Obama NLRB Recess Appointments Keep Board Alive and Functioning

CWA applauded President Obama's decision this week to recess appoint three new members to the National Labor Relations Board, allowing cases involving violations of workers' organizing and bargaining rights to move forward.

The recess appointments were necessary if the NLRB was going to continue to function. With just two members, the NLRB would be unable to issue any decisions, according to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Unfortunately, too many members of the U.S. Senate have sought to obstruct the people's business by pledging to block appointments to the NLRB and other important agencies.

The Senate has been virtually paralyzed by the abuse of Senate rules that enables an individual Senator to block action. All measures before the Senate now require a supermajority of 60 votes just to get to the floor for debate and discussion. As a result, progress on the programs and policies that working families need has come to a halt.

"Without these recess appointments to the NLRB, working men and women, for the first time since 1935, would have no place to turn for workplace justice. It's shameful that in the increasingly global economy, U.S. workers' rights lag dramatically behind the rest of the world and too many Republican Senators are determined to block U.S. workers from exercising even limited rights. We applaud President Obama's leadership that gives American workers at least some chance of justice on the job," said CWA President Larry Cohen.