Marni von Wilpert, a San Diego city council member and former attorney at the National Labor Relations Board, is seeking a U.S. House seat to advance federal labor law reform. Von Wilpert’s candidacy centers on legislation developed over a decade ago that would modernize the 1935 National Labor Relations Act and strengthen protections for workers seeking to organize.
Von Wilpert served at the NLRB from 2014 to 2017, where she observed what she describes as systemic delays in addressing labor violations. She worked with Democratic Congressman Bobby Scott and Senator Patty Murray to draft the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which has been introduced in Congress annually since 2019 and passed the House in 2021 but remains stalled in the Senate. The proposed legislation would allow the NLRB to assess monetary penalties for labor violations and impose liability on corporate executives.
Von Wilpert is running against Jim Desmond, a Trump-endorsed San Diego County supervisor, in a newly redrawn congressional district that polls suggest is competitive. Von Wilpert has emphasized her labor background in the campaign, contrasting her record with Desmond’s opposition to several worker-focused policies at the county level. She states that as a supervisor, Desmond opposed minimum wage increases for contracted county workers and a labor standards office, among other measures.
Von Wilpert has characterized the race as a choice between a candidate who will advocate for workers and one who will not. She argues that current economic policies favor wealthy interests and that government should prioritize leveling the playing field for working people. Desmond’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment on these characterizations.
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