The NLRB Can Now Serve the American People, Not the Democratic Party

The Biden-era board turned labor law into a political weapon. It’s time to rebuild a system that serves the American people, not partisan interests.

For much of the 20th and early 21st centuries, many American workers have benefited from strong, honest unions that focus on safety, skills, and fair pay. These kinds of unions deliver real value to workers: improving conditions, building careers, and strengthening the industries that keep America moving. Their ability to do so was the result of a structure that allowed for relatively fair bargaining and negotiations between American workers and employers.

Nearly a century ago, amidst widespread labor unrest and citing the disruptive effect on commerce from conflicts between employers and workers, Congress created the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and tasked it with upholding fairness in the workplace and protecting the rights of both employees and employers while enforcing federal labor law. After some initial twists and turns, the NLRB interpreted the law in a manner that generally protected the balance between American workers and employers.

But under the Biden administration, that mission was corrupted. The NLRB became a political tool for politically partisan unions and their leadership and, effectively, a fundraising arm of the Democratic Party, instead of serving the interests of American workers. The ideologues in the Biden administration believed that the advancement of their political objectives justified nearly any actions by union leadership, even when it harmed American workers.