In the U.S. Congress, dozens of anti-union measures were introduced in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Many of them aimed specifically at curtailing the ability of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to effectively enforce federal labour laws.
Among measures passed by the House of Representatives in 2011 that were pending before the U.S. Senate by the end of the year was a bill that would deny the NLRB authority to get workers reinstated where their employer has illegally eliminated or transferred work in retaliation for the exercise of protected rights. Another bill would prevent the agency from implementing new regulations intended to streamline the process leading up to union certification elections so as to limit opportunities for employer interference. Other measures introduced sought to cut off or sharply curtail funding for the agency.
Republican-controlled legislative committees also conducted nine official “investigative” hearings regarding actions by the independent agency and demanded the production of thousands of pages of documents and emails relating to cases decided by the agency with which business organisations disagreed. These actions were widely seen as an effort to intimidate agency personnel and prevent the agency from enforcing the law. In the Senate, the Republican minority unsuccessfully sought to block President Obama from filling vacancies on the NLRB so as to prevent the agency from functioning.