE in Washington.