Donald Trump Lands Huge Blow To Labor Movement.

Donald Trump Has Destroyed The National Labor Relations Board.

Donald Trump Signing Executive Orders.

One of the more disappointing losses Democrats suffered post-election was their inability to secure a member on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) before Trump got into office.

Now, there was a vote on the matter. It was blocked by all Republicans and both Independent Senator Kyrsten Sinema with Democrat Joe Manchin voting against the nominee Lauren Mcferran.

Had they secured this vote, Democrats would’ve guaranteed a majority until 2026.

With the board being what handles disputes between workers and corporations while also handling rights pertaining to unionization.

Benefits Of A Union.

Instead Donald Trump, who ran on being pro-worker, decided to quickly gut any ability from the board to be useful. In one of his first acts he fired the General Counsel to the board Jennifer Abruzzo.

A passionate labor activist, the NLRB saw many achievements under her tenure.

Some of the notable ones include reversing the Joy Silk precedent and allowing more power for unions to be quickly recognized, overturning Trump-era precedent that allowed employers to restrict the right to organize, or working towards banning non-compete agreements that hinder employee’s from finding work.

All while enabling major strikes from industry giants in the auto industry, at Starbucks, Apex Linen, and more.

This alone was not enough for Trump however, who then went on to fire sitting board member Gwen Wilcox. She was serving a term that would not of expired until 2028.

This is unprecedented in the entirety of the NLRB, with 90 years of law and rulings seemingly pointing toward it being out of the scope of his power.

Though this may be part of the plan as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, both of whom are close to the president in different capacities and attended his inauguration, are currently contesting the constitutionality of the NLRB in federal court. Where the plan could be to get this to the Supreme Court and disband the agency altogether.

Donald Trump And Elon Musk.

Even if the Supreme Court doesn’t take up the case this leaves the board at 2 members. However, the minimum members necessary for the NLRB to operate is 3. To make things worse, Trump can also choose to not appoint a member for the entirety of his presidency.

Which would leave 4 years under Trump where workers are without the most crucial agency in protecting their rights and voice in workplace disputes.

This attack on the NLRB isn’t surprising, in his last presidency he appointed corporate, anti-union lawyers to the board as a means to render it ineffective as a tool for workers while governing the country in a very anti-labor way.

From rescinding laws that help protect against anti-union activity in the workplace, to repealing protections for low-level Veterans Affairs workers, Donald Trump has hardly ever lived up to his promise of being “pro-worker.”

In an attempt to only further weaken workers rights, Trump fired two members of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). A board that prevents civil rights abuses in the workplace based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, or race.

Similar to the NLRB, the EEOC is unable to operate with only 2 members, which is how many is left on the board following Trump’s firing spree.

Money Returned To Workers From Sexual Harassment Complaints From EEOC.

Make no mistake, both of these boards are hugely beneficial to workers. In both 2021 and 2023 the NLRB returned over $56 million to workers just in lost back-pay, from wage theft, and in returned fees. They reinstate thousands of wrongfully fired employees each year, and saw their union election win rate break 70% for the first time in 15 years in 2023.

They are pivotal in enforcing the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) that guarantees workers rights and have succeeded in enabling numerous major labor wins in their history.

In 2024 the EEOC returned almost $700 million to discrimination victims in the workforce, not far from double what its annual budget is. It has been consequential in removing discrimination from the workforce and ensuring all workers have an equal opportunity to be judged off their merit, not some immutable characteristic.

Without these boards, without the laws they represent, there is no labor movement in America.

Donald Trump campaigned as a populist, he ran on a promise to lower prices and help workers. Instead, he’s single-handedly done more damage to labor protections in one week than has been done the last 10 years.