As the organized labor movement marked May Day this week, fledgling unions at Seattle-area giants worried that long-stalled negotiations may be dead in the water as the National Labor Relations Board shifts under the second Trump administration.

Union activity in Washington state swelled in 2022, with workers from Seattle-area companies like Starbucks and REI filing for union representation in the state and across the country.

The unions say momentum is still building. Starbucks Workers United, the union representing baristas at more than 550 stores, called a five-day strike in December at some of the busiest cafes in the country, including the Reserve Roastery on Capitol Hill.

REI's union, which represents workers at 11 stores, including one in Washington, is also trying to hammer out a contract. However, the union says the outdoor retail co-op hasn't come to the table and has instead sent representatives from a law firm.

Workers at Amazon also filed for unionization, though it's been confined to the company's warehouse workforce and hasn't reached Washington state.

While the NLRB moved slowly before, under President Donald Trump it hit a wall. The board only has two of five seats filled, meaning it can't rule on decisions. While contracts can be negotiated and unfair labor practice charges can be filed, any disputes are being sent into the void.

Stalled labor board

The unions won elections and started bargaining for contracts under the Biden administration and a more labor-friendly NLRB, a key defender of workers rights. One major decision from the NLRB last year included a ruling that Amazon violated its workers' rights by holding "captive audience" meetings to discuss unionization.

Another decision, in a case against Starbucks, refined rules around how employers could discuss unionization with employees. The ruling required employers to walk a fine line in presenting the negative consequences of unionization to employees.

Former NLRB chair Lauren McFerran issued the rulings. The Senate rejected her renomination in December, clearing the way for a Republican majority on the five-member board, eventually.

After taking office in January, Trump swiftly fired NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and board member Gwynne Wilcox, who is contesting her firing. Both were nominated by President Joe Biden.

The board now stands at two members and no longer has a quorum, leaving it paralyzed. Vacancies on the board have happened before, usually as fights break out over nominations. But Trump firing Wilcox before her term expired is what makes it unprecedented.

The Trump administration has left the board in limbo, a situation that could ultimately help employers, said Sharon Block, a Harvard law professor and former NLRB board member.

"The bottom line is that workers in this country right now do not have an effective right to collective bargaining," Block said.

Sean Embly, director of organizing for UFCW 3000, said he thinks the conversation around the NLRB gets a little lost. REI's union is affiliated with UFCW.

REI's union is pushing for higher wages, job protection, more staffing in stores and guaranteed minimum hours. It's also engaged the retailer's members, rallying them to withhold their vote during REI's ongoing board member election. The union has said REI's board is turning corporate and has disregarded union-backed candidates.

REI members and the union also recently led the backlash against REI's support of Trump's pick for secretary of the interior, Doug Burgum. REI retracted the endorsement last month.

Whether the NLRB flips or stays in limbo, the Starbucks and REI unions aren't as concerned. The NLRB moves slowly and the consequences for violating decisions can be weak.

"The board has never been what gives workers power," Embly said. "We've seen REI try to hide behind the Trump board and use it as a shield to do what they want. The employer has the opportunity to change course and get back to their co-op values and settle the contract."

Embly's even optimistic that some of the unfair labor practice charges filed by the union would hold up under a Republican board. The NLRB filed a complaint against REI in March that said the retailer had illegally withheld raises and bonuses from unionized stores.

"We think these are such bad violations that even a Trump board is gonna side with the workers," Embly said.

Starbucks baristas keep fighting

Mari Cosgrove, a barista at the Reserve Roastery and a bargaining delegate for the store, said the union's strategy is to treat the NLRB processes as secondary. The union is opting for collective action.

"It's one thing, if it's one person speaking up and fighting for themselves," Cosgrove said. "It's entirely different when we all speak up together. I've noticed it's scarier for the employer to try and retaliate."

Cosgrove said that Trump's election has sparked a new sense of enthusiasm.

Union delegates from Starbucks Workers United, representing over 10,000 baristas, recently rejected a proposal from the company that guaranteed annual raises of at least 2%. The union said Starbucks did not offer any changes to health care benefits or an immediate pay bump.

Starbucks said in a statement that the union "made the decision to present an incomplete framework for single-store contracts to their delegates to vote on, effectively undermining our collective progress."

The company's average pay for hourly workers is over $19, and including benefits, is worth over $30 per hour.

"Starbucks remains optimistic that, through productive compromise and respectful dialogue, we can finalize a contract that is fair and equitable," the company said.

Both unions say that after Trump's election, there's been a renewed enthusiasm among members. Cosgrove said members were fearful after the election but that transformed into a sense of camaraderie.

"We're not slowing down," she said. "I didn't unionize to stop. I unionized to win what we need to have a better workplace."

An ideological flip

Employees can still go through their normal processes. They can file unfair labor practice charges and hold union elections. But when disputes arise during an election or an employer disregards decisions from an administrative law judge, there's not a strong legal arm to force compliance.

"I can say, 'I believe that my rights were violated,' but if my employer doesn't want to give me my job back, I'm not going to get my job back," Harvard's Block said. "And there's going to be no official assessment of whether my rights were violated or not."

When Trump begins to fill the agency's vacant positions, it's likely to be with those who side closely with employers.

William Gould, who chaired the NLRB from 1994 to 1998, said the makeup of the board during Trump's first term was "probably the most conservative, right-wing of any board" and settled matters "in the favor of employers as quickly as possible."

In January, Trump named Marvin Kaplan as the board's chair. Kaplan was first nominated by Trump in 2017 and has served on the board since. In 2020, the Senate confirmed Kaplan to a five-year term that expires in August.

Trump nominated Morgan Lewis labor law attorney Crystal Carey as the agency's general counsel in March. A hearing for her confirmation hasn't been scheduled yet.

The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which has been trying to unionize Amazon workers, vocally opposed the nomination, calling Morgan Lewis a "notorious union-busting law firm" in a March news release.

Trump rounding out the agency with Republican members wouldn't be unusual. As political winds shift, dramatic ideological changes occur, said Stoel Rives attorney James Shore.

It happened under Biden. Abruzzo, the general counsel nominated by Biden, served as special counsel for the Communications Workers of America and was recommended by the AFL-CIO in 2019 to fill a vacant seat.

Employee-employer standstills can favor employers, and a Republican NLRB is likely a better ally for companies.

"It's a double-edged sword," said Shore, who has long represented employers. "Because I could list off the top of my head six to 10 decisions that the employer community is frothing at the mouth to get overturned."

(Seattle Times reporter Heidi Groover contributed.)

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