Obama Names NLRB Nominees (3/29/10)

President Obama has named 15 nominees to administrative posts, using the Senate recess as an opportunity to overcome Republican opposition to qualified nominees. Among those who have been named is Craig Becker, whose appointment to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been held up for months by anti-worker opposition.  Becker is a labor lawyer with a long record of fighting for the interests of working people. Mark Pearce, another NLRB nominee, was also named as a recess appointment.

Prior to these appointments, the NLRB had only 2 of its 5 positions filled, crippling the board’s ability to examine unfair labor practice complaints, union elections and other workplace issues.

“I applaud President Obama’s appointments of Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the NLRB,” said RWDSU President Stuart Appelbaum. “The NLRB has been crippled by opposition to these qualified nominees, opposition that only served political purposes. Now, a strong NLRB has been created that will give workers’ concerns fair consideration and help resolve a huge backlog of cases before the board.”

“When working people came out in force for President Obama in 2008, this was the kind of decisive action that we were looking for,” Appelbaum added.

Using Senate recesses to make cabinet appointments is not unusual. President George W. Bush made 170 recess appointments during his time in office.