NLRB Restored to Full Strength
January 5, 2012
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Acting under authority granted by the U.S. Constitution, President Obama announced the recess appointments of two Democrats and a Republican to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), ensuring the agency will have the quorum needed to issue rules and regulations through 2012.
The recess appointments bring an end to an unprecedented blockade of the president’s nominees by GOP lawmakers. The NLRB announcement came on the heels of another recess appointment, for Richard Cordray to become director of the newly-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Republican congressional leaders and business groups reacted with predictable outrage to both appointments, with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) calling it “a terrible precedent” despite the regular use of recess appointments by Republican and Democratic presidents.
“The attacks on the NLRB are part of a far-reaching political campaign to give even greater power to corporations and wealthy individuals,” said IAM President Tom Buffenbarger. “The board must be preserved and protected if collective bargaining rights in this country are to survive.”
