The National Labor Relations Board Welcomes New Board Member Gwynne Wilcox
Office of Public Affairs
202-273-1991
publicinfo@nlrb.gov
www.nlrb.gov
The National Labor Relations Board welcomes Gwynne Wilcox as a new Board member. Ms. Wilcox was sworn in today by Chairman Lauren McFerran.
Ms. Wilcox was nominated by President Biden on May 27, 2021 and confirmed by the Senate on July 28, 2021. Her term will last until August 2023. The Board has five members and acts as a quasi-judicial body responsible for administering the National Labor Relations Act consistent with its statutory goals, which include promoting collective bargaining and protecting workers’ rights to freely express their wishes regarding union representation and take other concerted action for their mutual aid and protection.
“I’m pleased to welcome Gwynne Wilcox back to the National Labor Relations Board. Her deep knowledge of the Act and her insights as a longtime labor law practitioner will be tremendously valuable to the agency. I know she will be an open-minded and thoughtful adjudicator and a fantastic colleague at Board,” said NLRB Chairman Lauren McFerran.
Ms. Wilcox is the first Black woman to serve on the Board since its inception in 1935. She is also the first Board member to be sworn-in both in English and in Spanish, as the agency strives to be more inclusive, welcoming, and accessible for all workers.
“I am honored to be the first Black woman to serve as a Board Member during this critical moment in our country’s history and hope that my appointment will be an inspiration to others. It is essential that the NLRB and other governmental agencies be representative of our country’s diverse workforce,” said NLRB Board Member Gwynne Wilcox. “As I return to the National Labor Relations Board, I am both excited and proud to work alongside dedicated colleagues at an agency that has the power to impact workplaces and the lives of workers, unions and employers through enforcing the National Labor Relations Act.”
Most recently, Ms. Wilcox worked as a senior partner at Levy Ratner, P.C., a New York City labor and employment law firm. There, she served as Associate General Counsel of 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and as a labor representative to the NYC Office of Collective Bargaining. Prior to joining Levy Ratner, Wilcox worked as a Field Attorney at Region 2 of the National Labor Relations Board in New York City. Wilcox has a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law-Newark and a B.A. from Syracuse University.
Established in 1935, the National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency that protects employees from unfair labor practices and protects the right of private sector employees to join together, with or without a union, to improve wages, benefits and working conditions. The NLRB conducts hundreds of workplace elections and investigates thousands of unfair labor practice charges each year.