Senate Democrats on Wednesday failed to guarantee their party retains control of the National Labor Relations Board for the first two years of the Trump administration, as two of their former party members blocked a key nominee.
The Senate rejected, 49-50, a procedural vote to advance President Biden’s renomination of current NLRB Chairman Lauren M. McFerran, a Democrat, to serve another five-year term.
That means President-elect Donald Trump will get to appoint someone to fill the position and give Republicans control of the five-member board. The NLRB investigates claims of unfair labor practices and acts as a quasi-judicial body in deciding cases regarding enforcement of the National Labor Relations Act law protecting employees’ right to organize.
Sens. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, former Democrats who switched their party affiliations to independent this year, were the deciding votes against Ms. McFerran.
Both senators have provided opposition at various points to nominees or legislation Democrats wanted to advance. They are retiring at the end of the Congress, so Wednesday’s vote against Ms. McFerran will likely be their last affront to Democrats’ agenda, but it didn’t go unnoticed.
“Don’t let the door hit you in your a—,” Rep. Mark Pocan, Wisconsin Democrat, wrote on X, tagging Mr. Manchin and Ms. Sinema. “Shortchanging workers is a bad way to leave.”
Mr. Manchin said he initially supported Ms. McFerran’s confirmation for her now-expiring term. But that was before she took a position supporting a 2023 joint employer rule change that stripped autonomy from franchisees, opening those owners up to litigation based on their subcontractor’s labor practices, he said.
“My little state basically has a lot of franchisees. That’s all they have. We don’t have any big corporations,” Mr. Manchin said, arguing the rule change Ms. McFerran supported threatens franchisees’ survival.
Ms. McFerran has served on the NLRB since December 2014 and her second term will expire on Dec. 16. Mr. Biden named her as the board’s chair on his first day in office, Jan. 20, 2021.
The board currently has three Democrats, including Ms. McFerran, one Republican and one vacancy. Democrats also had hoped to advance Mr. Biden’s nominee for the vacant seat, Joshua L. Ditelberg, but abandoned that plan after the other nomination failed.
Ms. McFerran’s pending exit means Mr. Trump will get to fill two vacancies with Republicans who, if confirmed, will give the GOP control of the NLRB.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer had urged senators to confirm Ms. McFerran, citing her “deep expertise” and guidance of the board in addressing challenges of the contemporary workplace.
“You can’t say you are for working families then go and vote no today, because the NLRB protects workers from mistreatment on the job, and from overreaching employers,” the New York Democrat said.
Mr. Manchin said he respects Mr. Schumer’s desire to retain Democratic control of the NLRB, but he had to cast his vote based on what’s best for his constituents.
“I can’t vote for anybody here, except the people of West Virginia and what’s best for the country,” he said.
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.
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