By Daniel Wiessner
Dec 3 (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate committee on Wednesday approved President Donald Trump's nomination of Boeing's chief labor lawyer for a seat on the National Labor Relations Board, teeing up a confirmation vote that could restore the paralyzed board's ability to decide cases.
The 12-11 vote by the Republican-led Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee came after the panel in October tabled a planned vote on Scott Mayer's nomination at the last minute, raising uncertainty about its status.
Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, had grilled Mayer at a hearing earlier in October about a strike involving more than 3,200 Boeing machinists in the St. Louis area seeking higher pay. Hawley suggested that it was unfair for Boeing executives to be paid millions of dollars while striking workers went without pay and the company is under scrutiny for safety issues.
The 101-day strike ended last month after the workers accepted a new five-year contract.
Boeing did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mayer could not immediately be reached for comment.
The NLRB currently has only one member, Democrat David Prouty, after Trump in January took the unprecedented step of firing Democratic member Gwynne Wilcox and Republican Marvin Kaplan's term expired in August.
The loss of a quorum of at least three members has left hundreds of cases in limbo, including dozens in which employers are challenging unions' election victories. Wilcox has sued, and the U.S. Supreme Court allowed her removal to remain in effect pending the outcome of her case.
The HELP Committee in October approved Trump's nominations of retired NLRB lawyer James Murphy for a seat on the board and Morgan Lewis & Bockius partner Crystal Carey to be the agency's general counsel. The full Senate has not scheduled confirmation votes on the NLRB nominees.
Ahead of Wednesday's vote, Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont, said Wilcox's firing was illegal and the committee should not be voting on NLRB nominees until she is reinstated to her seat.
“We need an NLRB that does what it was designed to do: to stand up for workers who are being treated unfairly by the companies they work for,” Sanders said.
The board, which hears private-sector labor disputes and oversees union elections, would have a Republican majority for the first time since 2021 if Murphy and Mayer are confirmed by the full Senate.
Mayer has been chief legal counsel at Boeing since 2022 and previously worked at Morgan Lewis, InterContinental Hotels Group, MGM Resorts International and $Aramark(ARMK-W)$.
The HELP Committee on Wednesday also approved the nomination of Mary Anne Carter, a special adviser at the National Endowment for the Arts to chair the agency, a job she held during Trump's first term.
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(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York)
((daniel.wiessner@thomsonreuters.com))
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