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U.S. Senate Betrays Workers by Confirming Union Busters to NLRB

Max Hall
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This week in Washington, D.C., a critical federal institution meant to protect working people took a dangerous turn. The U.S. Senate confirmed two Trump nominees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Scott Mayer and James Murphy, in a 100% partisan vote that hands a majority to corporations and employers. Every Republican voted for the nominees and all Democrats voted against the proposal. 

This is a direct attack on the basic rights of workers all across the country.

The NLRB is supposed to be a neutral organization of fairness in the workplace, the place workers go when their rights are violated, when employers disrespect and unfairly drag out collective bargaining processes, when unfair labor practices happen, and when union elections must be carried out and protected from corporate and employer domination. It matters because without it, powerful corporations and employers are left to write the rules in their own favor. That is what the NLRB with these two appointees may do, and we must hold them accountable and fight back.

Instead of strengthening this critical agency, the U.S. Senate has now packed it with representatives of big business, including lawyers who made their careers defending employer interests and union-busting tactics. One of the new appointees most recently served as chief labor counsel at Boeing. That should alarm every working person who believes in fairness on the job.

Why This Matters to Us

Across Minnesota, AFSCME Council 5 members know firsthand why a fair and empowered NLRB matters:

  • When workers at institutions in the private sector like in cultural institutions, museums, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and others, organize for a voice at work, we rely on the law to protect union elections and collective bargaining rights.
  • When employers turn to intimidation, retaliation, or union-busting tactics, the NLRB is where those unfair labor practice charges are heard and justice is sought.
  • When past decisions helped ensure transparency and accountability in workplaces large and small, working people felt protected.

Now those protections are all at risk. The new board members are widely expected to undo precedents that made it easier for workers to organize, hold fair elections, and challenge unfair practices. This isn’t a neutral reset — it’s a rollback of decades of progress.

HowWe are Fighting Back

AFSCME Council 5 has added an important item to our state legislative agenda that says we will work to pass legislation and codify expanded rights of private sectors in Minnesota State Statute. We will fight for our members and all workers who are considering forming a union at work. 

➡️ Are you interested in forming a union at work? We are here for you! Inquire here: https://afscmemn.org/join/want-form-union

This Is Bigger Than Politics

AFSCME Council 5 exists to make sure the people who keep Minnesota’s communities running effectively from public health workers to corrections officers, and clerical workers to social workers have a real voice at work. 

But when those charged with enforcing the law are appointed because they’re friendly to corporate power, not to workers, the scales of justice and fairness tip dangerously in favor of employers who think they can ignore the law with impunity and no consequences.

We’ve seen this kind of fight before. Whether defending our union in court against meritless attacks, or standing up for members whose jobs and benefits are threatened by decisions made without our input, AFSCME Council 5 members never back down. Our union has always fought — and will continue to fight — for dignity, respect, and fairness on the job.

✊ Our Union's Response

This isn’t the end. It’s an important call to action.

We are a union that is built on solidarity and on working people standing shoulder-to-shoulder, not just in good times, but in times when our rights are under attack. To protect the rights workers have fought so hard to win, we will:

  • Educate members about why a fair and independent NLRB matters.
  • Advocate for laws and leaders who will defend working people, not corporate power.
  • Share stories of how the National Labor Relations Board has helped real workers in real workplaces.
  • Mobilize our members to speak out against union-busting policies and practices.

Working people deserve a system that protects our rights, enforces the law, and holds employers accountable, not a system that is stacked in favor of mega corporations and billionaires.

Workers built AFSCME Council 5 on the belief that when we stand together, we are stronger than any attack on our rights. And we will continue to prove that every single day when we stand together and fight back.