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New Report Exposes Fourth Circuit Nominee’s Anti-Worker Activism and Union Ties

Today, the Center for Union Facts (CUF) released a new report exposing the union ties of Nicole Berner, whom Biden nominated for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The long-time Service Employees International Union (SEIU) lawyer is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday regarding her nomination.

You can read the full report here

The report highlights Berner’s long history of backing the union’s harmful policies and pushing policies that could force employees into union representation. This track record suggests she will use the position to promote the SEIU’s agenda—potentially at the expense of both employees and business owners throughout the country.

The report is part of an ongoing national campaign to educate the public on the SEIU’s controversial track record – one Berner could soon be advancing from behind the bench. You can learn more about the campaign and view additional research at SEIUExposed.com. 

Key report findings include:

  • In 2019, Berner declined to launch a sexual harassment investigation against top union leaders—including President Dave Regan—of the SEIU United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW). Berner instead left the allegations to be investigated by the SEIU-UHW, the same union whose leadership the alleged victim had accused of sexual misconduct.

  • Berner supported sectoral bargaining in the United States. In 2019, Berner co-authored an editorial in which she supported a “national fast-food industry bargaining table.” Berner stated in the same editorial that the old model of unionizing by company/employer needed to be thrown out and that it needs to be possible to unionize by the “millions.”

  • Berner echoes the SEIU’s radical call for “unions for all” which seeks to organize workers throughout the country by almost any means necessary—with little regard to the individual choices and freedoms of these workers. Berner has noted that “right to work” advocates are “anti-workers extremists,” and has said the U.S. economy is “rigged.”

  • Berner stood against freelancers in California. Independent contractors across the state opposed Berner’s position on Proposition 22 – which allowed workers at certain gig companies to remain classified as independent contractors instead of employees.

Big Labor’s agenda has no place behind the bench. Berner’s close ties to the union and her support for its misguided platform should be a glaring red flag against her nomination.

Categories: SEIU