Dive Brief:
- The U.S. Senate on Wednesday voted 51-48 in favor of the confirmation of Gwynne Wilcox to a second term on the National Labor Relations Board.
- Earlier Wednesday, the Senate voted to invoke cloture, a legislative process to end debate, clearing the way for the nomination vote.
- Wilcox is one of three Democratic members of the five-member NLRB. President Joe Biden has yet to name a nominee for the open Republican seat on the board.
Dive Insight:
Wilcox’s previous term expired Aug. 27, but her confirmation was held up in the Senate, facing backlash from pro-employer advocates who first wanted to see a Republican nominee named. President Biden flagged Wilcox, a pro-labor lawyer, for another term in June.
Prior to the end of Wilcox’s first term on the board, NLRB pushed through a number of decisions meant to strengthen worker and union protections. The decisions overturned Trump-era rules and put in place new guidelines on when and how employers bargain with unions.
Wilcox previously served as a senior partner at Levy Ratner, P.C., a New York City labor and employment law firm, where she worked with 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and the city’s Office of Collective Bargaining. She also served as a field attorney for Region 2 of NLRB in New York.
Wilcox’s new term on the board ends Aug. 27, 2028.
