People in the news

Mark Pearce

Member, National Labor Relations Board

(lawmemo.com)

Why He Matters

A labor lawyer from Buffalo, N.Y. with three decades of experience, Pearce was appointed to the National Labor Relations Board in March 2010 during a congressional recess in order to circumvent Senate opposition.

Another appointee to the NLRB, Craig Becker, previously a representative of large union coalitions, drew harsh opposition from Senate Republicans who threatened to filibuster his nomination. Since the nominations of Becker, Pearce and Republican Brian Hayes were a package deal, all three were effectively blocked.

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At a Glance

  • Career History: founding partner, Creighton, Pearce, Johnsen & Giroux LLC (2002-2010); labor attorney, Lipsitz, Green, Fahringer, Roll, Salisbury & Cambria LLP (1994-2002); district trial specialist, NLRB (1979-1994)
  • Alma Mater: B.A., Cornell University, 1976; J.D., State University of New York, 1979
  • DC Office: 1099 14th St. N.W., Washington, DC, 20570
  • Web site
 

Path to Power

With this appointment to the NLRB, Pearce has come full-circle; his first employer in the legal profession was also the NLRB. Starting fresh out of law school in 1979, Pearce served as an NLRB trial specialist on the district level for 15 years. Pearce said of his appointment, "It belies the adage 'You can't go home again,' because I will be going home."

In 1994, Pearce switched to the private sector and began working for the Buffalo labor law firm Lipsitz, Green, Fahringer, Roll, Salisbury & Cambria LLP. He practiced there untl 2002 when he left to become a founding partner of Creighton, Pearce, Johnsen & Giroux LLP, a firm that represents individual employees and public and private sector labor unions.

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The Issues

Pearce has spent his entire legal career representing labor interests, whether large labor unions or individual employees. Along with Becker and Liebman, he is expected to make decisions in favor of labor interests, and push NLRB rulemaking to encourage unionization.

One of the main concerns of conservatives (and one of the hopes of liberals) is that the NRLB will try to achieve through rule-making some of the reforms in the Employee Free Choice Act, a law that seeks to facilitate the formation of labor unions that has stalled in Congress.

 

The Network

Though he worked for the Buffalo, N.Y., district office of the NLRB for 15 years, Pearce has spent the latter half of his professional career in the private sector and does not have an extensive political network.

 

Additional Resources

  1. Judis, John B., "Labor and Delivery: An obscure nominee and a hinge moment for the Obama presidency," The New Republic, March 3, 2010.
  2. Greenhouse, Steven, "Deadlock Is Ending on Labor Board," The New York Times, March 31, 2010.
  3. Mark Gaston Pearce, Esq., Creighton, Pearce, Johnsen & Giroux Biographies.
  4. Chandler, Matt, "Buffalo attorney named to NLRB," Buffalo Business First, March 30, 2010.
  5. "President Obama Announces Recess Appointments to Key Administration Positions," The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, March 27, 2010.