The U.S. Senate approves union lawyers to join the NLRB, allowing the Democratic Party to control Reuters

Daniel Wiessner and David Shepardson

Washington (Reuters)-The U.S. Senate confirmed the seats of union lawyers Gwynne Wilcox and David Prouty on the National Labor Relations Committee on Wednesday, paving the way for a Democratic majority, which may reverse a series of employer-friendly decisions in the Trump era .

The Democratic-led Senate passed the nomination of New York Levy Ratner partner Wilcox by 52 votes to 47, and confirmed Prouty, the general counsel of the New York City Service Industry Union SEIU 32BJ, by 53 votes to 46 votes.

A White House spokesperson welcomed these confirmations and stated that Biden “has priority in appointing NLRB members, who will protect workers’ organizations, collective bargaining, and workers’ rights to participate in collaborative activities.”

The NLRB examines cases of unfair labor practices brought by engineers and labor unions, and oversees private sector union elections.

Wilcox will fill a vacant seat, and the term will expire in August 2023. Prouty will be in office for five years starting next month, when the term of Republican William Emanuel will end.

The Senate passed by a vote of 51-50 last week https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/vp-breaks-tie-bidens-pick-nlrb-general-counsel-2021-07-21 Jennifer Abruzzo, career The NLRB attorney who recently worked for the Communications Workers Union of the United States serves as the general counsel of the board of directors. Biden fired Trump-era GC Peter Robb on the first day he took office in January.

Wilcox and Prouty did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In her decades-long career, Wilcox has handled a series of high-profile cases, including the recent NLRB allegation of McDonald’s (NYSE:) major case https://www.reuters .com/article/employment-mcdonalds/mcdonalds-intervenes- to-defend-joint-liability-settlement-amid-shakeup-in-nlrb-leadership-idUSL1N2LK275 Retaliation against franchise workers who participated in the organization’s activities.

Prouty served as the general counsel of the union UNITE HERE and served as a senior attorney for the Major League Baseball Players Association when he joined SEIU 32BJ from 2008 to 2017. The union represents approximately 175,000 workers in New York City.

Biden’s nomination https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/unions-hail-nomination-high-profile-labor-lawyer-nlrb-2021-05-27 Wilcox and Prouty are welcomed by the country’s largest union Who said their extensive experience, including Wilcox’s work as an NLRB field lawyer, made them uniquely prepared for the challenges faced by workers.

But Republicans criticized Biden’s changes on the board of directors for showing partiality to the union. They expressed concern https://www.reuters.com/legal/transactional/republicans-call-nlrb-dol-nominees-very -troublesome -2021-07-15 Regarding the union relationship and progress record of the NLRB nominee.