Craig Becker

Member, National Labor Relations Board (since March 2010)

(CSPAN)

Why He Matters

Called "labor's secret weapon" by the Wall Street Journal, Becker's pro-union stance provoked controversy and stalled his confirmation to a top Obama administration Labor post.

Angering pro-business groups and Republicans, President Obama chose to use his recess power to appoint Becker to the National Labor Relations Board without Senate confirmation in March 2010. Becker could serve until the end of 2011.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: SEIU and AFL-CIO, associate general counsel; Georgetown University law professor; University of Chicago law professor; UCLA law professor
Hometown: Iowa City, Iowa
Alma Mater: Yale University, B.A., 1978; Yale University Law School, J.D., 1981

Spouse: Amy Dru Stanley
DC Office: 1099 14th St. N.W., Washington, DC, 20570
Website

Path to Power

As a young college graduate in 1978, Becker, who grew up in Iowa City, Iowa, was already on a track towards professional success. He graduated summa cum laude from Yale and went straight to Yale Law School where he earned his J.D. in 1981. After graduating, Becker clerked for Donald P. Lay, chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, before embarking on a career in academia and advocacy.

Becker worked as a law professor at the UCLA School of Law for five years, and has also held teaching positions at Georgetown and the University of Chicago Law schools. At the time that he was nominated, he was associate general counsel for both the SEIU and AFL-CIO.

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Controversial Nomination

The Obama administration nominated Becker in April 2009, and conservatives quickly cried foul. The Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed in May 2009 decrying Becker's anti-employer views, saying he wants to "rig the rules to favor unionization."

The GOP's objection to Becker is related to the party's opposition to the proposed Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), which would make it easier for employees to form unions. Some business interest groups, like the Chamber of Commerce, believe Becker would use his position on the NLRB to make similar changes, sidestepping the legislative process. The Journal editorial also suggested that Becker is "not sure he needs to wait for Congress."

Sen. Nelson joined the Republicans in opposing Becker because he believes Becker "would take an aggressive personal agenda to the NLRB, and that he would pursue a personal agenda there, rather than that of the administration." He also said Becker's pro-union stances conflict with Nebraska's Right to Work laws which have attracted new jobs to the state.

Due to fierce GOP opposition to Becker, Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) agreed to hold a hearing on his nomination, a step not usually taken for NLRB nominees. At his confirmation hearing in February 2010, Becker defended himself by saying he had written some of his legal opinions in order to provoke debate in the academic community, and that as a member of the NLRB he would defer to the authority of Congress to pass and amend labor law. He also promised to recuse himself from disputes involving the SEIU for the first two years of his tenure.

Recess Appointee

Despite these assurances, Senate Republicans, along with Sens. Nelson and Lincoln, blocked a vote on Becker's nomination; 60 votes were required to bring the nomination to a floor vote. During the 2010 Easter recess of Congress, Obama appointed Becker without Senate confirmation.

But the fight isn't over. After Obama made the recess appointment, an anti-union group said it will ask Becker to recuse himself from 12 pending cases; the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation does not want Becker deciding any cases in which it is providing legal aid because of his past opposition to the group.

The Issues

Throughout his career, Becker has written about and advocated for the interests of organized labor and employees vs. those of management in the realm of labor law.

In a 1993 magazine article about the waning power of U.S. unions, Becker said that he sees unions forming coalitions in the future, either with other unions or with progressive organizations. Indeed he has spent many years of his own career representing the largest of such coalitions: the AFL-CIO and SEIU.

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The Network

Becker is close to former SEIU President Andy Stern. As long-time counsel for the AFL-CIO, Becker is also close to that umbrella organization's head, Richard Trumka.

Campaign Contributions

As a resident of Chicago, Becker was an early supporter of Barack Obama. A Craig Becker associated with SEIU donated $400 to his Senate campaign in February 2003, and one associated with the AFL-CIO donated $250 in April 2004.

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