NLRB at full strength for the
first time in more than a decade
WASHINGTON, D.C. — For the
first time in more than a decade, the
National Labor Relations Board
(NLRB) has a full complement of five
permanent board members confirmed
by the U.S. Senate. The NLRB is an in-
dependent agency that is tasked with
conducting elections for labor union
representation and protecting the rights
of some 80 million workers.
The five board members are De-
mocrats Mark Gaston Pearce, Nancy
Schiffer and Kent Hirozawa, and Re-
publicans Phillip Miscimarra and
Harry Johnson III.
Pearce is the incumbent chair of the
NLRB. He was sworn in as a board
member on April 7, 2010, following his
recess appointment, and was confirmed
by the Senate on June 22, 2010, to a
term ending on Aug. 27, 2013. He will
be sworn in as chair later this month for
a term ending Aug. 27, 2018.
Schiffer was formerly deputy coun-
sel for the AFL-CIO. She was sworn in
Aug. 2, for a term ending Dec. 16,
2014.
Hirozawa was chief counsel to
Pearce at the NLRB. He was sworn in
Aug. 5, 2013, for a term that expires on
Aug. 27, 2016.
Miscimarra and Johnson III are
management-side labor attorneys.
Miscimarra was sworn in Aug. 7, for a
term that expires on Dec. 16, 2017.
Johnson was sworn in Aug. 12, for a
term ending Aug. 27, 2015.
The confirmations were part of a
deal struck in mid-July between Senate
Republicans and Democrats, and Pres-
ident Obama. Facing possible Demo-
cratic changes in Senate rules to pre-
vent filibusters of executive branch
nominees, Senate Republicans agreed
to end filibusters on seven positions, in-
cluding the secretary of Labor, the ad-
ministrator of the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency, the chair of the
Export-Import Bank, and the NLRB
members.
In exchange, Obama agreed to with-
draw two of his nominees to the NLRB
AUGUST 16, 2013
— Richard Griffin Jr. and Sharon
Block. The two had been serving recess
appointments since January 2012.
Their appointments, however, set off a
firestorm among the GOP, primarily
because one of them, Griffin, is a for-
mer attorney with the Operating Engi-
neers.
Since Obama took office, Republi-
cans have made it clear they want to
dismantle the NLRB. Sen. Lindsey
Graham (R-S.C.) went as far as to say,
“The NLRB as inoperable could be
considered progress.”
Shuttering the agency won’t happen
with Democrats in control of the Sen-
ate (they hold a 54 to 45 edge, with one
independent who caucuses with them).
But crippling it is possible.
The NLRB requires three members
to have a quorum and to conduct busi-
ness. To meet that quorum, Obama has
had to end-run GOP filibusters with re-
cess appointments. A recess appoint-
ment doesn’t require Senate confirma-
tion.
Shortly after the appointment of
Griffin and Block, Republicans and the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce joined a
lawsuit brought against the NLRB by
Noel Canning, a Yakima, Wash., can-
ning and bottling company. Noel Can-
ning sued to overturn an NLRB order
that it broke the law by refusing to en-
ter into a collective bargaining agree-
ment with the Teamsters Union repre-
senting its production employees. A
federal appeals court in Washington,
D.C. concluded that the NLRB’s deci-
sion was legally supportable, but that it
could not be enforced. The panel of
judges held that the Obama recess ap-
pointments were invalid and that, with-
out them, the NLRB lacked the neces-
sary quorum to conduct business.
The Obama Administration has ap-
pealed the decision to the U.S.
Supreme Court, which will hear the
case in October. The outcome could
render invalid more than 1,000 cases
the NLRB has ruled on under the re-
cess appointees — which is just what
Republicans want.
(Editor’s Note: On Aug. 2, President
Obama nominated Griffin to be general
counsel of the NLRB, succeeding Lafe
Solomon. Solomon was named acting
general counsel by Obama on June 21,
2010. Solomon’s nomination to serve
as general counsel was sent to the Sen-
ate on Jan. 5, 2011.)
NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
As unemployment remains
stubbornly high, people con-
tinue to watch their spending.
But don’t be penny-wise and
pound foolish. If and when
you buy anything, look for
union-made-in the-USA.
It’s the patriotic thing to do.
3645 SOUTHEAST 32ND AVENUE, PORTLAND, OR
503-235-9444
PAGE 15