Steve Kennedy at Talking Points Memo reports that for nine decades, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has stood as the Federal Government’s primary guardian of Workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. Created in the depths of the Great Depression, the NLRB was designed to be a buffer between Workers and the concentrated economic power of employers, ensuring that the fundamental right to Unionize could not be crushed by intimidation or retaliation. Its enabling legislation, the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), is unambiguous in its purpose: To encourage and protect collective bargaining and to level the playing field between employers and Employees. And yet, in one of the most striking ironies of recent years, under the Trump Administration, the NLRB itself is suing States like California and New York that have asserted the right to protect their Workers when the NLRB fails to do its job. How did it come to this? Almost immediately after taking office, President Donald Trump illegally fired NLRB Board Member Gwynne Wilcox - the first time a President has removed a Board Member before the end of their statutorily required term in the 90 years of the NLRB’s existence. Wilcox’s removal left the NLRB without the required quorum of at least three Members to advance certain business. Without a quorum, the NLRB General Counsel can continue certain activities related to processing complaints and managing ongoing court cases. However, instead of using the NLRB’s full authority to protect Workers, the quorumless Trump NLRB has paused all active investigations - including 24 into Trump Megadonor Elon Musk’s companies - and cannot open any new investigations when employers violate their Workers’ Rights. With an underfunded, understaffed, and ideologically hostile NLRB failing to enforce the law, some States have stepped into the gap.

To Continue Reading This Labor News Story In Its Entirety, Go To: The NLRB Is Suing to Keep States From Protecting Workers’ Rights - TPM – Talking Points Memo

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