Obama nominates two to National Labor Relations Board

Nominated on April 24 were Craig Becker, currently associate general counsel for both the American Federation of Government Employees and the Service Employees, and Mark Pearce, a labor-side labor lawyer from Buffalo, N.Y.

Becker, like Obama, taught at the University of Chicago law school, among other universities, and has practiced and taught labor law for 27 years, the administration said. Pearce practiced union-side labor law before many New York state and federal agencies, and recently served on a New York state board that judges state labor department rulings.

Obama called both Becker and Pearce “impressive and distinguished individuals” who will “serve with the highest ideals of our nation in mind.” AFL-CIO President John J. Sweeney said both are “outstanding, extremely qualified” and “possess a deep understanding and extensive experience in labor law.

“Becker and Pearce also understand the importance of workers’ rights, collective bargaining and the need to restore balance to the National Labor Relations Board,” Sweeney said.

If confirmed by the Senate, Becker and Pearce would join holdover NLRB members Wilma Liebman, a Democrat whom Obama nominated to chair the board, and Peter Schaumber, a Republican. By law, the board must have no more than three members from its majority party and no more than two from the minority. Three board seats have been vacant since last summer, hampering its decision-making.

This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.

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