AFL-CIO Responds to Trump Administration’s NLRB Appointments

AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler issued the following statement on President Trump’s nomination of two new members to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), after his firing of former member Gwynne Wilcox compromised the agency’s independence and prohibited it from functioning: 

By attempting to stack the NLRB now—after leaving workers hanging out to dry without a functioning board for months—the White House is playing political games with working people’s lives. If this administration was at all serious about protecting the sacred right of workers to have a union on the job, it would have never taken the unprecedented and unlawful action of firing board member Gwynne Wilcox, which sowed chaos and allowed employers to run roughshod over the fundamental right to organize and collectively bargain on the job. 

The NLRB is the sole decider of labor rights for the more than 100 million workers in this country. Workers deserve an independent agency with board members who can decide cases based on the law and facts, not the president's preferences or direction. But Member Wilcox was fired solely because the president disagreed with her decisions. In order to restore the independence of this agency and ensure workers and employers alike may receive fair hearings and justice, Gwynne Wilcox must be reinstated to the board. Her reinstatement is critical for the sake of present or future nominees’ ability to do their jobs. Until then, any nomination is to a fundamentally compromised board.

Contact: Steve Smith, 202-637-5018