Acting General Counsel announces adjustments to restructuring proposal as it pertains to the Memphis regional office

Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon has announced changes to a regional restructuring plan proposed in July and currently under review, pertaining solely to the Regional Office in Memphis, Tennessee (Region 26) and adjacent Regional Offices. Under the adjusted proposal, the Regional Office in Memphis and Resident Office in Little Rock, Arkansas would move to the jurisdiction of the Regional Office in New Orleans, Louisiana (Region 15), while the Resident Office in Nashville, Tennessee would move to the jurisdiction of the Regional Office in Atlanta, Georgia (Region 10).  

The Memphis office would be a Subregional Office, while the Nashville and Little Rock Offices would continue to be Resident Offices. The modification is informed by the Agency’s experience in a pilot program involving Regions 10 and 11, and provides for a more logical consolidation because Nashville is considerably closer to Region 10 than Region 15.  

No offices would be closed in the plan under consideration, but staff in the Memphis and Little Rock Offices would report to the Regional Director of the New Orleans office, and staff in the Nashville office would report to the Regional Director of the Atlanta office.  Click here for details of the changes by county.

Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon will thoroughly consider input from Agency staff and from external stakeholders, including practitioners, members of the management-labor relations community, and Members of Congress, before making a final decision about whether to proceed with the proposed consolidation. These comments would allow the Agency to gather information and sort out questions that arise on internal management and case-processing fronts. Based on comments, as well as the Agency’s internal analysis, the Acting General Counsel could choose to present a formal proposal to the Board.  Any permanent structural change would need to move through the federal rulemaking process.

The proposal is part of an ongoing effort by the Agency to explore ways to restructure its field organization in light of new technologies and changing patterns in case intake. Further restructuring could be proposed in the future.

The Acting General Counsel is interested in any feedback regarding the proposed restructuring.  Comments should be sent to the Division of Operations-Management at feedback@nlrb.govor mailed to Feedback, National Labor Relations Board; Division of Operations-Management; 1099 14th Street NW; Suite 10206; Washington DC 20570.  Comments should be submitted by October 31, 2012.