Vital NLRB Nominee Avoids Damaging Dustups During Senate Hearing

The Trump administration’s nominee to become the crucial third Republican member of the National Labor Relations Board appeared to sail through his Senate hearing without any conflict that could delay or derail his confirmation.

NLRB nominee James Macy’s only notable friction Wednesday was with Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an Independent who serves as ranking member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Sanders criticized Macy for declining to answer some of his queries, but the lawmaker had already said he opposed the nominee during his own opening statement before questioning began.

More importantly, no Republican senators pushed back against Macy, including Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, who previously held up committee votes for NLRB member Scott Mayer and agency General Counsel Crystal Carey. Republicans have a one-member majority on the Senate panel.

If Macy wins confirmation, he will give the NLRB the ability to overturn existing precedent and move the law in a more employer-friendly direction.

The board’s two GOP members—Mayer and Chair James Murphy— have followed the NLRB tradition of not overturning precedents without at least three members in the majority. With Democrat David Prouty as the only other current member, the board has yet to change any labor law standards during the second Trump administration.

Macy, who spent decades as a management-side labor and employment attorney, currently serves as the director for the Labor Department’s Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs.

Prouty is up for another five-year term, while the second seat earmarked for a Democrat remains vacant. The Senate needs to confirm at least one NLRB nominee before Prouty’s current term ends Aug. 27 or the board will again lose its operating quorum.

Pledging Independence

The Senate HELP Committee hearing also featured confirmation testimony from Prouty and Brett Matsumoto, an economist picked to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Macy, Prouty, and Matsumoto repeatedly pledged their independence from the White House under questioning from Democratic senators.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), for example, asked Macy if he would consider how President Donald Trump would want him to rule in a case.

“No, I would make an independent decision based upon the facts presented,” Macy responded.

The issue of political pressure looms large over both the NLRB and BLS because of President Donald Trump.

Trump fired Democratic NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox shortly after his confirmation, a move that took away the board’s ability to issue decisions for nearly a year.

He axed BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer in August after the agency issued a revised employment that significantly revised job creation numbers.

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) raised Trump’s comments about allegedly manipulated BLS jobs data when questioning Matsumoto about the importance of autonomy from the White House pressure.

“I do agree that fulfilling the mission of the BLS to accurately measure this data does require independence from political interference,” he said. “If confirmed, I fully commit to maintaining the integrity and independence of the BLS.”