Labor & Employment Law — 10/22/09

Senate HELP Committee approves three NLRB nominees, McCain threatens hold on Craig Becker

On October 21, the Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) approved, without any hearings, President Obama's three nominations to the National Labor Relations Board. The Board has been operating with two members since early 2008, issuing 256 decisions according to the Board's FY 2009 case activity report (http://www.nlrb.gov/shared_files/Press%20Releases/2009/R-2707.pdf)

Easily passing muster were union attorney and former member of the New York State Industrial Board of Appeals Mark G. Pearce and HELP Committee Republican Labor Policy Director Brian E. Hayes. Pearce was nominated on April 24 and Hayes on July 10.

Running up against opposition voiced by Sen. McCain (R-Ariz.), the nomination of Craig Becker proceeded to a separate, recorded voice vote. A 15-8 vote in Becker's favor resulted, with Sen. Enzi (Wyo.) and Sen. Murkowski (Alaska) the only Republicans voting for Becker. Becker, also nominated April 24, serves as Associate General Counsel to both the Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO. The other two nominees were voted on as a bloc and approved in a unanimous voice vote.

Senator McCain has threatened to place a hold on Becker's nomination. A hold would prevent the full Senate from voting on the nomination. In an October 20 letter to Harkin, Chairman of HELP of HELP Committee, McCain expressed his strong displeasure over the lack of a public hearing on Becker's nomination and "concerns regarding Becker's written views, which indicate that he would prevent employers from having a role in union representation elections in their workplaces by doing away with requiring fair, secret ballot union elections when requested by an employer..."

Chairman Harkin responded in an October 21 statement that "[t]here is no question that Mr. Becker has been thoroughly vetted for this position. He has answered 282 written questions from Republicans.

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