On Aug. 28, David M. Prouty was sworn in as a new Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board for a term expiring on Aug. 27, 2026. Prouty replaces Republican member William Emanuel, whose term expired in August. Democrats now have a 3-2 majority, with Marvin Kaplan and John Ring serving as the two Republican members.
According to an NLRB news release, Prouty, who was nominated by President Biden on June 23 and confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 53-46 on July 28, served as general counsel of Service Employee International Union Local 32BJ, the largest labor union for property service workers in the country. He was also general counsel and chief labor counsel for the Major League Baseball Players Association.
In July, the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee to oppose the nominations of Prouty and union attorney Gwynne Wilcox to serve on the board. Gwynne Wilcox was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 28 and sworn in as a NLRB member on Aug. 4.
As a result of the Democratic majority, President Biden will advance his pro-labor agenda and likely overturn many board labor policies adopted during the Trump administration.
ABC will continue to provide updates on board policies and actions in Newsline.