Democrats resist provision blocking NLRB's joint employer ruling

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. congressional Democrats are beating back a Republican push to defang a National Labor Relations Board decision that could give unions greater bargaining power with large companies that rely on franchisees or contractors, a Senate Democratic aide said on Tuesday. The aide, who asked not to be identified, said that for now, a government funding and tax policy bill was unlikely to contain a provision that would basically strike down the "Browning-Ferris Industries" NLRB ruling from earlier this year. The aide said that with negotiations continuing on other parts of the sweeping measure, no provisions are finalized until they all were. Industry groups argue that the NLRB ruling could hurt thousands of small companies and upend the franchise model. (Reporting by Richard Cowan and Robert Iafolla; Editing by Peter Cooney)