NLRB Seeks Public Input on Potential Regional Office Restructuring

National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Richard F. Griffin, Jr. announced that he is considering a proposal to restructure Regional Offices in Buffalo, New York (Region 3) and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Region 6).   This is part of an ongoing effort by the Agency to explore ways to streamline its operations in light of new technologies and changing patterns in case intake.
Under the proposal, Regions 3 and 6 would be consolidated into one Region with one office designated as the Regional Office and one office designated as a Sub-Regional Office, which will be managed by one Regional Director.  The Resident Office in Albany, New York, presently assigned to Region 3, would also be part of the consolidated Region.  No offices will be closed under this proposed reorganization.  
It continues to be our practice to consider Regional restructuring when a Regional Director retires.  In this particular instance, the decision to consider the consolidation of Regions 3 and 6 at this time resulted from the recent retirement of Region 6’s Regional Director Robert Chester.  General Counsel Griffin plans to thoroughly consider input from Agency staff and external stakeholders, including practitioners, members of the management-labor relations community, and Members of Congress, before making a final decision about whether to present a formal proposal to the Board.  Thereafter, any permanent structural change would need to be approved by the Board and announced in the federal register.
The General Counsel is interested in receiving your comments regarding the proposed consolidation and the related question of which Region should be designated as the Regional Office.  Comments should be sent to Associate General Counsel Anne Purcell in the Division of Operations-Management at feedback@nlrb.gov or mailed to her at the National Labor Relations Board, Division of Operations-Management, 1099 14th Street, N.W., Suite 10206, Washington, D.C.  20570.  The deadline for receipt of comments is August 15, 2014.  For those who have previously communicated a view on the status of the two Regions, there is no need to re-submit the same information; that information will be considered along with other comments received.