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Gwynne Wilcox
Chair of the National Labor Relations Board
In office
December 17, 2024 – January 20, 2025
PresidentJoe Biden
Donald Trump
Preceded byLauren McFerran
Succeeded byMarvin Kaplan
Member of the National Labor Relations Board
In office
September 11, 2023 – January 27, 2025
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byHerself
Succeeded byvacant
In office
August 4, 2021 – August 27, 2023
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byMark Gaston Pearce
Succeeded byHerself
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
EducationSyracuse University (BA)
Rutgers University, Newark (JD)

Gwynne A. Wilcox is an American attorney who was a member and chairman of the National Labor Relations Board until January 27, 2025.

Early life and education

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Wilcox obtained a Bachelor of Arts from Syracuse University and a Juris Doctor from the Rutgers Law School.

Career

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Wilcox is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. She is also a member of the Labor and Employment Law sections of both the American Bar Association and New York State Bar Association. She is a partner at Levy Ratner, P.C, an employment law firm that deals with unions. Part of Wilcox's work is to represent unions before the NLRB.

NLRB

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On May 26, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Wilcox to be a member of the National Labor Relations Board.[1] The Senate HELP Committee held hearings on her nomination on July 15, 2021. On July 21, 2021, the committee favorably reported her nomination to the Senate floor.[2] Wilcox was confirmed by the entire Senate on July 28, 2021, by a roll call vote of 52–47.[3] She was sworn into her position on August 4, 2021.[4] With this appointment, Wilcox became the first Black woman to be a member of the NLRB.[5][6]

On June 2, 2023, President Biden nominated Wilcox for a second term on the board.[7] Her nomination was favorably reported by the Senate's HELP committee on July 12, 2023, and confirmed by the full Senate on September 6, 2023.[8] Her seat was briefly vacant as her initial term expired on August 27, 2023.[9] She was designated as chair in December 2024 after the term of former chair Lauren McFerran expired.[10]

Dismissal by Donald Trump

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Donald Trump attempted to dismiss Wilcox from NLRB altogether on Jan. 27, 2025.[11] Trump's firing of Wilcox and Jennifer Abruzzo is reported to paralyze the Labor Board, which now lacks the three-member quorum it needs to decide cases that come before it.[12]

On January 27, 2025, President Donald Trump fired Wilcox, though her term was supposed to last into August 2028. The U.S. Supreme Court holding Morrison v. Olson states that Congress provides tenure protections to certain inferior officers with narrowly defined duties, like the NLRB, from being fired except with good cause.[13][14] Her spokesperson said her firing violated "long-standing Supreme Court precedent" and that she would take "legal avenues" to challenge her removal.[15][16] Wilcox's firing also explicitly contradicted a federal statute which provides that members of the NLRB "may be removed by the President, upon notice and hearing, for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office, but for no other cause."[17][18] On February 5, 2025 the law firm Gupta Wessler LLP filed the lawsuit Wilcox v. Trump and Kaplan in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.[19] (Source: Huff Post, et al) Wilcox has sued Trump and Attorney Kaplan (Hus).

Awards and honors

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Wilcox is the recipient of Syracuse University's Chancellor's Citation for Distinguished Achievement. She has also won the Peggy Browning Fund's Lifetime Achievement Award.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "President Biden Announces More Key Administration Nominations". The White House. May 26, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "PN609 — Gwynne A. Wilcox — National Labor Relations Board 117th Congress (2021-2022)". US Congress. July 28, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  3. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Gwynne A. Wilcox, of New York, to be a Member of the National Labor Relations Board)". US Senate. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  4. ^ "The National Labor Relations Board Welcomes New Board Member Gwynne Wilcox". National Labor Relations Board. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  5. ^ Weldon, David G. (March 28, 2021). "President Biden Nominates Union-Side Attorney Gwynne Wilcox to the NLRB". The National Law Review. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  6. ^ "Gwynne A. Wilcox". National Labor Relations Board. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  7. ^ "President Biden Announces Key Nominees". The White House. June 2, 2023. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  8. ^ "PN743 — Gwynne A. Wilcox — National Labor Relations Board 118th Congress (2023-2024)". US Congress. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  9. ^ Tsirkin, Julie (July 21, 2023). "Union leaders are 'frustrated' with Democrats as key nominee awaits a vote". NBC News. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  10. ^ NLRB Office of Public Affairs (December 17, 2024). "President Biden Designates Gwynne A. Wilcox as Chair of the National Labor Relations Board". National Labor Relations Board. Retrieved December 17, 2024.
  11. ^ Hsu, Andrea (January 28, 2025). "Trump fires EEOC and labor board officials, setting up legal fight". NPR. Retrieved January 29, 2025.
  12. ^ Sainato, Michael (February 5, 2025). "Dismissed labor official sues Trump and NLRB chair over firing". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
  13. ^ U.S. Supreme Court (June 29, 1988). "Morrison v. Olson, 487 U.S. 654". Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  14. ^ Frazelle, Brain (June 28, 2025). "Trump's Firing of National Labor Relations Board Member Without Good Cause Is Blatantly Unconstitutional".
  15. ^ Jamieson, Dave (January 28, 2025). "Trump Again Tests The Bounds Of Presidential Power In Firing Of Latest Official". Huff Post. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  16. ^ Sainato, Michael (January 28, 2025). "Trump fires senior labor board official in 'unprecedented and illegal' move". The Guardian. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
  17. ^ 29 U.S.C. § 153(a)
  18. ^ Niedzwiadek, Nick (February 5, 2025). "Trump fired this independent labor regulator. Now, she's suing". Politico. Retrieved February 6, 2025.
  19. ^ "COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF" (PDF). Courtliness. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
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