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On Jan. 27, President Donald Trump removed National Labor Relations Board Member Gwynne A. Wilcox, making history as the first president to dismiss a Board member before the end of their five-year term. In a statement, Wilcox said “I will be pursuing all legal avenues to challenge my removal, which violates long-standing Supreme Court precedent,” If upheld in court, this decision leaves the Board with only two members, Marvin Kaplan and David Prouty, after the U.S. Senate rejected former NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran’s nomination to serve another term on the Board.

Before President Trump removed Wilcox, he designated Marvin Kaplan as chair of the Board. Kaplan, whose nomination ABC supported, was confirmed as a member of the Board during the first Trump administration, has a term running through Aug. 27, 2025, while Member Prouty’s term extends to Aug. 27, 2026.

President Trump’s removal of Wilcox was followed by the removal of NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, who previously served as special counsel for strategic initiatives for Communications Workers of America and as and a former acting general counsel for the NLRB in 2017. President Trump’s removal of Abruzzo, mirrors President Joe Biden’s Inauguration Day removal of Trump’s first-term general counsel, Peter Robb. 

Under the Biden administration, the NLRB aggressively pushed pro-union only policies that tilted the playing field against merit shop contractors and free enterprise. The Board’s actions have often favored organized labor at the expense of employers, including those in the construction industry who rely on fair and predictable labor regulations. Wilcox, a staunch union advocate, played a key role in advancing policies that threatened workplace flexibility, worker choice and employer rights.

Looking ahead, Deputy General Counsel Jessica Rutter has been named acting general counsel in the near term, as a permanent replacement subject to Senate confirmation. The future composition of the Board is less certain. Traditionally, the president’s party holds a 3-2 majority on the five-member Board. However, in New Process Steel, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the NLRB needs three members to have a quorum, so with a two-person board, the current NLRB lacks the quorum needed to issue decisions.

For ABC members, this shake-up at the NLRB represents an opportunity to restore fairness and predictability in labor relations. ABC will continue to advocate for a balanced approach at the NLRB and oppose regulatory overreach that may threaten employees, employers and economic growth.

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