Trump Can’t Fight Big Labor Alone. States Must Also Help

Originally published at National Review

President-elect Donald Trump is planning a new course for federal policy — regarding everything from foreign conflicts to environmental regulations — and he’s quickly forming his cabinet to reverse the unpopular direction taken by President Joe Biden and his administration.

But what about labor policy? The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is responsible for guidance on labor issues, and Trump will soon decide whom to place behind the steering wheel of this agency. With all due respect to the Department of Labor, the president’s future NLRB appointees will hold far greater power over the future of private workplaces. That Trump’s pick for Department of Labor secretary appears to be a dud only underscores the importance of dismantling Biden’s NLRB.

When he took office, Biden swiftly changed federal labor policy in favor of some of his biggest supporters, even violating long-standing norms by abruptly firing the NLRB’s general counsel, Peter Robb, in the middle of Robb’s term. Under Biden, the NRLB made it easier for union officials to capture new workplaces, deprived employees of the right to vote for or against unionization in many organizing efforts, and expanded the range of penalties for employers who oppose union campaigns. Since Trump’s November win, the NLRB ruled that employers can’t speak to employees about how unionization might affect their day-to-day work.

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