In a dramatic bi-partisan vote, the U.S. Senate rejected a “last-ditch” effort in the waning days of the 118th Congress to extend the term of the National Labor Relations Board Chair, Lauren McFerran for two more years. The vote came down to a narrow 49-50 margin on a procedural matter on whether or not to bring the nomination to the floor for approval. Two former Democrat Senators joined 48 Republicans to prevent the matter from moving forward.
McFerran had been awaiting a potential extension for some time, but the controversial chair had run into stiff resistance. CIRT joined a large coalition of hundreds of organizations that opposed the last-minute vote; pointing-out that McFerran’s tenure has been the subject of congressional hearings and oversight letters as well as press reports and editorials highlighting the agency’s failures. In addition, an Office of the Inspector General report found that the Board was operating under “gross mismanagement.” It was also noted, under McFerran’s leadership the NLRB has issued decisions and expanded interpretations of the National Labor Relations Act that have been strongly criticized as over-reaching by the business community, Congress, and federal courts.
