Trump Judge Sides With Employer Arguing NLRB Is Unconstitutional

LOADING ERROR LOADING A federal judge in Texas just handed a court victory to an employer who’s arguing that a key labor rights agency is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman of the Northern District of Texas granted a temporary injunction Monday preventing the agency, the National Labor Relations Board, from moving forward with union-busting charges against the employer, Texas-based Findhelp. Advertisement Pittman, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, wrote in his order that Findhelp is likely to prevail in its argument that the NLRB’s structure violates the constitution. “The Court [is] unpersuaded by the NLRB’s arguments,” Pittman wrote. Findhelp, a tech startup that says it aims to “modernize” America’s social safety net, is one of several employers that has claimed the NLRB is unconstitutional after the agency brought cases against them. Unions and labor rights advocates have described such arguments as extreme and dangerous, saying they threaten the labor board’s mission of protecting workers who try to organize. But Pittman’s order granting Findhelp’s request for an injunction shows again that the idea has currency among conservative judges. Marc Piasecki via Getty Images Advertisement Elon Musk’s aerospace company, SpaceX, is pursuing its own lawsuit arguing the NLRB’s structure is unconstitutional. The injunctions stop the NLRB cases against SpaceX and Findhelp until the cases revolving around questions of constitutionality are litigated, potentially all the way up to the Supreme Court. “Granting an injunction would encourage any employer or labor union unhappy with scrutiny of their labor practices to seek preliminary injunctions against NLRB proceedings,” the NLRB argued in the SpaceX case. Support Free Journalism Consider supporting HuffPost starting at $2 to help us provide free, quality journalism that puts people first. Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone. The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone. The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. As part of its argument, Findhelp claims that the board’s administrative law judge system violates the president’s “removal powers” under Article II of the Constitution. Pittman granted the injunction on that argument alone, and didn’t address Findhelp’s claim that the labor board’s structure is also at odds with the Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine. Advertisement Last year, tech workers at Findhelp voted 95-52 in favor of joining the Office and Professional Employees International Union. The union has accused the company of illegally firing and coercing workers in an effort to undermine the organizing campaign, prompting the NLRB to pursue its case. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-judge-nlrb-constitutionality_n_66e9a2e4e4b0beccbbaed4cf