Donald Trump is trying to shock and awe the workers’ movement into submission. This became immediately clear with the January firing of pro-union National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) officials, including General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and board member Gwynne Wilcox. The latter move is illegal, since Wilcox’s congressionally mandated term does not end until August 2028. And it leaves the five-person national board without a quorum and therefore unable to do its work nationally.

It’s unclear what Trump’s next steps will be. Perhaps he intends to leave a seat vacant to hobble the board for the next four years. But for employers, such an approach would have the downside of leaving all of Joe Biden’s board’s pro-union decisions on the books. Perhaps the new administration is primarily interested in pushing the legally dubious conservative theory that US presidents are vested with the power to fire NLRB appointees.

All we know for sure is that, contrary to some union leaders’ and pundits’ hopes, Trump is not taking a more pro-labor approach than prior Republican administrations. His moves so far suggest a desire to flout legal rules on behalf of his billionaire buddies.