Trump's NLRB Purge: A Setback for Workers' Rights

President Trump's recent actions have temporarily paralyzed the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the only federal agency protecting the rights of private sector workers to organize and pursue collective bargaining in the United States. In the past week, Trump fired three top officials at the Board, including NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and acting GC Jessica Rutter. In an unprecedented move, he also fired Gwynne Wilcox, the first Black woman to serve on the Board, on the eve of Black History Month.

Trump's removal of Wilcox is illegal under the National Labor Relations Act, which only allows a president to remove a board member for "neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause." Wilcox, in a statement, expressed her intent to challenge her removal, citing long-standing Supreme Court precedent. Trump's actions have deprived the NLRB of a quorum, leaving the Board unable to issue final decisions on unfair labor practice complaints pursued on behalf of workers and unions. This leaves statutory violations unremedied, impacting the labor rights of tens of millions of workers in the private sector, whether they're in a union or not.

Trump's actions at the NLRB have gutted worker rights by depriving the agency of a quorum and removing top lawyers with deep agency expertise who defended the agency's mission to support workers. At the same time, Trump has empowered Elon Musk, the richest person on the planet, to send threatening and legally dubious emails to more than 2 million federal workers, pushing them to resign. Musk's SpaceX joined Amazon in challenging the constitutionality of the NLRB in federal court last year. Congress created the NLRB as an independent agency nearly a century ago to safeguard employees' rights to organize and collectively bargain.

The lack of a Board quorum will not slow down elections administered by the NLRB. Workers and unions can still file unfair labor practice charges, and the Board's regional offices will continue to investigate those charges, determine whether they have merit, and, when necessary, issue a complaint to be heard by an administrative law judge who will issue a decision upholding the law. However, if those decisions are appealed, the lack of a Board quorum brings the process to a halt. Workers who have been victimized by their employer's illegal behavior will be left waiting for justice from an agency deliberately stripped of its power to deliver it.

Trump's actions at the NLRB are a clear attack on workers' rights and the agency's ability to protect them. The lack of a quorum and the removal of top officials have left the Board unable to issue final decisions on unfair labor practice complaints, leaving statutory violations unremedied. The NLRB's decisions have a significant impact on the labor rights of tens of millions of workers in the private sector, whether they're in a union or not. The lack of a Board quorum will not slow down elections administered by the NLRB, but it will bring the appeals process to a halt, leaving workers waiting for justice.