Trump paralyzes US labor board by firing Democratic member

By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump has fired two Democratic officials at the National Labor Relations Board, a major shakeup that will bring hundreds of cases accusing companies of unlawful labor practices to a standstill and paves the way for Republican control of the agency.

Trump removed NLRB Member Gwynne Wilcox and General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, both appointees of Democratic former President Joe Biden, from their posts late on Monday, according to an agency spokesman, who said no reason was given.

The firing of Abruzzo, who in her role as general counsel acted as a prosecutor, was expected. But the removal of Wilcox, whose term was not set to end until August 2028, is unprecedented and may violate federal labor law.

Wilcox, the first Black woman to serve on the agency's five-member board, said in a statement that she would pursue "all legal avenues" to challenge her firing.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

The board already had two vacancies, so the removal of Wilcox leaves it without a quorum of three members to issue decisions even in routine cases. The board reviews rulings by in-house judges in cases brought by the general counsel. Until it does, those orders cannot be enforced.

Hundreds of cases are pending before the board, including ones involving Amazon.com, Tesla, Walmart, Apple, and dozens against Starbucks as it faces a nationwide union campaign.

The NLRB enforces workers' rights to organize, advocate for better working conditions, and join or dissolve unions. Federal labor law does not allow workers to sue for violations in court, so the board is often their only recourse.

Once board members are confirmed, federal law allows them to be removed only for "neglect of duty or malfeasance in office." About two dozen companies, including Amazon and Elon Musk's SpaceX, have filed lawsuits since last year challenging those protections and claiming the president should have the power to fire NLRB members at will. The companies also argue the NLRB's in-house enforcement procedures are unconstitutional.

Musk, whose companies have been involved in several labor board cases, is a top adviser to Trump and is leading a commission aimed at cutting government spending and eliminating many federal regulations.

SHARP TURN

Together, the firings signal a sharp turn away from the policies and legal theories embraced by the board during the Biden administration that riled business groups and were widely seen as favoring unions.

Abruzzo's office had convinced Wilcox and other board members to create a new path for unions to represent workers, to ban mandatory meetings to discourage unionizing, and to expand the type of worker conduct protected by federal labor law.

Abruzzo had also been critical of the companies that have filed lawsuits challenging the NLRB's structure, accusing them of pushing meritless legal theories to distract from their violations of workers' rights.

On Tuesday, Abruzzo in a statement said the labor board's efforts to empower workers in recent years would have a lasting impact. If the agency lost effectiveness, she said, "I expect that workers with assistance from their advocates will take matters into their own hands."

The NLRB, which was created in 1935, is designed to be independent from the White House. Its members' terms are staggered, which means that control of the board typically does not change hands until a year or two after a new president takes office.

Even before firing Wilcox, Trump had an opportunity to quickly cement Republican control at the labor board, with two existing vacancies to fill. Trump has not said who he plans to nominate to the board or to replace Abruzzo as general counsel.

Unions and Democrats on Tuesday criticized Trump for firing the officials and bringing the board's work to a halt. Representative Robert Scott, the top Democrat on a U.S. House labor committee, said the removal of Wilcox not only violated federal labor law but also her due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.

"Without Member Wilcox ... the Board cannot issue decisions to hold union-busting companies accountable, further stymieing justice for workers fighting for better conditions," he said.

Some Republicans praised Trump's firing of Abruzzo.

"Under Abruzzo's leadership, the Board weaponized its authority against American workers, opening them up to intimidation, coercion, and forced unionization," Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said in a statement.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany; Editing by Deepa Babington, Alexia Garamfalvi and Rosalba O'Brien)