On the eve of his election, President Joe Biden promised to “be the most pro-union president you’ve ever seen.” True to his word, his administration has thus far granted organized labor’s every ask. Only 23 minutes into his presidency, and before his inaugural address was even finished, the White House demanded the resignation of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) Peter Robb - a lightning rod for union criticism. Robb respectfully denied the request, noting that he had been confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a statutory four-year term that did not expire until November 2021.

In an unprecedented and legally questionable move, President Biden dismissed Robb later that same day. The newly elected president then immediately named Peter Sung Ohr as the Board’s acting general counsel. Previously the NLRB’s regional director in Chicago, Ohr is perhaps best known as the author of the regional decision that found Division I college football players to be statutory “employees” - a finding eventually not adopted by the Board. Shortly after installing Ohr to the interim GC role, the White House next announced the nomination of Jennifer Abruzzo for the permanent post.