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THE PROGRESSIVE REVIEW - February 11, 2010
Vote on Obama Labor Nominee Spells Trouble for Unions
by: William Douglas and David Lightman
McClatchy Newspapers
Washington - The Senate Tuesday failed to advance President
Barack Obama's nomination of a union lawyer to the National
Labor Relations Board, as the debate and vote became a test
of union clout in Congress.
The vote on Craig Becker's nomination ? the first contro-
versial vote since the Senate Democrats' 60-seat majority
shrank by one last week ? highlighted the difficulty that
Democrats will have trying to push union-friendly legisl-
ation through Congress.
Only 52 senators voted to cut off debate on the nomination,
eight short of the number needed, and 33 were opposed.
Many senators weren't present because of an impending snow-
storm.
The president could name the former union lawyer to the
board with a "recess appointment," which doesn't require
confirmation, while the Senate is on its President's Day
break next week.
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Still, the vote signals that Obama is in for a tough time
pushing labor's agenda.
"It's a statement that anything friendly to organized labor
won't get through the Senate as long as Republicans stand
together," said Gary Jacobson, an expert on Congress at
the University of California at San Diego. "The labor wing
of the Democratic Party is not going to get what they were
hoping for."
Becker had served as a lawyer for the Service Employees
International Union and the AFL-CIO. Obama, speaking at
a surprise news conference Tuesday, expressed frustration
that Becker and other nominees are getting bogged down in
the Senate.
"I respect the Senate's role to advise and consent, but
for months, qualified, non-controversial nominees for
critical positions in government, often related to our
national security, have been held up despite having over-
whelming support," Obama said.
He may have been alluding in part to the "hold" that Sen.
Richard Shelby, R-Ala., had placed on more than 70 nominees
in a bid to drive White House attention to federal contract-
ing issues in Alabama. Shelby released most of the holds
Monday night.
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Last week, senators advanced the stalled nomination of
Martha Johnson, a nominee who'd been held up for months, to
head the General Services Administration on a 96 to 0 vote.
Senate Democrats blasted their Republican colleagues for
blocking Johnson for a prolonged period, then unanimously
voting for her.
Becker posed a different challenge for the White House,
because of Democrats' efforts to push the Employee Free
Choice Act, or "card check" legislation that many Democrats
have pushed hard. The legislation would make it easier for
workers to form unions.
Business groups think Becker would be overly sympathetic
to card check laws and to union interests in general,
though he told a hearing last week that he'd "respect the
will of Congress."
That wasn't good enough for Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., who
voiced opposition to the nominee.
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"Mr. Becker's previous statements strongly indicate that
he would take an aggressive personal agenda to the NLRB,
and that he would pursue a personal agenda there, rather
than that of the administration," Nelson said. "This is
of great concern, considering that the board's main
responsibility is to resolve labor disputes with an even
and impartial hand."
Nelson joined a chorus of Republicans.
"Card checks should not happen because an unelected
bureaucracy in the National Labor Relations Board is the
one to do it. Mr. Becker would have that, obviously, on
his agenda," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.
Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., however,
lauded Becker's background, and said, "His job is to
basically interpret the law as written and to implement
the law as Congress has passed it. He said repeatedly, if
confirmed, he will apply the law fairly and impartially."
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