The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) issued a report earlier this month that details numerous ways in which President Donald Trump, through his appointees on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), has weakened worker protections and rights, and given employers ever more power.
In a press release dated October 16, 2019, the EPI said
Examples of harmful actions the Trump NLRB has taken or proposed include:
- Undermining collective bargaining rights by giving employers more power to make unilateral changes without consulting with the union, gerrymandering bargaining units to undermine organizing drives, and withdrawing recognition from existing unions
- Stripping tens of thousands of student workers and Uber drivers of their right to organize under the National Labor Relations Act
- Narrowing the definition of “joint employer” – which makes it harder for temporary and contract workers to bargain with the firms that control their wages and working conditions
- Giving employers more power to prevent workers and union organizers from organizing and protesting on the employer’s property, even when employers let other groups on their property to solicit
“The Trump NLRB has systematically rolled back workers’ right under the NLRA and they show no sign of slowing down,” said Lynn Rhinehart, one of the report’s authors. “Congress has a responsibility to hold the NLRB accountable for their actions, and policymakers should pass legislation to restore and strengthen workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain.”
You can read the entire report and decide for yourself.
UNPRECEDENTED_The Trump NLRB’s attack on workers’ rights
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a non-profit, nonpartisan think tank created in 1986 to include the needs of low- and middle-income workers in economic policy discussions. EPI believes every working person deserves a good job with fair pay, affordable health care, and retirement security. To achieve this goal, EPI conducts research and analysis on the economic status of working America. EPI proposes public policies that protect and improve the economic conditions of low- and middle-income workers and assesses policies with respect to how they affect those workers.