Rep. Sanchez Leads Congressional Labor Caucus Letter Asking DOJ to Acknowledge Union Rights of Immigration Judges in Letter Supporting NAIJ-IFPTE Judicial Council 2
This week, the Congressional Labor Caucus sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking the agency to acknowledge that immigration judges should be entitled to be covered by the federal labor statute.
The letter, led by Congresswoman Linda Sánchez (D-CA) and signed by 29 Members of the House or Representative, asks DOJ to “remaining consistent” with the agency’s 2021 disavowal of the Trump Administration’s antiunion policy so that immigration judges can “determine for themselves if they wish to recertify NAIJ as their union.” Signatories include House Judiciary Chairman Jerrod Nadler (D-NY) and Immigration and Citizenship Subcommittee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA).
On July 21, 2022, the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ/Judicial Council 2) filed a petition at the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) to hold a union election, with a strong majority of the bargaining unit signing authorization cards and showing an interest in holding the election to restore union rights for immigration judges.
The NAIJ union election effort comes after an unprecedented decision in April 2022 by the FLRA to strip immigration judges of their union rights. That antiunion decision was the result of a Trump Administration effort to silence immigration judges after their union raised concerns regarding policies that threaten due process and judicial independence. That April 2022 FLRA decision was issued by an FLRA board that included a two-member Trump-appointed majority. On May 19, 2022, Susan Grundman, President Biden’s nominee for the FLRA, was seated on the FLRA and shifted the composition of the labor board so that there is no longer an ideologically anti-union majority on it.
As immigration judges proceed toward a union election to recertify NAIJ as their exclusive bargaining representative, DOJ can play an important role by “remaining consistent with the agency’s June 25, 2021 withdrawal of its opposition to NAIJ’s motion to reconsider the decertification and the July 19, 2021 withdrawal of the 2019 FLRA petition to misclassify all nonsupervisory IJs.”
IFPTE and NAIJ thank Labor Caucus Co-Chair Rep. Sánchez, Labor Caucus Chair Mark Pocan (D-WI), and signatories for supporting federal employees union rights. Rep. Sánchez has been a key ally to NAIJ and IFPTE throughout the last administration’s effort to decertify the NAIJ.
Read the Labor Caucus letter here [PDF].
Read the Rep. Sánchez’s press release on the Labor Caucus letter to DOJ here and below. The press release includes quotes from NAIJ President Mimi Tsankov, AFL-CIO Director of Government Affairs Bill Samuel, and IFPTE President Matt Biggs.
Sánchez Urges DOJ to Protect Immigration Judges’ Bargaining Rights
August 10, 2022
Press Release
WASHINGTON — Today, Congresswoman Linda T. Sánchez (D-CA) led 29 of her colleagues in urging Attorney General Merrick Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco to restore collective bargaining rights for immigration judges. The letter follows Congresswoman Sánchez’s advocacy to rescind a Trump-era petition that sought to decertify the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ) and erroneously classify immigration judges as management officials.
“The Trump-era ruling to classify immigration judges as management officials was a horrible mistake,” said Congresswoman Linda T. Sánchez. “I am proud to lead my colleagues in calling on the DOJ to restore collective bargaining rights for these judges. Doing so would protect the judges’ independence and, in turn, ensure our immigration courts remain fair and impartial. I will always defend the right of every American to join a union, including those in our federal workforce, and I am proud to see so many of my colleagues standing with me in solidarity today.”
“NAIJ welcomes the opportunity to have its collective bargaining rights restored so that it can get back to working with Agency leadership to tackle the multitude of challenges facing the immigration court. Working together to address our mission, we’re stronger. We thank the Labor Caucus for reminding DOJ to remain consistent with their disavowal of the previous administration’s effort to attack immigration judges’ union rights,” said National Association of Immigration Judges President Mimi Tsankov.
“The Members of the Labor Caucus have supported National Association of Immigration Judges-IFPTE Judicial Council 2 in our effort to oppose the Trump Administration’s retaliatory unionbusting effort from the very start. NAIJ became a political target because it raised concerns about dangerous policies which threatened due process and judicial independence – in other words NAIJ was representing their members’ concerns and also acting in the public interest. We thank the Labor Caucus and Congresswoman Sánchez for asking the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General to acknowledge that immigration judges should have their right to union representation restored,” said Matthew Biggs, President of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE).
“Immigration judges and their union are on the verge of restoring their collective bargaining rights and undoing the last administration’s unfair attack on these federal workers. President Biden’s day-one agenda includes protecting the federal workforce and we are grateful that Attorney General Garland has laid to rest the union busting policies of his predecessor. In that spirit, we hope that DOJ and the Executive Office of Immigration Review will ensure that immigration judges are able to exercise their labor rights and proceed to a union election without interference,” said Bill Samuel, AFL-CIO Director of Government Affairs.
Congresswoman Sánchez has led on this issue since 2019, when she led 80 of her fellow Members of Congress in sending a letter to Attorney General Barr to withdraw a petition to decertify NAIJ. In 2021 Congresswoman Sánchez, co-chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus, joined her fellow co-chairs in leading a letter to DOJ requesting they rescind the petition with the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
In addition to Congresswoman Sánchez, the letter was also signed by Reps. Nanette Barragán (D-CA), Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Anthony Brown (D-MD), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), André Carson (D-IN), David Cicilline (D-RI), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Bill Foster (D-IL), Brian Higgins (D-NY), Henry Johnson (D-GA), Ro Khanna (D-CA), Daniel Kildee (D-MI), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), James McGovern (D-MA), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Janice Schakowsky (D-IL), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Adam Smith (D-WA), Thomas Suozzi (D-NY), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Juan Vargas (D-CA), and Nikema Williams (D-GA).