nlrbCraig Becker, one of Barack Obama’s nominees to serve on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), was returned to the White House for reconsideration last week, alongside Dawn Johnsen.  Becker is counsel for both the AFL-CIO and SEIU, and was nominated to fill one of three vacancies on the Labor Board.

So why’d Becker’s nomination get returned?  President McCain placed a hold.  The Workforce Prof Blog reports:

The Washington Post is reporting that Craig Becker’s nomination to the NLRB (among five other nominees to different agencies) was “referred back to the White House for reconsideration.”  It’s unclear to me how significant this move is.  The Post includes the six under a list of nominees who were “rejected,” but it appears that they could be renominated, based on the following quote:

No formal vote was taken, but the six nominees who were “returned to the White House” for reconsideration and possible renomination “ran into opposition,” said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader  Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

It seems that the problem is Sen. McCain’s hold on Becker’s nomination.  Under Senate rules, nominations not acted on at the end of a session essentially “die” and can’t be acted on again unless they are formally renominated.  However, the Senate can adopt a unanimous consent agreement that waives this rule and permits further action without renomination.  But the Senate refused to do so with Becker and the others.  The upshot is that Becker could get renominated, but unless there’s a way to break McCain’s hold on him it may not matter.

McCain placed a hold on Becker for, get this, Becker’s views that workers should have a voice at work for having a union without employer interference.  The horror!

McCain voiced similar concerns in a letter to HELP Committee Chairman Tom Harkin of Iowa, also seeking a hearing. McCain wrote that Becker’s writings “indicate that he would prevent employers from having a role in union representation elections in their workplaces by doing away with requiring fair, secret ballot union elections when requested by an employer.” McCain added that he wanted a chance to question Becker about these positions in person and in public.

Of course, McCain neglected to mention they haven’t held such a hearing for almost 30 years.

McCain complained that HELP hadn’t held a public hearing on Becker. HELP Chair Tom Harkin pointed out that the committee hadn’t held a public hearing on a rank-and-file NLRB member since 1980.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has the power to simply ignore McCain’s hold and bring Becker’s nomination to the floor. In which case, McCain would either have to back down or filibuster.

McCain and other conservatives’ beef with Becker stems from Becker’s beliefs that the NLRB is well-equipped to deal with significant parts of labor law reform that is currently held up by the very Senate that’s holding up his nomination.  Lindsey Beyerstein at Working In These Times writes:

In this case, McCain wants to score political points by stalling a pro-labor nominee. As a legal scholar, Becker helped lay the intellectual foundation for the Employee Free Choice Act.

In one law review article, he suggested that much of the work of EFCA could be done through the existing regulatory structure. The NLRB administers the National Labor Relations Act, the primary legislation that governs labor/management relations.

Conservatives fear that if Becker is confirmed, he will use his regulatory powers to make union organizing easier. Indeed, if he is confirmed, the pro-labor faction on the NLRB will enjoy a solid majority for the next four years.

Here’s the thing.  We’ve got to a point where a nominee for the National Labor Relations Board – the impotent government body charged with enforcing labor laws – can’t be confirmed because a senator objects to the nominee supports making it easier for workers to join unions.  Yes, these are the same folks who objected to, and held the nomination of, Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor because she supported workers rights.  When it comes to labor, conservatives are well trained to not budge an inch.

The NLRB has had only two of its five members for well more than a year; two other NLRB nominations from Obama were neither voted on nor sent back and may get taken up by the Senate next year.  In order for Becker’s nomination to have any chance of going forward, the White House will have to find a way to assuage McCain, or Harry Reid will have to grow a pair and push the nomination through.  I’ll let you bet on either of those happening.