On Sept. 8, 2021, President Biden told a room full of labor leaders, workers, and government officials that he intended “to be the most pro-union president leading the most pro-union administration in American history.” Looking back on Biden’s time in office, there is no question that his administration delivered for labor. His appointments to the National Labor Relations Board included union stalwarts such as Jennifer Abruzzo of the Communications Workers of America, Gwynne Wilcox from the New York labor-law firm Levy Ratner, and David Prouty from the Service Employee International Union. Biden boosted the NLRB’s budget by $25 million, and during his time in office, the size and power of the agency waxed.
Despite building back labor, walking picket lines, and earning comparisons to FDR, Biden’s Democratic Party has suffered a massive loss of working-class support. Meanwhile, Donald Trump, who staffed the NLRB with union-busting goons, won the majority of working-class votes in 2024 and, with them, a second term in office. Given this failure at the ballot box, what remains of the socialist left faces a difficult question: Could it be that the interests of the working class don’t align with the interests of what is known as “labor”?