Appellate Court Work Appellate Court Branch attorneys petition the Circuit Courts of Appeals for enforcement of Board decisions, and in addition handle our miscellaneous and contempt litigation. Litigation for review and enforcement of the Board's Decisions and Orders is necessary in order to effectuate the Act, because the NLRB orders are not self-enforcing. In fiscal year 1975 this litigation continued to be highly successful as we obtained enforcement, in whole or in part, in 85% of the cases decided. The Appellate Court workload is expected to be about 333 proceedings in 1976 and rise to 390 in 1977. Total employment is expected to rise in 1977 by 11.7 staff-years. A 2% productivity increase is predicted in 1977 on top of a 16.7% increase estimated for 1976. We hope to achieve this high level of productivity and achieve improvements in miscellaneous and contempt litigation with the requested level of employment for 1977. Advice The Divison of Advice furnishes legal advice to regional offices upon request or when necessary to carry out the General Counsel's policy decisions. The advice workload is estimated to be 1,276 cases in 1976 and 1,349 in 1977. A 2% productivity increase is predicted in 1977. Appeals The Office of Appeals was established by the General Counsel to provide an independent review of charging party appeals from case dismissals by Regional Directors. These appeals numbered 3,044 in 1975. The estimate for 1976 and 1977 is 3,309 and 3,632 respectively. Division of Administration The Division of Administration is responsible for all housekeeping functions required by the Agency to enable the case handling functions to operate effectively. The Division was reorganized in 1974 and is now using a new performance measurement system to better plan and manage its services to the Agency. The success of this system can be illustrated by the fact that in excess of 10% of Agency staff-years in 1975 were devoted to Administration whereas in 1977 fewer than 9.4% of the Agency's estimated staff-years will be in this Division. Our administrative support staff will be able to continue to serve the Agency well with the employment and funds requested for 1977. MAJOR AREAS OF COST INCREASE We estimate cost increases of $8,607,000 in 1977. These increases are accounted for principally in the following areas. 1. Employment Costs We estimate an increase of 241.8 staff-years average employment for 1977 over 1976. Approximately 6.2 million dollars is necessary to meet the costs of this additional employment in 1977 and normal within-grades and promotions for employees. Costs will rise just under seven-tenths million dollars in fiscal year 1977 to cover the effect of the October 1975 pay act. 2. Space rentals, repairs and alterations We estimate additional space rental needs of just over eight-tenths million dollars. Less than one-tenth million dollars additional is necessary to pay for repairs and alterations to existing space. 3. Other increases Eight-tenths million dollars is needed to meet increased communications, supply, training, conference, printing, and moving expenses costs. Additional detail for cost increases and decreases is presented in our Summary of Change table on page five. MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT AND COST REDUCTION The National Labor Relations Board has effectively dealt with an increase in unfair labor practice case intake of almost 33.8% from fiscal year 1970 through fiscal year 1975 with an increase in average employment of less than 9.2% Our current estimate of savings for 1976 utilizing our existing manpower is estimated at $2,029,000. Our 1977 savings are predicted at approximately a 2% productivity rise in most areas of case handling and are expected to be worth $613,700. SUMMARY The long delays in obtaining an appropriation for fiscal year 1976, with the restrictions in the Continuing Resolution, have prevented hiring of the authorized number of new employees. Meanwhile, cases continue to be filed, as the underlying labor disputes develop. Since we have no spending program other than the processing of cases, there is nothing to delay other than the resolution of current cases. Therefore, we feel we must remind Congress of the need for enactment of our full request by both Houses before fiscal year 1977 begins. With the same understanding and assistance which the Committee has provided us in the past, we can continue to resolve labor disputes quickly so as to minimize disruptions to the nation's economy. |