Attorney Gwynne Wilcox returns to work at the National Labor Relations Board after President Trump unsuccessfully attempted to remove her from her position.
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NewsTranscript
00:00How are you feeling today?
00:27I feel wonderful.
00:28This is where I belong.
00:29I am so happy to be here.
00:34Oh my goodness.
00:35I'm so moved right now.
00:38So thank you so much for being here to support me and these wonderful people who I just love
00:46working with and I have the pleasure of having the best job and really having an impact on
00:52people throughout this country and that's what's so important.
00:56This case was not about me.
00:57It was about the agency and the people who work for the agency and who are so dedicated
01:03to our mission.
01:05So thank you.
01:07Okay.
01:08Welcome back to your rightful position.
02:07Well, good morning, everybody.
02:08I'm Congressman Stephen Horsford from Las Vegas, Nevada, and I serve as the co-chair
02:16for the Congressional Labor Caucus, and I am so honored to join with all of you in welcoming
02:27back your commissioner, your board member of the National Labor Relations Board, Gwendolyn
02:41Wilcox.
02:44This is an independent agency representing the rights and the issues of workers and the
02:56fact that her illegal removal really hurt this agency and its ability to do its job
03:05and to all of you who work so hard to make sure that workers are represented.
03:11I wanted to be here along with all of you because we understand that this moment is
03:16about standing up for workers, and that's what your agency does every single day.
03:24I hope people will take a moment to understand the significance not only of your original
03:32appointment, which was historic as the first black board member of the National Labor
03:37Caucus, black woman appointed to the board, but then the illegal removal on January 27th.
03:49But the courts have upheld the rights of this independent agency, and we're pleased to welcome
03:56our board member back, Gwendolyn Wilcox.
04:01God bless you.
04:03Thank you so much for being here.
04:07I know you want a rah-rah speech from me, and I'm going to give it to you, but there's
04:12some things I just don't want to miss because this month has been a long time coming.
04:26In terms of litigation, it's been a short time, but in terms of a personal journey,
04:32it's been long and difficult.
04:35But for your support and everything you have done, I cannot tell you how much I have been
04:40lifted up by your emails and your phone calls and just knowing that you all are here.
04:49That's the biggest thing that happened.
04:51When I learned that I was not going to have this job, I knew that the first thing that
04:56happened was like, what's going to happen to my staff?
04:59How are they going to function?
05:01We have such a sense of community among our staff and among the board, and so it's so
05:07important that we are able to be back together because we're so dedicated to the work that
05:15we do that impacts everybody in this country.
05:18Everyone knows someone who's working or they're actually workers.
05:22It really was never about me.
05:25It was about you all and also about the agency as a whole because if we can't function and
05:32we went down to two board members, there are people who are waiting every day for our decisions.
05:37So for every day that a decision is not issued, we are really not doing our jobs.
05:44When it happened on January 27th, I didn't sleep that night because I was so stunned
05:53and disappointed that this was actually happening, that we would not be able to do our work.
05:59I just thank you all for coming together.
06:04I know there are a lot of challenges, but just really being together and being very supportive
06:11of each other.
06:13I just have to go back to when I was nine years old.
06:16It was just the other day.
06:19I first came to D.C. with my grandparents.
06:23They brought me here.
06:25I look now and think that we could never have envisioned that I would actually be a plaintiff
06:31in a lawsuit against the President of the United States and a fellow board chairman.
06:38You never know what's in your path, but I know I was prepared for this because I know
06:46I stand here on the shoulders of my ancestors, many of whom I did not know, who struggled
06:52and had a lot more struggles than I ever did.
06:55But I think about my parents who really provided for me in a way in terms of providing me with
07:01a great foundation.
07:02They had their challenges, but through their actions and words, they were excellent role
07:08models for making sure that I helped other people.
07:13I think I've done that throughout my career and continue to do that in this position.
07:19I'm so honored to be here.
07:22I know that when that morning when it became apparent that I needed to do something, I
07:30really thought about them and thought about their strength and determination that brought
07:38me to this point.
07:41I had no choice but to move forward.
07:44That's what's given me the strength through these last many days and plus your support
07:52as well.
07:55All roads led me to the Guta-Wesler firm who's done such excellent work.
08:02For those of you who may not have had the opportunity to hear oral argument by Deepak
08:10Guta, it was excellent.
08:12Of course, the decisions by Judge Howell, her decisions and her orders are something
08:22to be read because they will go down in history because of the importance of the issues in
08:29this case.
08:30I had a neighbor who left me a message.
08:34I haven't seen him throughout this since I've been removed, but he left me a handwritten
08:40note, which I love, and it simply said, the President's not king.
08:45That is really the message that will be heard and hopefully being loud and clear as we proceed
08:54with this case.
08:56I know that it was really important for this case and for all of you.
09:01I just want to say that there are two quotes that I would like to just leave you with.
09:10Two things I want to say is we have the best NLRB for many reasons, but now everyone knows
09:16who the NLRB is.
09:23We have the best outreach program.
09:25People actually know about what we do and that is really great.
09:30That means we're going to have more work, which is all the better.
09:33I just want to say in closing that there are two quotes by Maya Angelou that I would like
09:39to share with you.
09:40It says, you may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not
09:46to be reduced by them.
09:48My response to you is that as we face new challenges, let's decide to do our best that
09:54we can do and help each other as an NLRB staff does so well.
09:59I know you all have been really supporting each other and we're going to continue to
10:03do that.
10:04Lastly, she says, let nothing dim the light that shines within you.
10:08It's also kind of a bit of wicked in there.
10:11She was ahead of her time.
10:13Thank you for today's celebration and I know that I really belong here.
10:17Thank you for welcoming me to be back in the best way possible.
10:22And the sun is shining.
10:29Hi, everyone.
10:38The president is not a king.
10:45The queen is our queen.
10:47We are so proud of you.