Where Are the Judges Who Know How To Fight for Workers?
This excerpt is from a piece by Rakim Brooks that originally ran in Democracy Docket on January 8, 2024.
It’s a boom time for unions. Last year alone, we witnessed incredible bravery from auto workers, hotel workers, writers and actors and Amazon employees. More and more workers are organizing and taking to the picket line to demand better from their employers. It’s awe-inspiring.
Yet, workers deserve more than public support for their struggle for just wages and working conditions; they also deserve the confirmation of judges who will hear (and truly understand) their claims.
This year, the Senate has the chance to put exactly that kind of attorney on the bench in Nicole Berner. Berner has spent nearly two decades at SEIU, one of the nation’s largest unions, including serving as its general counsel since 2017. She has been the epitome of an advocate for workers, litigating cases under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the Fair Labor Standards Act, as well as constitutional claims, to fight for fair workplace protections. In sum, she’s a champion for the middle class. What could be more crucial when the chasm between rich and poor is growing and the life prospects of working people are declining?