In a letter sent today to Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Michael B. Enzi (R-WY), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions, 23 national trade and professional associations, including the HR Policy Association, the Society for Human Resource Management, and the United States Chamber of Commerce, opposed the nomination of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board. The groups told the HELP Committee leaders, “Many of the positions taken in his writings are well outside the mainstream and would disrupt years of established precedent and the delicate balance in the current labor law.” They cited Mr. Becker’s proposed restrictions on employer free speech rights, among others, as a subject of significant concern. The signers asked the Committee to hold public hearings in order to determine “whether his views on these issues have changed over time” and suggested a public forum also would “provide an opportunity to learn to what extent Mr. Becker will seek to apply these views in his role on the NLRB.”
The letter observes that the HELP Committee nevertheless had not scheduled such a hearing “to vet these important concerns.” As we previously noted here, the Committee is set to consider the Becker nomination, as well as those of Mark Pearce and Brian Hayes, October 21 in executive session. The associations’ letter states that it is not intended to express an opinion on the nominations of Messrs. Pearce and Hayes.
A copy of the associations’ letter may be accessed through this link.