Unionism Under Assault (Among Other Things)

Last November I wrote an election column in support of the AFM’s political endorsements. I limited my remarks to how Labor and our musicians’ local would be affected by either outcome in the elections. Looking back, I wish I had said more.

Even with only those issues to consider it was a stark choice for us to make in the voting booth, though I made a strong effort to present a sober evaluation as a resource to you. Now, as chaotic as the current news cycle is, it may be easy to miss some of the reporting which directly affect us in the labor community, so here are a few of the important news items.

♦ Soon after inauguration, the Trump administration fired Jennifer Abruzzo, General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) appointed by President Biden. This was expected, but what was less expected (and less legal) was the firing of the Biden appointee to the Board, Gwynne Wilcox. Removing Wilcox from her post effectively rendered the board unable to function, which was apparently the point. The matter is now in the courts and who knows where it will land by the time SCOTUS gets it.

♦ In addition to hamstringing the NLRB in this way, the now ubiquitous Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Elon Musk has facilitated cuts to that already understaffed agency. The administration has also made cuts to the Department of Labor (terminations across at least six departments) and has nearly shut down the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, which works to minimize and resolve labor disputes. Of course, all of these agencies are mandated by federal law.

♦ On March 27 the Trump Administration issued an order canceling hundreds of thousands of federal government union members’ contracts, in a largely retaliatory action against their unions’ actions on their behalf. Please see Secretary-Treasurer Aaron Pino’s full report on this action and the fight now begun to rectify it.

♦ And most late breaking, a federal cybersecurity specialist has filed a whistleblower report that DOGE caused a security breach and may have removed illegally sensitive data from the NLRB. While the story is new among many – as DOGE and Musk already face lawsuits questioning their access to agency’s computer systems – it is particularly suggestive of a conflict of interest as Musk’s SpaceX has been under NLRB investigation, and has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the NLRB’s structure.

I have often felt that the National Labor Relations Act (which the NLRB enforces) was our workers’ bill of rights. It enumerates the underlying law that protects the work we do as a union, and it is an abdication of the executive branch’s duties to undermine the agency’s role, “leaving the workers it defends on their own,” says AFL-CIO President Liz Schuler.

But abdication of duty is only the start, as legal scholar Richard Epstein has pointed out, Trump “is trying to smash the entire independent commission system… he wants to get rid of (the NLRB) altogether.”

Given this sea change of government hostility towards unionism, what do we do now? The answer came from Abruzzo upon her termination from the NLRB, “…if the Agency [NLRB] does not fully effectuate its Congressional mandate in the future as we did during my tenure, I expect that workers with assistance from their advocates will take matters into their own hands in order to get well-deserved dignity and respect in the workplace, as well as a fair share of the significant value they add to their employer’s operations.”

I am with Abruzzo here. In this age of confusion and dysfunction, we will have to be creative, rely on our wits, and develop new solutions. In truth, our power has never come from the law itself (we tread on thin ice if we rely too heavily upon it). Our real power rises from our blood, sweat and tears and – yes – solidarity.

So it is back to basics. If our elected representatives refuse to properly enforce our rights and protections, we will indeed take matters into our own hands. We will continue to work with the tools they cannot take away. Where there is illegality, we will answer with leverage. Where there is malevolence, we will respond with our collective and righteous call to justice. And where we have common interests, we will act in concert with our allies.

And one more thing: Due Process of Law is one of those basic ingredients of a civilization that values human rights and holds no toleration for despotism. As a union we manifest this fundamental right for everyone to be treated equally under the law, and to have a fair opportunity to be heard when under accusation. I need not summarize the Trump Administration’s ongoing egregious efforts to circumvent peoples’ due process rights. But I will point out that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, now imprisoned in El Salvador, branded a terrorist and denied a chance to defend himself (along with many others), is a fellow Union who was working legally in the United States. The International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Local 100 demands that their brother is returned to his family, and given due process. We stand in solidarity.