Efforts by labor unions to expand employee organizing may gain after President Barack Obama, rejecting objections from Republicans and business groups, appointed Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board.
Obama announced plans Saturday to name Becker, a lawyer and Democrat who represented the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union, using executive powers to bypass confirmation by the Senate, which had blocked a vote this month.
Becker, opposed by groups led by the National Association of Manufacturers, will be named along with lawyer Mark Pearce, a Democrat, providing a quorum to clear a case backlog including disputes with casino owner MGM Mirage and auto-parts maker Dana Holding Corp. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce put business on “red alert” for “radical changes” while unions cheered the action.
The appointments “signal a long-overdue shift whereby workers, and not just bosses, will receive equal consideration,” Randi Weingarten, president of the Washington-based American Federation of Teachers, said in a statement.
