Congressional wrangling over the National Labor Relations Board was back in the news this week, as the Senate voted not to advance debate on a resolution disapproving of the agency's proposed rule that would make changes to the union representation election process.

S.J. Res. 36, a resolution put forward by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) in February, was a strongly worded statement against what he termed the NLRB'S "ambush election" rule. The rule is scheduled to take effect on Monday, April 30.

Invoking the Congressional Review Act, Enzi in February introduced the one-sentence resolution, stating that "Congress disapproves" of the NLRB regulatory action and that "such rule shall have no force or effect."

Among other things, the rule would change NLRB procedure by no longer recommending that NLRB regional directors schedule representation elections no sooner than 25 days after a petition for an election is filed. Supporters say the measure would speed up the representation election process, which under current procedures can take months.

A federal court currently is considering a challenge to the regulation, but has not indicated when it might rule on the matter. The agency, meanwhile, is preparing to apply the rule, with NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon issuing a guidance memorandum which said the changes "will enhance our efficiency and provide more field-wide uniformity and predictability in the processing of representation cases."

Many Democrats, including Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, have said they support the changes. Harkin said during debate on the resolution that the board did no more than make modest changes in its procedures to avoid unreasonable delays.

Much of the debate took place solely between Enzi and Harkin in an empty Senate chamber. Eventually, 45 senators voted to proceed on the resolution, while 54 voted against advancing it.

In other labor news this week:

• New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) vetoed a bill passed by the city council that would have required developers and landlords pay workers a prevailing wage in certain city-supported buildings. The Service Employees International Union had supported the measure.

• Members of the Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes ratified a six-year agreement with the nation's freight railroads, becoming the last of 13 rail unions to do so and bringing to a close a bargaining round that began in 2009.

• The Institute for Women's Policy Research and the Berger-Marks Foundation released a manual designed to help senior union leaders mentor younger union activists.