The National Labor Relations Board plays a fundamental role in determining worker opportunities to organize through its broad authority to interpret and enforce labor law regulations passed by Congress. Every year, the Board hears thousands of claims accusing employers and unions of illegal behaviors, and it relies on existing precedent to decide cases.  Throughout its history, the Board has become increasingly politicized, as both employers and labor unions have pushed Presidents to appoint members who will reinterpret precedent in their favor. This has produced increasingly volatile labor law administration in the United States, as greater shifts in Board ideology can be observed between Republican and Democratic presidencies. This paper makes two key contributions to existing understandings of this dynamic by analyzing changes at the Board during the administrations of Donald Trump and Joe Biden. First, it will examine how NLRB precedent has changed between each administration, demonstrating how the Trump Board took historic direction from pro-business interests, producing record reinterpretations of the law which have yet to be reversed during the Biden administration. Secondly, it will analyze the role of the appointments process in defining opportunities for the Board to change precedent, highlighting how two procedural changes–the removal of the filibuster for appointments and Supreme Court restrictions on recess appointments–have increased volatility in precedent. I suggest that these developments have left the Board more vulnerable to regulatory capture by management interests and legislative obstruction in the future, pointing out the need for structural reform of the institution. 

Dr. Sarah Cate is a fantastic professor and has been an invaluable resource throughout the duration of this project. Her expertise on American politics, political economy, and political movements was formative in developing the research interests which inspired this paper. Additionally, her mentorship throughout the research and writing processes greatly improved the quality of the paper. 

Dr. Robert Cropf and Dr. Morgan Hazelton have also dedicated generous time and energy to the project by serving as members of the thesis committee. Their guidance and contributions are greatly appreciated.