| February 03, 2010 |
| Bloomberg |
| Holly Rosenkrantz |
Craig Becker, a union ally nominated by President Barack Obama to the National Labor Relations Board, told lawmakers he won't try to use his position to make changes to labor laws opposed by business groups. Becker, a Chicago-based associate general counsel for the Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO, said during a Senate hearing yesterday that his argument in the past that union-election rules should be rewritten to favor labor were the views of a "scholar." "If confirmed, my decisions, unlike the views of a scholar, will have practical, concrete and important consequences," he told members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee. "I will have a duty to implement the intent of Congress." Becker's views have been an issue for business groups because he has the potential to shape labor laws through rulings on the labor board, created in 1935 to remedy unfair labor practices and certify union elections. The National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce were among business groups opposing Becker's nomination last year because of his pro-union stance. To address those concerns, the Senate committee held the first hearing since 1993 for a labor board nominee. Critics shouldn't object to Becker "simply because he was a union lawyer -- and a good one," said Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat. Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona said he hoped Becker would recuse himself if confirmed from any case involving the SEIU, a labor union that spent $80 million to help elect Obama. Becker said he would recuse himself from such cases for two years if confirmed. McCain, who blocked Becker's nomination last year, said in an interview he may do so again this year. Panel Vacancies The five-member panel has had three vacancies for more than two years, and has almost 200 cases pending, including one involving MGM Mirage's New York-New York casino. The MGM Mirage case, which may affect hotels, shopping centers and casinos, would decide whether workers are allowed to distribute union literature at a businesses' entrance. Becker wrote a 1993 Minnesota Law Review article saying that union-election rules should be rewritten in favor of labor, and that the NLRB can do this through regulation, without the consent of Congress. Business groups also oppose Becker's role in advising Obama?s transition team while still performing work for SEIU and the AFL-CIO, the nation's largest union group.
"It's the first time someone employed by a labor union would move directly" to the board, Michael Eastman, executive director of labor law policy at the Chamber of Commerce, told reporters after the hearing. Eastman said he expected at least one Republican Senator beside McCain to block Becker's confirmation. The labor board has three members of the president's political party and two members of the opposition party. Becker must be confirmed by the full Senate. To contact the reporter on this story: Holly Rosenkrantz in Washington at hrosenkrantz@bloomberg.net.
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