Biden Nominates Union Lawyer To Labor Board, Could Soon Flip Control To Democrats

The White House said Wednesday that President Joe Biden plans to nominate union lawyer Gwynne Wilcox to a seat on the National Labor Relations Board, the federal body that shapes collective bargaining policy in the private sector.

The five-member board currently has a 3-1 Republican majority held over from the Trump years, with Wilcox nominated for the one vacant seat. If she is confirmed by the Senate, the board would have a 3-2 Republican majority, with a chance for Biden to flip control to Democrats once the next seat comes open in August.

A relatively obscure agency to most Americans, the NLRB plays a central role in labor relations, refereeing disputes between unions and employers and determining whether certain workers are eligible to unionize. Although the agency is independent from the White House, the president gets to make nominations to the NLRB that can dramatically change how the law is interpreted.

Biden infuriated Republicans when he fired the board’s former general counsel, Trump appointee Peter Robb, as one of his very first moves in office. The general counsel acts as a kind of prosecutor, bringing cases against employers or unions that may have broken the law. The separate five-member board acts as a kind of high court for labor law, handing down decisions that can set or overturn precedents.

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/biden-nominates-union-lawyer-to-labor-board-could-soon-flip-control-to-democrats-165714808.html