Issued December 09, 2014
WASHINGTON--The U.S. Senate confirmed Lauren McFerran, chief labor counsel to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), to the National Labor Relations Board. As a result, the NLRB will continue to have a full complement of members. SEIU International President Mary Kay Henry issued the following statement:
The rights of working people, including SEIU's 2 million members and tens of millions of working men and women in every sector and vocation, are protected by labor laws that are best regulated by a fully functional NLRB. SEIU commends the 54 senators who voted to confirm Lauren McFerran. She is supremely knowledgeable on labor law and issues that come before the board; she will serve ably.
"It is regrettable that obstructionist, anti-worker forces in the Senate blocked the appointment of another qualified nominee, Sharon Block. The decision by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to prevent her appointment portends a period of accelerated attacks on workers' rights. As a result, a full slate of NLRB members will be needed more than ever. So we thank President Obama, Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and others who ensured McFerran would be seated before Senate control is placed in the hands of the most anti-worker leader and party in generations."