CNN
Outgoing Senators Manchin and Sinema Block Democratic Control of Labor Board
In one of their last acts in careers defined by obstruction, outgoing Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) blocked Democratic control of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) until at least 2026, through the first two years of the billionaire-ruled Trump administration.
A vote to advance the nomination of Democrat Lauren McFarren to another five year term on the NLRB failed 49-50, with both Manchin and Sinema joining with Republicans to vote no. Had McFarren been confirmed, Democrats would have held control of the Board and used it to protect American workers. Now Donald Trump will be able to nominate a Republican, likely anti-union candidate to fill McFarren's seat.
The NLRB is a political body that shifts in ideology depending on presidential appointments. The five member Board has the authority to oversee all unionization and labor disputes; ensuring the right of workers to unionize in accordance with the National Labor Relations Act. When Democrats are in the majority, the NLRB is typically pro-union and sides with workers. When Republicans control the Board, the NLRB tends to side with corporations, making it harder for workers to unionize, and for unfair labor practices to be stopped.
When faced with what may likely be the most pro-corporate, anti-union administration in history, Senate Democrats attempted to rush the appointment of McFarren to protect workers from the firestorm of anti-labor policies that is sure to come in the first half of Trump's term, with the GOP controlling the presidency and both houses of congress.
"It is deeply disappointing, a direct attack on working people, and incredibly troubling that this highly qualified nominee — with a proven track record of protecting worker rights — did not have the votes," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), said in a statement.
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler said the senators who rejected McFarren’s nomination "voted against the working people of this country" and warned that the incoming Trump administration would direct the NLRB to side with management over workers.
"Make no mistake: This vote had nothing to do with stopping Chair McFerran’s renomination and everything to do with reversing generations of progress workers have made toward building a fairer and more just economy," Shuler said.
Manchin and Sinema will largely be remembered for blocking major progressive change in the U.S. while their party had control. Both senators were driven to leave the Democratic Party and become Independents after killing President Biden's generational Build Back Better bill, which would have seen the largest growth in the social safety net since the creation of Medicare and Medicaid.
Sinema joined with Republicans to allow Biden's child tax credit, passed as part of the American Rescue Plan, to expire. That tax credit cut black child poverty in the United States in half. When Sinema allowed it to expire, Republicans used the corresponding spike in child poverty to attack the Biden administration, when in reality, the numbers were just returning to what they were prior to the tax credit.
Sinema also famously voted against an increase in the federal minimum wage in a viral video that showed her giving an enthusiastic thumbs down on the floor of the Senate.
Sinema announced last year she would not be seeking another term in the Senate after Democrat Ruben Gallego entered the race to primary her. Gallego defeated MAGA Republican Kari Lake in November, and will be taking Sinema's seat in January.
