In today’s News and Commentary, Trump signs an executive order aiming to expand retirement plan access, the Eleventh Circuit upholds a NLRB decision that lieutenants at a private security company can unionize, and unionized REI workers launch a consumer boycott over stalled contract negotiations.

On Thursday, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Treasury Department to establish a website that will provide details about “high-quality, low-cost IRAs” to individuals without access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan. The Secretary of the Treasury is further directed to ensure that qualifying individuals received the Federal Saver’s Match contribution, which uses Treasury funds to match 50% of contributions—up to a maximum of $1,000 for individuals earning less than $35,500—and encourage financial institutions to accept the Federal Saver’s Match contributions. The order is meant to expand access to retirement plan accounts in an attempt to reach the estimated 56 million workers who do not currently have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

On Friday, the Eleventh Circuit upheld the NLRB’s decision that the unionization efforts of lieutenants at Turkey Point Nuclear Power Plant in Florida were authorized under federal labor law. The lieutenants’ employer, Universal Protection Services LLC, had argued against the unionization effort and refused to bargain by claiming that the lieutenants were supervisors, making them ineligible for union representation. The NLRB issued a bargaining order to Universal Protection Services in March 2024, which the company challenged, and a three-judge panel heard oral arguments in February 2026. In an unpublished per curiam decision, the panel upheld the NLRB’s determination that the lieutenants do not exercise independent judgment when disciplining subordinates, therefore they do not qualify as supervisors within the meaning of the NLRA.

Also on Friday, unionized workers at REI launched a consumer boycott in response to stalled contract negotiations with the outdoor equipment retailer. The union representing the workers, United Food and Commercial Workers, has called for a boycott of REI’s annual anniversary sale with the support of 70,000 REI members. Since 2022, eleven REI stores have voted to unionize, but the parties have yet to reach a first contract. In September 2025, the company settled an unfair labor practice case with the NLRB, in which the store manager of the Berkeley location was accused of threatening employees if they voted to unionize, unlawfully bypassing the union with regard to the elimination of wage increases and benefits, as well as changing COVID policies, terminating unit employees without bargaining with the union, and failing to pay bonuses. In March 2026, the company announced that it would begin cutting employee benefits and wages in response to a decline in company revenue. On April 27, House Democrats sent a letter to the Board of Directors at REI urging the company to resume bargaining.