Violating Norms on Day One, Biden Axes Respected Labor Attorney

President Joe Biden caved to the demands of labor unions and fired the National Labor Relations Board’s top prosecutor on Wednesday, a move that many have labeled as “unprecedented.”

While members of the NLRB general counsel usually serve four-year terms, shortly after his inauguration, Biden pressured attorney Peter Robb to resign from his position before his tenure at the independent agency expired. Robb refused to resign, criticizing the decision in a letter to the Biden administration, saying the pressure seemed partisan coming from an executive branch that continues to peddle a message of unity. . .

Despite Robb’s concerns, Biden fired him following months of pressure from the large Service Employees International Union, which assisted the now-president on the campaign trail. In December, the union sent Biden a letter demanding Robb be removed, but not before coordinating with “allies in the labor movement” to persuade them to join the cause. According to reporting by the Huffington Post, the letter from the union claimed Robb is an “extreme, anti-union ideologue” and a “uniquely destructive figure” that damages the fight for labor relations.

There was a lot of angst inside the agency too, among lawyers who hated the restructuring Robb was doing. I spoke to some over the past few years. They felt like it was getting harder to pursue big cases and carry out the mission of protecting collective bargaining rights.

— Dave Jamieson (@jamieson) January 21, 2021