Vote to Approve Pro-Card Check Nominee to NLRB Fails, AGC Members Take Action

On Tuesday, the Senate defeated a motion to continue debating the nomination of Craig Becker, the Associate General Counsel of the SEIU and the AFL-CIO, to a five-year term on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), effectively blocking his confirmation. The vote fell eight votes short of the 60 required to move the nomination to the next step. Two Democrats opposed the motion, Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.). The newly-elected Senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown (R) joined his Republican colleagues in opposing Becker. AGC has opposed Becker's nomination because he has been a strong advocate of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act and is certain to push the Board to effect changes to employee rights like those attempted by the bill, even in the absence of statutory enactment. Mr. Becker has made it clear that he believes that national labor policy can and should be changed through Board decisions and he does not intend to wait for action by Congress. The Democratic leadership and President Obama must decide how to move forward. One controversial possibility is a recess appointment, but Becker could only serve on the Board for a limited time without unanimous Senate support. AGC members across the country responded to the call to action. AGC will update the membership on future developments. For more information, contact Kelly Knott atknottk@agc.org.