HELP Committee Moves NLRB Nominees to Full Senate Vote

With Wednesday's votes by the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee approving the nominations of Democrats Nancy Schiffer and Kent Hirozawa, all five nominees to the National Labor Relations Board now proceed to full Senate confirmation. Schiffer and Hirozawa both were approved on a 13-9 vote; all Republicans but one voted against the nominations.

CWA commended HELP Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) for his efforts to ensure that 80 million private sector workers will continue to have a fully functioning NLRB to turn to for economic justice.

CWA said American workers deserve a strong, functioning and full-strength NLRB, not Senate obstruction and gridlock. The expected vote by the full Senate to confirm these nominees will be welcome news to workers who know that the Board is the only agency that enforces the law and safeguards their rights on the job.

The five nominees are Democrats Schiffer and Hirozawa, and Chairman Mark Pearce, and Republicans Phil Miscimarra and Harry Johnson.

In closing the hearing, Harkin reminded his Senate colleagues and others of the purpose of the National Labor Relations Act by reading part of Section 1.

"It is declared to be the policy of the United States to eliminate the causes of certain substantial obstructions to the free flow of commerce and to mitigate and eliminate these obstructions when they have occurred by encouraging the practice and procedure of collective bargaining and by protecting the exercise by workers of full freedom of association, self-organization, and designation of representatives of their own choosing, for the purpose of negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or other mutual aid or protection." [Emphasis added.]

Harkin continued, "maybe some don't like it but this is the law."