Trump's second war on organized labor is underway

By BERRY CRAIG

AFT Kentucky Local 1360

“It is difficult to predict what a second Trump administration may augur for the broader political economy, yet at least one thing is almost certain: in the near future—perhaps sooner than anticipated—Donald Trump’s appointees will recapture control of the National Labor Relations Board,” wrote Jason Vasquez in the onlabor blog. “There is little doubt the corporate attorneys Trump is all but guaranteed to nominate to lead the agency will swiftly move to dismantle the Biden Board’s prounion legacy and, in the traditional Republican fashion, reformulate national labor policy in management’s favor. 

In his first term, Trump proved to be one of the most anti-union presidents ever. Even so, there was talk he'd be different this time. 

But he lost no time opening fire in his second war against organized labor. He made Marvin Kaplan NLRB chair. He’s the only Republican on the board, but evidently not for long. Trump has two more nominees awaiting Senate approval.

In 2020, the AFL-CIO opposed Trump’s nomination of Kaplan for a second five-year board term: “Kaplan’s record of decisions at the board has been among the most partisan, anti-worker in the board’s history.” 

Before Trump got elected, it was clear his renewed assault on unions included turning Joe Biden’s pro-union NLRB into the anti-union panel it was in the first Trump administration. 

"Elections have consequences," former Kentucky AFL-CIO President Bill Londrigan often said.