Unions represent over 6 percent of private-sector workers in the U.S. The share of the workforce represented by a union depends, in part, on whether and when new unions form. Most private-sector workers can either form a union through voluntary recognition by their employer or by holding an election overseen by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
This report is a joint project of EPI and the Brookings Institute.
In this analysis, we use administrative data from the NLRB to assess the number of cases the NLRB closed, the reason those cases closed, and the number of new cases filed in 2025, compared to recent years.
Monitoring NLRB actions has become especially relevant in recent months because the national five-seat appointed governing body (hereafter, “the Board”) lacks a quorum, meaning that there are fewer than three Board members. In January, President Trump fired Board Member Gwynne Wilcox, leaving the Board with two members: David Prouty and Marvin Kaplan. In July, President Trump nominated James Murphy, a former NLRB lawyer, and Scott Mayer, a corporate lawyer, to serve in two of the three Board member vacancies. If either is confirmed, the NLRB would have the membership necessary for a quorum.
While the national Board lacking quorum raises concerns about the NLRB’s ability to process their already large caseload, most cases can be resolved by regional directors. Consistent with that, NLRB regional directors have cumulatively closed a similar number of cases in 2025 when compared to recent years in which both the Board and regional director closed cases (see figure 3 in the full report). Tracking this administrative data will allow us to better understand trends in union formation in the long term and across administrations.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Aviva Aron-Dine, Sharon Block, John-Paul Ferguson, and Este Griffith for illuminating conversations and helpful feedback. Asha Patt and particularly Noadia Steinmetz-Silber provided diligent research assistance.