Reprinted from Politico by Rebecca Rainey on January 21, 2021.
President Joe Biden is forcing out two Trump-era counsels from the National Labor Relations Board, the first time in more than 70 years a president has exercised that power over the agency.
National Labor Relations Board General Counsel Peter Robb, a Trump appointee, was fired Wednesday after refusing a request from Biden to step down from his post. On Thursday, Biden asked for the resignation of Robb’s replacement, Deputy General Counsel Alice Stock, by 5 p.m. or said she would be dismissed.
Robb’s dismissal — hailed by union officials and their Democratic allies, who blame him for what they say is a pro-management turn in the labor board — marked the first time a president has removed the top lawyer at the NLRB since Harry Truman did so in 1950. …
Semel: Good Riddance to a Terrible National Labor Relations Board Head
Reprinted from Jacobin by Gabrielle Semel on January 24, 2021.
… “Before becoming the GC, Robb had spent his legal career as an aggressive anti-union management lawyer,” writes Gabrielle Semel in Jacobin. “Among his accomplishments were aiding in the defeat of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike under President Ronald Reagan. His success in crushing that strike raised the threat of permanent replacement for all striking workers, a threat still felt to this day.
“Robb was appointed to the position of GC by Donald Trump in 2017. Like most Trump appointees, he set out to undermine (some might say destroy) the agency he was appointed to help lead.
“Robb showed his true colors early in his tenure. He attempted to restructure the agency by diminishing the role of the regional directors and centralizing decision-making power in his office. …
