The FLRA is nearly back at full strength following Senate confirmation vote

The Senate on Wednesday voted 55-37 to confirm Anne Wagner as the third member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, finally bringing the agency’s political leadership to nearly full strength.

Similar to the National Labor Relations Board’s role overseeing collective bargaining in the private sector, the FLRA governs labor-management relations at federal agencies, with a three-member board that settles unfair labor practice complaints and other disputes between unions and management.

But since January 2023, the FLRA has been ideologically deadlocked, with only two confirmed members, one from each political party. President Biden’s first pick to fill the third seat, former Chairman Ernest DuBester, was blocked by Senate Republicans, and his second choice quietly withdrew from consideration last fall.

In April, Wagner, who most recently served as a deputy in the Office of Special Council, sailed through her confirmation hearing alongside the FLRA’s current Republican member Colleen Duffy Kiko, who has been serving under an expired term since the end of 2022. Kiko’s renomination is likely headed for a confirmation vote soon—Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on her nomination simultaneously with Wagner’s on Monday.

Federal employee unions rejoiced at the news that the FLRA’s board was now fully staffed. The last 18 months of deadlock between Kiko and FLRA Chairwoman Susan Tsui Grundmann has meant the board could only rule in noncontroversial cases.

“Frontline federal employees welcome today’s Senate vote that restores the Federal Labor Relations Authority to its fully operational status with all three seats filled, including two members nominated by President Biden,” said National Treasury Employees Union National President Doreen Greenwald. “NTEU had previously endorsed Anne M. Wagner’s nomination because of her extensive experience in the practice of federal sector labor law and labor-management relations and we are pleased she has been confirmed by the Senate.”

“Today’s Senate confirmation of President Biden’s FLRA nominees, particularly Anne Wagner, is long awaited, welcomed news,” said Matt Biggs, national president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers. “This is of extreme importance to federal workers and their unions, particularly the National Association of Immigration Judges, whose collective bargaining rights were unjustly removed by prior, Trump appointed, FLRA nominees whose agenda was an ideological one. IFPTE is ecstatic that a Biden FLRA has finally been achieved.”

Randy Erwin, national president of the National Federation of Federal Employees applauded the decision, and urged Senate Republicans to stop dragging out the confirmation process for presidential appointees. Even with Wednesday’s confirmation vote, the FLRA remains without a Senate-confirmed general counsel, hamstringing the agency’s ability to investigate and hear unfair labor practice complaints. Biden’s pick for the post, Suzanne Summerlin, has been awaiting a floor vote on her confirmation for more than a year.

“Staffing an operational FLRA should not be a partisan issue,” Erwin said. “The FLRA can now address critical matters facing the authority, including important cases which currently stand at a deadlock. The adjudication of these cases will ensure that federal agencies can better carry out their missions.”