In January, a Philadelphia Whole Foods became the first Amazon-owned grocery store to cast its lot with a union. Cheers erupted among produce workers, led by organizer Ed Dupree, as celery, apples, and broccoli bore witness to their small but hard-fought victory. For a fleeting moment, the corporation that often seemed untouchable felt human-sized.
That jubilation didn’t last. Barely a week into Donald Trump’s second term, the president fired Democratic labor board member Gwynne Wilcox, claiming she favored workers over business. Suddenly, the National Labor Relations Board—tasked for 90 years with shepherding union elections—was crippled, lacking the three-member quorum required to validate votes or resolve disputes.
The impact was immediate. Whole Foods contested the Philadelphia election, arguing the board’s diminished ranks nullified its authority. The Supreme Court, twice this year, allowed Trump’s firing to stand while lower-court challenges lingered, effectively freezing the agency’s ability to act. What should have been a routine certification now sits in legal limbo.
Employers nationwide quickly seized on the vacuum. A Reuters review found more than 50 appeals challenging union votes filed after Wilcox’s ouster, from CVS stores to SeaWorld’s Discovery Cove, targeting the board’s weakened structure. Nearly all came through specialized law firms adept at stalling unionization efforts. In some cases, companies argued elections could not proceed until the board’s authority is restored—a stance that effectively pauses workers’ organizing momentum.
The delay is more than procedural. Organizers warn that stalled unionization leaves employees vulnerable to intimidation and retaliation. At Philadelphia’s Whole Foods, union supporters report 11 firings since January, including allegations of discipline over trivial actions like sampling cakes. “Employers can make it so scary and unpleasant to support a union,” says attorney Michelle Devitt, representing the workers.
Across the country, similar efforts play out quietly. From healthcare workers in Boston to hotel staff near Washington, D.C., employees face the same legal stalemate. “Delays are the friend of employers,” notes former NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo. “They erode worker power, union support, and confidence in government.”
Still, organizers like Dupree remain undeterred. “Workers organizing isn’t going to stop just because the NLRB is stymied,” he says, pushing forward in pursuit of higher wages, better healthcare, and job security—even if the law lags behind.
