Attorneys for Amazon.com Inc. and Elon Musk’s SpaceX Corp. today argued in a federal appeals court that the National Labor Relations Board is unconstitutional.

In separate cases, attorneys for the two companies told a panel of judges at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals that the labor agency, created in 1935, has unchecked power and can essentially shape the nation’s labor law. The agency had previously filed complaints against both companies in disputes relating to labor rights and union organizing.

If the companies win their cases, it could have serious consequences concerning workers’ ability to fight for better working conditions and wages in the future while making it more difficult to form unions. The situation could be made more complicated by the fact that President-elect Donald Trump has named Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to lead a new efficiency commission. It’s uncertain right now if this cost-cutting exercise will affect the NLRB.

The SpaceX lawsuit was filed against the NLRB in January after the agency accused the company of unlawfully firing eight employees who had cosigned an open letter in which they criticized Musk and had accused the company of creating the impression of surveillance at the company.

“The NLRB routinely exercises authority to prosecute alleged violators of federal labor law, define the legal standards that govern the prosecutions, and weigh the facts necessary to find a violation — with only limited judicial review by Article III courts,” SpaceX attorneys wrote in a court filing.

The bureau said Amazon had violated worker rights when the company refused to negotiate with the Amazon Labor Union. The union was formed in 2022 at the JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island, the only Amazon warehouse to make such a decision.

Amazon argued that the NLRB board members who authorized the agency’s complaint “acted as judges” when they denied a review of Amazon’s objections. The lawyers said the agency’s structure is unconstitutional because board members can’t be removed by the U.S. president, while they claim NLRB shouldn’t have the power to decide on financial remedies without the due process of a jury trial.

NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo called the lawsuits “nothing new for big companies” which don’t want “to be held accountable for their violations” of labor law. It’s expected that Trump will replace Abruzzo with someone friendly to employers, who may change the outlook of the NLRB in future decisions.

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