President sidesteps Senate obstructionists, makes recess
appointments
ORGANIZED LABOR RECEIVED positive news March 27 when President
Obama placed two union-friendly candidates on the National Labor
Relations Board (NLRB). Using a process known as recess
appointments, the president circumvented Republican senators who
had blocked confirmation votes for dozens of the Obama
administration’s nominees, some for nearly six months.
The recess appointments moved 15 nominees into various posts.
Among them were labor board candidates Craig Becker and Mark
Pearce. Becker has served as the associate general counsel for the
AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union. Pearce has
been a practicing labor lawyer with a legal firm he helped found.
Republican senators have objected virulently to the recess
appointments, especially Becker’s, who they perceive as too
supportive of unions and the Employee Free Choice Act.
Until the recess appointments, the five-member NLRB had three
vacancies dating back to 2008. Lacking a three-member quorum, the
board has been unable to act on substantial labor and management
issues. The addition of Becker and Pearce will mean that three
Democrats now serve on the board, along with one Republican.
Unions are hopeful that progress can now be made on the NLRB’s
extensive backlog.
The 13 other posts filled by the recess appointments include
posts in the Department of the Treasury, the Department of
Commerce, the Department of Homeland Security, the Farm Credit
Administration Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission,
and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
A recess appointment remains in effect through the end of the
next Congressional session or for its normal term if the Senate
later votes to confirm the nominee. NLRB members approved by the
Senate serve for five years.
