A U.S. District Judge has reinstated NLRB Board member Gwynne Wilcox. Wilcox was removed by President Trump despite the fact that Board members can only be removed for neglect of duty or malfeasance, and only after proper notice and a hearing. Wilcox was elected for a second five-year term in 2023 and was the first black woman to serve in the Board’s 90-year history.
The Department of Homeland Security has announced that it is canceling its union contract covering 47,000 workers at the Transportation Security Administration. The contact between the government and the American Federation of Government Employees runs through 2031. AFGE cannot appeal the decision to the Federal Labor Relations Authority because it lacks a quorum after President Trump fired the Authority’s chair. Workers state the contract brought stability to the TSA, where turnover had often been 20 to 25 percent a year prior to the contract.
Florida Republicans are proposing a law that would make it harder for public workers to secure union representation. The law would eliminate voluntary recognition, requiring that an election be conducted. Additionally, the bill would require that a majority of workers, and not just a majority of those voting, would be needed to secure union representation. Given that election turnout is often well below 100 percent, unions argue that the change would make it next to impossible for them to win elections. Unions representing public safety workers, such as law enforcement and firefighters, would be exempt from the proposed law.