The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) undermined President Joe Biden’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) while defending its decision to fire an Asian employee accused of racism by a “DEI-crazed HR department,” according to labor lawyer Matt Bruenig.
Katherine Oh, formerly senior policy counsel for the ACLU, was fired over complaints of racist conduct, which included saying she was “afraid to raise certain issues” with her supervisor, a black man, and claiming that another supervisor, a black woman, lied to her, according to case filings. To shut down her case, the ACLU is arguing employees should have to sort out disputes in arbitration in instances where they have a right to bring them before the NLRB, Bruenig wrote on his Substack, despite Biden’s efforts to build up the board.
“Needless to say, if the ACLU is successful in establishing this precedent, it would strike a huge blow against workers rights across the country and make union organizing much more difficult,” Bruenig wrote.
He noted that “complaining about supervisors in a concerted way is protected activity under Section 7 of the NLRA,” despite the “current DEI-inflected environment.” (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Ted Cruz Presses Tax-Funded Org That Wiped Recordings Encouraging DEI Hiring Practices)
The ACLU also argued NLRB’s general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo was unconstitutionally appointed by Biden, though it later withdrew this argument, according to Bruenig.
I thought @MattBruenig‘s description of this ACLU firing sounded too deranged to be true, but I checked the transcript — the ACLU really did argue it’s racist to say you’re “afraid” to raise concerns with your boss, if your boss is black. https://t.co/LrxMRc86NO pic.twitter.com/eI38me8zLj
— Josh Barro (@jbarro) March 11, 2024
The ACLU alleges Oh was terminated for “her demonstration of a pattern of hostility toward people of color,” according to a filing.
“As a black male language like ‘afraid’ generally is a code word for me,” Oh’s supervisor wrote to senior ACLU officials regarding her comment, according to the arbitration hearing. “It’s triggering for me.”
In a decision last week, the NLRB declined the ACLU’s request to appeal an administrative law judge’s decision denying the motion to send Oh’s dispute to arbitration.
Seth Goldstein, a labor law attorney who represents unions for Amazon and Trader Joe’s, called the ACLU to “do the right thing” by withdrawing its arguments and “unfair forced arbitration agreement.”
“Who would’ve known the @ACLU, known for supporting workers and unions, is now teaming up with big corporations like SpaceX, Amazon, Trader Joe’s, and Starbucks to dismantle the @NLRB?” Goldstein wrote in a post on X.
Attorney David Pivtorak likewise wrote in a post responding to ACLU’s actions that “megacorporations use arbitration as a way to bury employee lawsuits against them.”
“Unlike court actions, employees recover much less in damages in arbitrations,” he noted on X. “They’re also typically confidential so the corporations avoid bad press and any big verdicts against them.”
The ACLU did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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