Huffington Post: Obama's NLRB Recess Appointments: A Flexible Economy Needs a Nimble Labor Board

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-b-dean/obamas-nlrb-recess-appoin_b_517196.html

Amy B. Dean

Co-Author, "A New New Deal: How Regional Activism Will Reshape the American Labor Movement"
Posted: March 29, 2010 12:33 PM

Right now, we are the middle of a national discussion about jobs. Part of this discussion is how to create jobs. More important, however, is making sure that jobs pay, and unfortunately too few jobs in America today do.

The last time Americans enjoyed a robust middle class, it resulted because employees had the right to bargain collectively with their employers. And when disputes arose, we had an effective National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that could mediate the disagreements.

Over the past year, the NLRB has been ineffective because three out of its five seats have stood empty since Obama took office. The President is now changing that by using the recess appointment process to add two new NLRB members--Democratic labor lawyers Craig Becker and Mark Pearce.

In recent months, many people may have heard that the president was having a fight with Republicans over Becker's prospective appointment to the board. Tensions continue, as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has now issued a "red alert" and is warning of "radical changes" at the NLRB, while progressives are cheering Obama's decision to "play hardball" by using the recess appointment process.

While this may appear as an internecine partisan dispute, focusing on the back-and-forth squabbling misses the real meat of this issue: The truth is that any effective jobs strategy in America requires an efficient and functioning NLRB.

FULL story at link.