United States Chamber of Commerce criticizes Craig Becker

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.midatlanticlabor.com/appiesnet/wordpress/?p=1418

BY PAUL TUCKER
[e-mail]

REGION, July 15th- The United States Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC critized National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Craig Becker for not recusing himself from a dozen cases including local affiliates of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which has used to work for. The business organization, which also has labor unions as affiliated members, suggest implications can be drawn from his decision not to recuse himself from a single case involving pre-recognition bargaining.

The Chamber of Commerce stated that with the NLRB at full strength with five sitting members, thanks to President Obama’s appointments, the organization announced on July 9th they have launched a new periodic publication to assist employers, associations, and others in indentifying important developments at the NLRB.

“In recent years, we have seen an increasing debate over American labor policy. While the NLRB was deadlocked with one Republican and one Democratic member for more than two years, it was not a significant player in the labor policy debate. The Chamber fully anticipates that the Board will now enter a very active period with numerous decisions and policy changes that will be of keen interest to all shakeholders,” said Randel Johnson, senior vice president of the Chamber of Commerce’s Labor, Immigration and Employee Benefits committee.

“There is a real need to sort through the dozens of decisions and actions taken by the NLRB each week and identify those that have policy implications. In launching this publication, we hope to fill that need so that stakeholders are aware of important developments at the Board and can take action when appropriate, such as by submitting comments or legal briefs on pending matters,” said Mr. Johnson.

The organization was critical of President Obama appointment of Mr. Becker and lobbied law makers in Washington to reject his nomination. Pro-labor Democrats failed to gain enough votes to stop a Republican filabuster on Mr. Becker’s nomination. However, President Obama placed Mr. Becker on the NLRB through recess appointment.

FULL story at link.