Obama names two to National Labor Relations Board

Obama’s “recess appointees” – announced during the Passover-Easter break – can hold their seats without confirmation until the end of this congressional session. Both men are Democrats.

“The Senate has the responsibility to approve or disapprove of my nominees. But if, in the interest of scoring political points, Republicans in the Senate refuse to exercise that responsibility, I must act in the interest of the American people and exercise my authority to fill these positions on an interim basis,” Obama said. “Most of the men and women whose appointments I am announcing today were approved by Senate committees months ago, yet still await a vote of the Senate.”

The Senate Labor Committee approved Pearce unanimously and Becker, a Chicago attorney, law professor and associate counsel for the AFL-CIO and SEIU, by a party-line vote earlier in 2010. The GOP, denouncing his past writings as a professor, successfully filibustered against Becker. Pearce, of Buffalo, and a third nominee, a Republican, have not come up. Obama’s appointments did not include the Republican.

Appointment of Becker and Pearce is important because the full board rules on such issues as labor law-breaking, which unions represent workers in jurisdictional disputes and which workers are “employees” who can unionize, and which are not,

Union leaders hailed Obama’s decision. Communications Workers President Larry Cohen, who urged his members to call the White House and demand the recess appointments, said, “These appointments are critical for workers to get justice I the workplace.” The appointments also pleased Teamsters President James Hoffa and Teachers President Randi Weingarten.

“The president appointed two men who will work to restore fairness in the workplace,” Hoffa said. “Becker is a good and decent man. He earned a reputation for impartiality over a long and distinguished career. His views are well within the mainstream of labor law. It’s time for the NLRB to get on with its important work. Appointing Becker and Pearce…will allow the board to finally move forward.”

Weingarten praised Obama’s “bold stand to restore functioning and balance” to the board, countering “obstructionists who put business interests and partisan politics
above the needs of American workers.”

Naming Becker and Pearce to the NLRB “signals a long-overdue shift whereby workers, and not just bosses, will receive equal consideration in crucial matters such as labor disputes and elections,” she added. “Giving voice to workers is good for the country. The anti-worker bias of President Bush’s labor appointments effectively deprived workers and unions of fair hearings” at the board and elsewhere, she said.

Appointment of Becker and Pearce guarantees a quorum for the 5-member NLRB, so it can again make key rulings without legal challenge. The board has had only two members – Democrat Wilma Liebman, the chair, and Republican Peter Schaumber – since the last day of 2007. Their subsequent 2-0 rulings have been challenged in court, in a case the U.S. Supreme Court heard on March 23.

Mark Gruenberg writes for Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.