2016 Annual Report: No Turning Back

Letter from the Executive Director

Friends,

We’re at a pivotal moment in the fight for workers’ rights. Much that we cherish and fought so hard to win over the decades is now under threat, as are many of the people and institutions that bravely led those battles.

The progress we made in recent years tackling income inequality and strengthening worker protections is now in jeopardy under the Trump administration and the 115th Congress, whose actions belie their “support the forgotten worker” rhetoric.

NELP is rising to the challenge of our time—to stop the rollbacks of workers’ rights where we can, and to make sure all Americans understand how these harmful moves betray the trust and interests of America’s workers.

“Every decision … will be made to benefit American workers,” said the president at his inauguration. Yet so far, the worker-related actions taken by this administration and Congress inure to the benefit of the super-rich and corporations, at working people’s expense.

But we take heart in knowing that Americans care deeply about the rights of working people. No matter what politicians and their corporate cronies say, ordinary Americans simply do not believe that the world’s richest nation and largest economy should leave out or leave behind anyone who works—or aspires to work—for a living.

Their deep support for the rights of working people reinforces NELP’s determination to fight any and all attempts to take away those rights. Indeed, this support—your support—was what enabled us to help win important victories for workers in 2016, as detailed in these pages.

Fighting Back Strong

But we know that real impact and lasting change require vigilance and persistence. So we’re rolling up our sleeves and hunkering down for the enormous challenges ahead. We’re humbled to be part of a powerful coalition of allies and advocates that is fiercely determined to repel the attacks on workers and their rights.

We’re grateful for the generous support that has strengthened NELP’s capacity, enabling us, among other things, to bring several senior Labor Department officials into our ranks, including former Solicitor of Labor Patricia Smith, former Deputy Chief of Staff Raj Nayak, and former OSHA Chief of Staff Debbie Berkowitz.

And we’re proud that in a crucial early test, NELP helped lead a coalition that defeated the labor secretary nomination of fast-food CEO Andrew Puzder—a man wholly unsuited to serve as the nation’s chief worker advocate.

Like you, we refuse to turn back the clock on workers’ rights. We will fight to preserve and strengthen the fundamental economic rights and protections that workers and their families depend on.

We will fight as our movement has always fought, with organizing, advocacy, and fierce determination
to build from our past to create a better, stronger, and fairer tomorrow for all of America’s workers.

Now, as always, NELP will not rest until work provides dignity, opportunity, and economic security to all workers. Thank you for standing with us in this fight.

In solidarity and gratitude,

Christine L. Owens
Executive Director