The removal of the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel had been expected. But the firing of a Democratic member stops it from protecting workers’ rights, for now.

Take a seat in the Break Room, our weekly round up of labor news in Minnesota and beyond. This week: Trump kneecaps the NLRB; union membership declines nationally; union membership tied to longer life expectancy;

President Donald Trump has removed a Democratic member of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board from office, an unprecedented move that will escalate an ongoing legal battle over the scope of the president's powers to control federal agencies.