Elon Musk’s dream comes true: The federal board that protects workers does not exist, at least for now

The National Labor Relations Board, the independent agency that is supposed to enforce labor laws for most American workers, has been essentially shut down after President Donald Trump fired one of its board members, leaving it without the quorum it needs to function.

The National Labor Relations Board, the independent agency that is supposed to enforce labor laws for most American workers, has been essentially shut down after President Donald Trump fired one of its board members, leaving it without the quorum it needs to function. The NLRB oversees elections to form unions and also investigates complaints about unfair labor practices, such as firing workers for supporting unions. Of the five-seat board, two members’ seats were open because their terms expired. President Trump’s unprecedented firing of a third board member has now left the NLRB without even the ability to form the simple majority needed for votes, effectively leaving it moribund. “This is great for employers — they have a nonfunctioning NLRB,” said Cathy Creighton, an NLRB attorney during the Clinton administration and the director of Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations co-lab in Buffalo, New York. Formed 90 years ago, the NLRB was crucial to the growth of private sector unions in the middle of the last century. But more recently it has overseen the decline of union representation at US businesses, as its enforcement powers have been limited by conservative courts and members of Congress eager to please businesses.