One week into his second term, President Donald Trump fired National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo — who had been a powerful advocate for workers during her tenure as an appointee — and board member Gwynne Wilcox, whose illegal dismissal leaves the NLRB without quorum.
The firing of Wilcox, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in September 2023 to a second five-year-term, was unprecedented and illegal, the AFL-CIO says.
“President Trump’s firing of NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox, the first Black woman to serve on the board, is illegal and will have immediate consequences for working people,” said Liz Shuler, president of the AFL-CIO, in a press release.
“By leaving only two board members in their posts, the President has effectively shut down the National Labor Relations Board’s operations, leaving the workers it defends on their own in the face of union-busting and retaliation.”
On February 5, Wilcox sued Mr. Trump alleging that her firing was “unprecedented and illegal.” In the 90 years since Congress established the agency, no president has attempted to remove a member of the board, Wilcox told CBS News in a February 6 interview. “I handled cases where workers were fired and retaliated against for their conduct, but I never imagined that I would be the person being fired for doing my job.”
According to Wilcox’s suit, a board member cannot be removed from their position unless they’ve engaged in neglect of duty or malfeasance. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, asserts her dismissal was “blatant violation” of the National Labor Relations Act that protects board members from being fired without cause.
“He does not have the authority to remove me based on my views,” said Wilcox, a lawyer who prior to her position at NLRB represented labor unions.
Wilcox says she is asking a judge to declare her removal unlawful and reinstate her as a member of the board. In her filing, she notes that Mr. Trump may try to use the litigation as a “test case” for the courts. And she states that “if her firing is upheld, it could set a precedent that would expand presidential power.” But, she says, “if she didn’t take legal action, it would render the laws protecting the independence of agencies like hers meaningless.”
“If I don’t fight, that means the president gets to do whatever he wants to do in violation of the law,” Wilcox told CBS News.
During her interview with CBS, Wilcox noted that the board took actions to protect the rights of workers at Amazon and SpaceX. The latter owned by Elon Musk, who, through his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has been working his way across federal government agencies under the guise of rooting out inefficiency. Several news outlets have noted his conflicts of interest as many of the federal agencies he has called for closing had been investigating companies owned by the billionaire.
