Obama Makes Recess Appointments of NLRB Nominees
President Obama made recess appointments of Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the National Labor Relations Board over the weekend, ending months of partisan obstruction over the nominations. CWA President Larry Cohen called the appointments "critical to removing a backlog of cases and bringing justice to our workplaces."
The NLRB, which has five seats, was gridlocked with two members on the board--one a Democratic nominee and one Republican. Obama made the appointments, but Republicans in the Senate, joined by Democrats Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Ben Nelson of Florida, filibustered the nominees and refused to allow an up-or-down vote on them. Due to the gridlock, thousands of labor dispute cases have piled up, meaning every decision made by the George W. Bush Labor board was still in place nearly a year and a half into the Obama Administration.
CWA members led the effort to pressure Obama to make the appointments, urging members of Congress to sign a "Dear Colleague" letter from Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA). Thanks in part to CWA grassroots pressure, 132 House members signed onto Roybal-Allard's letter.
In New Jersey, Congressmen Andrews (D-1st District), Pallone (D-6th District), Pascrell (D-8th District), Rothman (D-9th District) and Holt (D-12th District) stood up for workers and signed the letter.
This prompted Senate Republicans to write their own letter, saying Obama should not seat Becker or Pearce. Republicans urged Obama not to seat Becker, saying "the U.S. Senate has made its feelings clear on Mr. Becker," and citing "the will of the Senate" not to seat Becker. It was a curious argument, particularly given the fact that Republicans could only muster 33 votes against Becker (52 voted in favor) in February. Republicans sought to reinvent history again in the letter, saying Obama would set "an unfortunate precedent" for future Administrations with the appointments, even though George W. Bush made at least 171 recess appointments during his tenure in the White House.
Business groups tried to paint Becker as "controversial" for supporting the right to form a union. Many observers took the appointments as a sign that President Obama, emboldened by his recent victory on health care, would no longer be as patient with the obstructionist tactics of Senate Republicans. Obama issued a press release, saying:
"The United States 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."
Thank you to all CWA activists who urged Obama to make the appointments and their members of Congress to sign the Roybal-Allard letter. For further reading on the web, including the full text of the Roybal-Allard letter and the full list of signers, click here.
