Democrats in Iowa are again attempting to gut the state’s Right to Work law with a change to require workers to pay union “fees” instead of union dues as a condition of getting or keeping a job. Similar efforts tried every year since 2007 were defeated; but this time, union bosses are attempting an incremental approach by using state workers as their guinea pigs.
When Republicans are in the White House, they appoint three Republicans (usually management-side labor lawyers) and two Democrats (usually union-side labor lawyers) to the five-member NLRB. When Democrats are in the White House, this proportion flips. This has been true for many decades. Right now there are three vacancies on the NLRB. The two members were appointed by President Bush: a Republican management lawyer named Peter Schaumber and a former union lawyer named Wilma Liebman (appointed by Bush but named by Obama as Chairman). They are working together well. This is typical in union-management relations. But the NLRB needs all five members to function effectively. President Obama has appointed two union-side lawyers, Craig Becker and Mark Pearce, and one lawyer, Brian Hayes, who was selected by Senate Republicans. Because of the Republican filibuster threat against Becker and Pearce, these nominees will not be confirmed. Wilma Liebman, Craig Becker and Mark Pearce are mainstream union-side lawyers, just as the Republican member and appointee generally reflect their mainstream management backgrounds. President Obama should insist that his nominees be confirmed, and if the Senate refuses, he should recess appoint them (a temporary appointment not requiring Senate confirmation), just as President Bush did with seven of his nine NLRB appointees. The bottom line: Obama is NOT doing anything “radical” or unprecedented, nor are we when we urge a recess appointment. The record clearly proves this. We Democrats won the White House and the Senate majority, which is willing to confirm all three appointees if given the chance to vote. When Republicans have a three-member majority on the NLRB, it tilts to management. When we Democrats have a three-member majority, it tilts to workers. That simply reflects the election results. We do not apologize for looking out for workers.