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NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD

STATEMENT OF JAMES M. STEPHENS, CHAIRMAN

ACCOMPANIED BY:

JERRY M. HUNTER, GENERAL COUNSEL

HARDING DARDEN, JR., BUDGET OFFICER

JOHN C. TRUESDALE, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY

BUDGET REQUEST

Senator HARKIN. We are going to go out of order a little bit. Senator Specter is tied up in other committee meetings. We are going to go right now to the National Labor Relations Board, if we could. And that would be Mr. James Stephens, Chairman.

For the National Labor Relations Board, the fiscal 1992 request is $162 million, an increase of $10.8 million over 1991. I know the Board was created to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices by employers or unions, and to conduct elections to determine whether employees wish to be represented by a union.

We are pleased to have Mr. James Stephens, Chairman of the Board, with us this morning. Your statement will be made a part of the record in its entirety. You can introduce the people here with you and then give us a summary.

INTRODUCTION OF ASSOCIATES

Mr. STEPHENS. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

Accompanying me this morning, on my far left is Jerry Hunter, our General Counsel. On his right is Harding Darden, Jr., our Budget Officer. To my immediate right is John Truesdale, our Executive Secretary. We are also accompanied this morning by Judge Melvin Welles, our Chief Administrative Law Judge, Randy Frye, our Acting Deputy General Counsel, Yvonne Dixon, our Assistant General Counsel, Joe DeSio, our Associate General Counsel, and Edward Blansitt, who is the Executive Assistant to the Director of Administration. Also Gloria Joseph, who is our Acting Director of Administration.

HIGHLIGHTS

In accordance with the normal procedure, the agency has already submitted to the committee, a detailed fiscal 1992 justification. And in my testimony today, I would like to briefly highlight the justification statement. As the Chair indicated, the fiscal 1992 budget now before you requests an appropriation of $162 million, compared to the 1991 appropriation of $147.4 million.

The budget request before you for 1992 is the product of an analysis of the NLRB's best current estimate of the number of cases that the agency will receive in 1992, how these cases will be re

solved, the number of staff years of employment needed based on targeted rates of productivity. And finally, the direct and support costs required to handle the anticipated caseload.

The budget request presented to you today projects that the NLRB's case intake in 1992 will increase by about 1.8 percent while staff will increase by about 1 percent. This budget request encompasses our fundamental objective of responding appropriately to every case on our docket each year. We expect to handle the increase in case intake, and with a slightly higher staff, handle our cases in a timely basis.

The total 1992 request represents a $14.5 million increase from 1991. The increased funding would meet higher normal operating expense requirements and the employment expenses that are not completely offset by our expected productivity achievements.

I would like to highlight just one thing for the subcommittee. I am pleased to report that the Board, for the fifth consecutive year, has succeeded in lowering its backlog of undecided cases. As the subcommittee knows, the backlog peaked in 1984 at a record 1,679 cases. That included unfair labor practices and representation cases. By the end of January 1991, that number had declined to 523 cases, a drop of 1,156 cases or about 70 percent. And I am pleased to be able to report today that we, as of March 1, we have had a further decline in our backlog. As of today, we are down to 462 pending cases at the Board level.

I would also like to point out that one of the problems at the Board level in past years has been the number of old cases at the Board. In 1987, we had over 300 cases that were over 2 years old. We embarked upon a pretty active program to try to cut down the number of old cases at the Board. And I am pleased to report that as of today, we are down to 21 cases that will be 2 years old as of the end of this month.

For the balance of the year, the last half of this fiscal year, we started out the fiscal year with roughly 116 cases that would be 2 years old by the end of the fiscal year. We have pared that number down to 64. And our objective for this year is to have no cases over 2 years old by the end of the fiscal year. I am hopeful that we can meet that goal.

I am pleased with the progress that we have made to date, not only in cutting out the number of old cases, but just cutting down the size of the backlog.

PREPARED STATEMENT

Let me, at this point, yield to the General Counsel who can comment on the general operations and administration of the agency, and also comment on his statutory responsibility for the investigation and prosecution of cases.

[The statement follows:]

STATEMENT OF JAMES M. STEPHENS

Mr. Chairman and distinguished

Subcommittee:

Members

of the

to appear before

you as

I welcome this opportunity Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to discuss the Agency's budget request for Fiscal Year 1992. I would like to introduce our General Counsel, Jerry M. Hunter. Also with us today to support our FY 1992 budget request is John Truesdale, the Board's Executive Secretary, Melvin Welles, our Chief Administrative Law Judge, D. Randall Frye, Acting Deputy General Counsel, Yvonne Dixon, Assistant General Counsel, Joseph DeSio, Associate General Counsel, Gloria Joseph, Acting Director of Administration, Edward Blansitt, Executive Assistant to the Director of Administration, and Harding Darden, our

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Budget Officer.

In

Agency has already

1992 Justification.

In my testimony today I would like to briefly highlight Justification statement and make a few additional comments as

well.

an

The Fiscal Year 1992 budget now before you requests appropriation of

$162,000,000

appropriation of $147,461,000.

compared to the

1991

The Budget request before you for 1992 is the product current estimate of the

of an analysis of the NLRB's best

number of cases that the Agency will receive in 1992; how these cases will be resolved (that is, whether by settlement, dismissal, withdrawal, trial, etc.); the number of staffyears of employment needed, based on targeted rates of productivity; and, finally, the direct and

required to handle the anticipated caseload.

support costs

The Budget request presented to you today projects that the NLRB's case intake in 1992 will increase by about 1.8 percent, while staff will increase by about 1.0 percent. This budget request encompasses our fundamental objective of responding appropriately to every case on our docket each year. We expect to handle the increase in case intake and with a slightly higher staff, handle our cases on a timely basis.

The total 1992 request represents a $14,539,000 increase from 1991. The increased funding would meet higher normal operating expense requirements and employment expenses that are not completely offset by our expected productivity achievement.

The General Counsel has statutory responsibility for the investigation and prosecution of cases. He will be addressing these concerns separately. Directly under the responsibility of the Chairman and the Board are the Division Administrative Law Judges and the staffs of the Board Members. I would like to briefly address these two areas at

of

this time.

ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGES

In Fiscal Year 1990 our

closed 627 hearings, issued 602

settlements

Administrative Law Judges decisions, obtained 97

in person and another 305 by means of conference significant factor in this achievement is the within the Division of Administrative Law Judges, and in the operations under the responsibility of the General

calls. A emphasis

Counsel, on settling cases

settlement emphasis is critical.

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-

and taxpayer

addition,

-- a

whenever possible. This Settlements eventually save

great deal in litigation settlements ensure that the parties

avoid the delays and costs inherent in the formal

trial process and

subsequent consideration by the Board Appeals. Thus, the effects of

and/or the Courts of

the fluctuation of the settlement rate are important indicators of costs in the years to come. This fluctuation has an inverse effect on the costs to be incurred in subsequent years: as the settlement rates rise, the costs for the future years in later stages of casehandling decrease (people-costs, equipment-costs, litigation-costs, etc.); as the settlement rates decrease, the costs increase.

Since FY 1987 the NLRB has loaned its Administrative Law Judges to other agencies on a reimbursable basis. We estimate that in FY 1991 these services will be provided to the Departments of Education, Interior, and Treasury; the Comptroller of the Currency; the Federal Deposit Insurance Transportation Safety Board;

Corporation;

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the National

Department

Naturalization

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Service. The NLRB remains the primary source

of judges when any agency makes a request to OPM for a loan of judges. However, with the attrition at our Judges Corps and the projected increased rate of intake, it is not certain that this program can continue in FY 1992. Also, present budget constraints, and the congressionally mandated hiring of judges by some agencies will also contribute to the decline in the loan program.

MEMBERS' STAFFS

Under present budget estimates the Board Members will issue decisions in 580 contested unfair labor practice cases in 1991 and 592 in 1992. In 1990, the Board decided 577 labor practice cases and 280 contested representation Present estimates call for the Board to decide 282 contested representation cases in 1991 and 286 in 1992.

unfair

cases.

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