Press Releases

 Today, Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI) sent four letters to Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) William B. Cowen, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Maryland Governor Wes Moore to investigate claims of union organizers urging foreign workers to file claims against employers in an effort to exploit deferred action – a program meant to protect workers from retaliation by employers.

To Labor Secretary Chavez-DeRemer, Chairman Walberg writes: “The Committee on Education and Workforce (Committee) is investigating the Department of Labor’s (DOL) use of Statements of U.S. DOL Interest during the Biden-Harris administration to support certain foreign workers’ deferred action requests to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It appears that union organizers have recently exploited this program, which is supposed to protect employees against potential retaliation, by encouraging certain foreign workers to file claims against employers.” Read the full letter to Secretary Chavez-DeRemer here.

To NLRB Acting General Counsel Cowen, Chairman Walberg writes: “More concerning is that during the Biden-Harris administration there seemed to be little regard for the criminal background or immigration status of workers accessing deferred action protections. While DHS appears to consider criminal history to be a significant barrier, DHS nevertheless grants deferred actions to some individuals with problematic histories.” Read the full letter to NLRB Acting General Counsel Cowen here.

To Governor Newsom, Chairman Walberg writes: “As part of the Committee’s investigation, we seek information from the California Civil Rights Department (CRD) and the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) to understand the extent to which the State of California has assisted union organizers in misusing the deferred action program. …The Committee understands that through CRD and DIR, California has abused the deferred action process by employing overly broad SOIs [Statements of Interest] that may wrongly cover workers. These agencies appear to have applied SOIs on a worksite-wide basis instead of using a more targeted approach.” Read the full letter to Governor Newsom here.

To Governor Moore, Chairman Walberg writes: “The Committee has seen examples of union organizers exploiting the deferred action program contrary to Congress’s intent. In one such example, a national trade union flyer posted online suggests that union organizing is the first step in accessing deferred action. The flyer suggests that a grant of deferred action is a reward, stating that a grant of deferred action is a ‘WIN’ for the employee. The flyer further states at the top in bold capital letters: ‘DEFERRED ACTION = WORK PERMIT FOR 2 YEARS + SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.’ Instead of protecting immigrant workers from retaliation, outside groups seem to be interested in subverting deferred action to push unionization.” Read the full letter to Governor Moore here.

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