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3 weeks ago | 
industryweek.com | Ryan Secard
Gwynne Wilcox, a Biden appointee to the National Labor Relations Board, has resumed her seat there a second time since being fired by the Trump Administration in late January. Wilcox was initially fired from the NLRB on January 28.
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1 month ago | 
industryweek.com | Geert De Lombaerde |Anna Smith |Dennis Scimeca |Ryan Secard
Editor’s note: Welcome to So That Happened, our editors’ takes on things going on in the manufacturing world that deserve some extra attention. This will appear regularly in the Member’s Only section of the site. Would supporters of tariffs consider them a success if they led to one in three manufacturing businesses increasing their domestic production capacity? It strikes us as quite likely that they would raise a glass to that outcome.
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1 month ago | 
industryweek.com | Ryan Secard
President Trump’s first month back in office has seen a blitz of executive and legislative promises, threats, proposals and actions. So, let’s take a step to slow down, focus on what’s happened and see what Trump’s early moves signal about labor policies and how things will be in the next four years. Late last year, Trump made one of his most surprising moves since being re-elected: He named a relative unknown as his nominee for secretary of labor, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-Oregon).
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2 months ago | 
industryweek.com | Ryan Secard
Employment in manufacturing rose slightly in January 2025 while the overall unemployment rate fell by 0.1 points. According to the latest preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, durable-goods manufacturing actually lost some jobs last month, but the loss was offset by larger gains in the smaller nondurable-goods sector. January was overall a quiet month for manufacturing-related jobs growth.
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2 months ago | 
industryweek.com | Ryan Secard
With the advent of the second Trump administration comes an anticipated increase in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity, including workplace raids. Operating under the Department of Homeland Security, ICE has broad powers of investigation. They can investigate worksites, plant undercover agents and conduct armed raids with warrants. Employers found in violation can be debarred from federal contracts and fined.
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2 months ago | 
industryweek.com | Ryan Secard
A Constitutional battle is heating up in the National Labor Relations Board. On January 28, two days after his expected dismissal of general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, President Trump went further and dismissed Biden appointee and former chair Gwynne Wilcox. The move challenges Supreme Court precedent for the President’s ability to fire board members and leaves the NLRB with only two sitting members — lacking the legal quorum necessary to issue decisions.
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Jan 22, 2025 | 
industryweek.com | Ryan Secard
Stellantis’ Belvidere, Illinois, plant has a new lease on life. According to the United Auto Workers, who pressured Stellantis to reopen the plant, the Chrysler manufacturer has recommitted to reopening the plant and building a new midsized truck there. At the same time, the company announced it would build the next generation of the Dodge Durango SUV at its Detroit Assembly Complex and increase Jeep parts production at its plant in Toledo, Ohio.
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Jan 22, 2025 | 
industryweek.com | Ryan Secard
As one of his many day-one initiatives, President Trump made his first change to the National Labor Relations Board by naming Marvin E. Kaplan as its new chairman. Kaplan is no newcomer to the board, or to leading it. He was initially appointed to the NLRB by Trump during his first term in August 2017, and that December he served as Chairman of the board until April 2018. He was reconfirmed by the Senate for another term of 5 years, which is set to expire this August.
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Jan 8, 2025 | 
industryweek.com | Ryan Secard
Seven weeks since workers at the BlueOval SK plant announced a campaign to join the United Auto Workers, the group has submitted an official union representation petition to the NLRB calling for an election. Union organizers, in a release, note that the action is the union’s first major organizing step of the new year and its latest move in the traditionally union-scarce South. BlueOval SK is a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and SK On, a Korean battery manufacturer.
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Nov 20, 2024 | 
industryweek.com | Geert De Lombaerde |Dennis Scimeca |Jill Jusko |Ryan Secard
For Honeywell, Breaking Up May Be Getting Easier To DoIs Honeywell International Inc. on its way to being the next General Electric Co.? Arguing that Honeywell’s conglomerate structure no longer serves its purpose, the leaders of Elliott Investment Management LP have called for the company’s directors to separate its aerospace and automation divisions so they can be more focused and stake a clearer claim to higher valuations.
