Biden Labor Appointee Fires Back At 'Lawbreakers' SpaceX, Amazon, Trader Joes

The general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board took a swipe at SpaceX, Trader Joes and Amazon on Friday for challenging her agencys constitutionality .

Jennifer Abruzzo, a progressive appointee of President Joe Biden, described such companies as deep-pocket, low-road employers that were trying to throw the agency off its mission of protecting workers rights because they have the money to do so.

It seems to me they would rather spend their money initiating court litigation rather than improving their workers lives and their own workplace operations, Abruzzo said. So their primary goal, in my mind, is to divert our scarce resources away from protecting workers rights to organize and to fight for recognition and respect for the value that they add to their employers operations. And that is not going to happen.

She added that the employers were trying to divert attention away from the fact that they are lawbreakers who need to be held accountable in a timely manner.

Abruzzos remarks, delivered as part of a panel put on by the Roosevelt Institute think tank, appear to be her first public comments regarding the legal effort to undermine her agency, long a punching bag for Republican lawmakers and anti-union forces.

The NLRB oversees private-sector union elections and investigates unfair labor practices committed by employers and unions. It has a prosecutorial arm now run by Abruzzo as well as a separate five-member board that interprets the law and rules on cases. The agency was created in 1935 to promote collective bargaining and foster labor peace. 

Abruzzos office alleges that SpaceX, the aerospace company owned by Elon Musk, illegally fired eight workers who had openly criticized the companys culture and Musk. SpaceX responded by bringing a case in federal court arguing the boards structure is unconstitutional and therefore the agencys charges against it are illegitimate. 

If SpaceX succeeds in its challenge, the case could disrupt a collective bargaining system thats been in place since the New Deal.

Lets keep in mind these esoteric legal arguments came about why? Abruzzo said Tuesday. Because we dared to issue a complaint against SpaceX after it unlawfully fired eight workers.

Meanwhile, Trader Joes and Amazon   both of which have been fighting their employees union campaigns recently laid out essentially the same argument as SpaceX in legal proceedings at the labor board. The general counsel has accused both those companies of retaliating against workers to snuff out organizing efforts. 

Trader Joes spokesperson Nakia Rohde noted that the grocer has not joined SpaceXs lawsuit in federal court and merely offered an affirmative defense in an NLRB case.

This was not an argument; it was an opportunity to preserve all of our legal rights under the law, Rohde said. 

Abruzzo said companies like Trader Joes and Amazon were jumping on the bandwagon created by SpaceX. 

Others got into the action just because we are trying to hold them accountable for repeatedly violating workers rights to organize and collectively bargain, she said.

Abruzzo added that she recently spoke to a group of labor attorneys and offered them some advice.

Just because you could make challenges and arguments does not mean you should, she said.

This story has been updated with comment from Trader Joes.