Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, ON THE LABOR FRONT—Following the NLRB Transition Playbook, (Jan 8, 2025)

By Michael J. Soltis

One may ask whether following this playbook is the best way to establish our national labor policy; however, neither party has publicly expressed an interest in changing the playbook.

When the NLRB transitions from the control of one political party to the other, the established playbook makes predicting the future less challenging. The playbook should be titled “Reverse and Restore” since the incoming party seeks to reverse the outgoing party’s key policy decisions and restore the policies of the incoming party. The playbook lays out the roadmap to achieve this goal.

In mid-December, independent Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema joined Republicans to rebuff the Democratic effort to approve NLRB Chair Lauren McFerran for another five-year term. As a result, when the 119th Congress begins at noon on January 3, 2025, the five-member NLRB will have three members—two Democrats and one Republican—and two vacancies.

While the Board describes the General Counsel position as “independent from the Board,” the General Counsel is typically aligned ideologically with the Board majority. It’s likely President Trump will advise NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo that she will be fired if she has not resigned before Inauguration Day, January 20, 2025.

If President Trump follows the NLRB playbook, another bit of wisdom from Yogi Berra is apt: it will be déjà vu all over again. To read more about the NLRB playbook, see Mike Soltis’ latest On the Labor Front article: Following the NLRB Transition Playbook.

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