Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) on Monday became the first Democrat to announce his intention of voting against cloture on the nomination of SEIU associate counsel Craig Becker to serve on the National Labor Relations Board.

The vote is now tentatively scheduled for 5 p.m. today.

From Sen. Nelson’s statement:

Mr. Becker’s previous statements strongly indicate that he would take an aggressive personal agenda to the NLRB, and that he would pursue a personal agenda there, rather than that of the Administration,” said Senator Nelson. “This is of great concern, considering that the Board’s main responsibility is to resolve labor disputes with an even and impartial hand. In addition, the nominee’s statements fly in the face of Nebraska’s Right to Work laws, which have been credited in part with our excellent business climate that has attracted employers and many good jobs to Nebraska. Considering these matters, I will oppose the upcoming cloture motion and the nomination.

Sam Stein at The Huffington Post reports an unhappy reaction from the AFL-CIO, which has also employed Becker as an attorney.

“It’s a shame and a disappointment that Senator Nelson is willing to continue to leave working families without a fully staffed NLRB,” said Eddie Vale, a spokesman for the AFL-CIO. “Becker is an eminently qualified nominee. Its pretty confusing and circular logic that Nelson contends he wouldn’t represent the administration’s agenda, when he was nominated by the administration, twice.”

It really doesn’t matter whose agenda it is that Becker would push, it’s the agenda itself. Becker is on record saying he does not believe employers have any role to play when unions attempt to organize their workplace, even to the point of preventing business owners from exercising their rights of free speech.

With a Senate cloture vote scheduled for shortly after 5 p.m. today, the National Association of Manufacturers has reiterated its opposition to the nomination of Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board. From the NAM’s letter to U.S. Senators:

The NAM firmly believes that NLRB members charged with administering our nation’s labor
laws should protect the principles of fairness and balance that characterize our labor law system.
Employees should have the right to information from both employers and union officials and the time
to review that information in order to better make important decisions that impact their jobs and
families.

Unfortunately, Mr. Becker’s interpretation of our labor laws does not reflect these principles
and cast serious doubt on his ability to administer our nation’s laws in an unbiased manner. We are
particularly concerned with Mr. Becker’s writings in academic journals that argue that the NLRB
should limit the ability of employers to communicate with their employees during union organizing
campaigns. Specifically, Mr. Becker has claimed in a 1993 Minnesota Law Review article that “the
core defect in union election law… is the employer’s status as a party to labor representation
proceedings.”

Mr. Becker has asserted views that the NLRB should rewrite union election rules in favor of
union organizers. Such policy decisions should only be determined by Congress. The NAM is
particularly concerned that if confirmed, Mr. Becker would seek to advance aspects of the jobskilling
Employee Free Choice Act through actions of the NLRB.

Earlier this week hundreds of manufacturers expressed their concerns with this nomination to
the U.S. Senate. These employers recognize that the labor law changes that Mr. Becker seeks would
be harmful to their employees and would further promote adversarial employee relations. For these
reasons, we urge you to oppose the nomination of Craig Becker to serve as a member of the NLRB.

The National Association of Manufacturers is operating on a reduced capacity today due to the continued snow and ice that has calamatized the Washington, D.C. area. (It’s a big week for neologisms, including Snowpocalypse and Snowmaggedon.) Many NAM employees are working from home and the main switchboard at the NAM-HQ is not staffed.

Our favorite headline is from The Washington Hispanic:

One hopes the weather gods had arranged for blowhard Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to have been trapped inside the Beltway this week. It’s would be a just confinement given his Sept. 24, 2008, column in The Los Angeles Times, “Palin’s Big Oil infatuation,” which claimed global warming has destroyed good old Washington winters.

Those odd climatological phenomena led me to reflect on the rapidly changing weather patterns that are altering the way we live. Lightning storms and strikes have tripled just since the beginning of the decade on Cape Cod. In the 1960s, we rarely saw lightning or heard thunder on the Massachusetts coast. I associate electrical storms with McLean, Va., where I spent the school year when I was growing up.

In Virginia, the weather also has changed dramatically. Recently arrived residents in the northern suburbs, accustomed to today’s anemic winters, might find it astonishing to learn that there were once ski runs on Ballantrae Hill in McLean, with a rope tow and local ski club. Snow is so scarce today that most Virginia children probably don’t own a sled. But neighbors came to our home at Hickory Hill nearly every winter weekend to ride saucers and Flexible Flyers.

Thanks to the Mid-Atlantic snowstorm, Senate debate on the nomination of SEIU counsel Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board has been postponed until Tuesday. A cloture vote is now anticipated after 5 p.m.

Opposition to Becker is strong among the business community:

• Feb. 5 letter from the National Retail Federation.
• Feb. 4 letter from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
• Feb. 1 Jetter from National Association of Manufacturers and more than 550 manufacturing companies and associations.
• Feb. 1 letter from the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, to the NAM belongs.
• Jan. 29 letter from 23 business trade associations, including the NAM.

Kevin Williamson, an editor at National Review, analyzes Becker’s anti-employer writings and calls Becker The ‘Shut Up’ Candidate“:

He has argued that businesses should be prohibited from presenting the case against organizing unions — to their own workers, on their own property, on their own time. And if secret-ballot elections survive his card-check dreams, he doesn’t want anybody taking too close a look at any possibly fraudulent election: He has written that employers should be banned from placing observers at the polls or challenging ballots. He argues that businesses should be compelled to open up their own private property so that union organizers may conduct their electioneering on the premises.

So what if the organizing vote is fraudulent? Or marked by the trademark violence and intimidation tactics long associated with Big Labor? Becker’s answer, in his own words, is this: “Employers should have no right to raise questions concerning voter eligibility or campaign conduct. . . . They should not be entitled to charge that unions disobeyed the rules governing voter eligibility or campaign conduct. On the questions of unit determination, voter eligibility, and campaign conduct, only the employee constituency and their potential union representatives should be heard.” Legalese for: “Shut up.”

The Senate breaks next week for the Presidents Day recess, and buzz is picking up about a possible recess appointment for Becker. The unions are signaling their support for the move, a Politico article suggests:

“They can’t let the minority party call the shots when it comes to the handling of critical nominations,” Bill Samuel, legislative director of the powerful AFL-CIO, said, calling on Obama to consider recess appointing Becker if his nomination stalls.

According to the Congressional Research Service, a recess appointment made in mid-February would serve until the conclusion of the next Senate session, i.e., the end of 2011.  One wonders: If President Obama were to recess appoint Becker, what would happen to the two, non-controversial nominees, Mark Pearce, the Democrat, and Brian Hayes, the Republican? Recess appointments also, or straight up-and-down Senate votes allowing them to complete terms, which for Hayes is through 2012 and for Pearce, 2013?

Finally, as previously noted, NLRB Chairman Wilma Liebman on Friday took the unusual step of getting involved in the Senate confirmation battle by issuing a news release decrying the lack of a full quorum on the NLRB. She omits the fact that President Bush’s nominees to fill the vacancies in 2007 and 2008 were blocked by the Senate majority, who also prevented recess appointments by scheduling regular pro forma sessions.

The Hill, “Labor board chief wants vote on NLRB nominees”

Federal offices in the Washington, D.C., area are closed today because of the snow and iced-in streets. In keeping with National Association of Manufacturers policy, the NAM is also closed. Another storm is supposed to hit Tuesday afternoon so consider the times below subject to change.

The Senate will convene briefly today in a pro snowa session to juggle schedules, as leadership has postponed major legislative action 24 hours. That means a Tuesday debate on the nominations of Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr. to be U.S. Circuit Court Judge for the Third Circuit, and Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board, with cloture votes set for 5 p.m. (Washington Post coverage.) The NAM and hundreds of manufacturers are urging a no vote on Becker’s nomination. Senate Democrats may also try to move a “jobs bill” this week, The New York Times indicates.

The House convenes at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, with votes delayed until 6:30 p.m. Major legislation of the week is H.R. 2701, the FY2010 Intelligence Authorization Act, and the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act, to eliminate the federal anti-trust exemption for health insurers.

For the full list of committee hearings for the week, see Congressional Record page D95.

Senate Hearings: Senate Committee on Armed Services examines President’s FY11 U.S. Air Force budget. A Banking subcommittee on Wednesday, a hearing on monitoring systemic risk. The Budget Committee on Tuesday reviews the economic outlook and on Wednesday postulates “fiscal sustainability.” If neologisms are the goal, how about “fiscal smart growth?” The Commerce Committee Tuesday examines the DOT budget proposal. Energy and Natural Resources on Tuesday scrutinizes financial transmission rights and electricity market mechanism, with FERC Chairman Wellinghoff and CFTC Chairman Gensler testifying. On Wednesday, Interior Secretary Salazar testifies on the agency budget;  on Thursday, it’s the Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program. EPW on Tuesday holds a confirmation hearing on NRC nominees. On Thursday, EPW’s topic is global warming impacts, including U.S. public health. Senate HELP Committee on Thursday, a hearing, “A Stronger Workforce Investment System for a Stronger Economy.” Strong. Senate Judiciary on Wednesday holds a hearing on cybercrime and identity theft.

 
House Hearings: It’s a busy week for House Appropriations (schedule). The relevant subcommittee considers FDA’s budget request on Wednesday. The Subcommittee on Interior and Environment reviews its bailiwick’s budgets Thursday, with Interior Secretary Salazar testifying. An Armed Services subcommittee Wednesday gets private sector perspectives on DOD information technology and cyber-security activities. The Budget Committee on Wednesday reviews Treasury’s budget request, with Secretary Geithner testifying; on Thursday, it’s Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on his budget. On Wednesday, Secretary Duncan testifies before House Ed & Labor on education issues, including ESEA reauthorization.  An Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Wednesday holds an oversight hearing on FERC. On Thursday, the subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection holds a hearing, “Domestic and International Actions on Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic Chemicals.” Financial Services on Wednesday considers the unwinding of emergency federal liquidity programs. Foreign Affairs on Wednesday reviews the “Google predicament,” China, cyber-policy and trade. Oversight and Government Reform on Wednesday, a hearing, “Toyota Gas Pedals: Is the Public at Risk?” Secretary LaHood testifies. Science and Technology on Wednesday reviews the Administration’s R&D budget proposals. Also Wednesday, the Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee holds a hearing on Rare Earth Minerals and 21st Century Industry. We can only hope Bolivian lithium is on the agenda. On Thursday, the full committee holds a hearing on Energy’s R&D budget proposal. Small Business, Wednesday, reviews SBA’s budget request. A Transportation subcommittee on Tuesday ponders the electrifying issue of Asian Carp and the Great Lakes. The full committee on Wednesday hears a one-year progress report on transportation and infrastructure investments. Thursday, a subcommittee hearing on the Surface Transportation Board. Ways & Means on Thursday, a hearing on HHS’s FY11 budget proposal, with Secretary Sebelius testifying. The Global Warming Committee on Thursday peers at black carbon pollution.

Executive Branch: President Obama hosts Congressional leadership on Tuesday to discuss health care, jobs legislation, and how everyone handled the snow. From RealClearPolitics: “Also on tap this week: the president hosts another White House concert, this one in honor of Black History Month. Also on Wednesday, Vice President Biden will give a broad speech on nuclear threats facing the nation.”

Economic Reports: On Thursday, we get a read on January retail sales. Neil Irwin at The Washington Post also directs our attention to a new index being released Wednesday, the Ceridian-UCLA Pulse of Commerce Index: “Ceridian has partnered with UCLA’s Anderson School of Management to use data from that business to create an index of how much fuel consumption is occurring at the truck stops of America. It is, effectively, a near real-time measure of how many trucks are on the road and how far they’re driving. Trucks account for so much of U.S. commerce that the index correlates closely with overall industrial production.” For more, see Daniel Fisher at Forbes.com, “The Fed Should Have Listened To The Truckers.”

Has any political watcher seen something like this before, a chairman of an executive branch agency getting involved in a political nomination battle like this? Highly unusual, especially before a highly partisan battle on the Senate floor, Monday’s cloture vote on the nomination of Craig Becker to the NLRB.

With the NLRB also before the Supreme Court in the appeal of New Process Steel v. NLRB, doesn’t this statement also undermine the NLRB’s case that two-member quorums represent an appropriate, legal delegation of authority? (For more background, see this Jackson-Lewis post, “U.S. Supreme Court to Decide Appeals Court Conflict Over NLRB Quorum.”)

A statement from Wilma Liebman, chairman of the National Labor Relations Board:

NLRB Chairman on Pending Nominations

WASHINGTON—In response to numerous press inquiries, National Labor Relations Board Chairman Wilma Liebman made the following statement regarding nominations to the Board of Craig Becker, Mark Pearce and Brian Hayes that have been pending before the Senate since July of 2009:

“I am disappointed that we still do not have a fully constituted Board despite the naming of three nominees last summer. The Board has been in limbo for a long time. For more than two years, the Board has had to operate with three vacancies, leaving only myself and Member Peter Schaumber to decide the hundreds of cases that come before us. We have done our best to carry out the Board’s important work, issuing more than 500 decisions in cases involving thousands of workers across the country. But our authority to do so has been challenged and now the Supreme Court will decide whether we can continue to function. At the same time, the Board has been unable to move forward on the most significant cases before it. I look forward to a time in the near future when the Board is back at full capacity resolving issues vital to American workers and their employers.”

The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency vested with the power to safeguard employees’ rights to organize and to determine whether to have unions as their bargaining representative. The agency also acts to prevent and remedy unfair labor practices committed by private sector employers and unions.

Leibman is a Democratic appointee, but we’ve never before seen a Democrat or Republican member of an independent executive branch agency take such an overt, political role in a nomination.

Manufacturers saw the first monthly increase in jobs in three years based on January employment numbers released today. The Labor Department reports 11,000 jobs were gained last month in the manufacturing sector. Outside of temporary employment, the private sector still shed 64,000 jobs in January, where a 75,000 decline in construction employment offset modest gains in other sectors, including manufacturing.

Most of the gain in manufacturing employment was the result of increased production related to inventory restocking after a major drawdown took place in 2009. However, this is a temporary boost and will fade in coming months.

Overall, the unemployment numbers show the economy shed 20,000 jobs last month while the unemployment rate edged down to 9.7 percent from 10 percent in December — signaling the labor market is improving very slowly. Temporary employment as well as federal payrolls, partly due to the hiring of workers to conduct the 2010 Census, are main reasons for smaller job losses last month.

A slow and fragile recovery with no durable gains in employment will likely continue until the second half of the year.

Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm wins the prize among governors so far for referring to “manufacturing” or “manufacturer” 14 times in her State of the State address. The Democratic governor spoke Wednesday, and here are the first references from her speech, “A State in Transition: Crossing to the New Michigan Economy“:

Where the old Michigan economy was all about autos and manufacturing…the new Michigan economy is much broader: clean energy, life sciences – like bio-economy and medical devices – homeland security and defense, advanced- manufacturing, film and tourism.

We have steadily focused on the unique attributes that give Michigan a competitive advantage.

No state has the skilled workforce we do.

Nobody has the capacity and the manufacturing know-how we have.

Nobody has the natural resources – the forests, the diverse agriculture – the water…that we have.

Combine that with our great universities and colleges, and we’re using these unique assets to attract new companies and whole new industries.

That’s our competitive advantage.

The cover of this month’s Popular Mechanics asks, “Can We Trust Robots?” with the set-up: “Humanoid machines are a sci-fi staple, but soon we’ll be meeting them face-to-face. In our February issue, we unpack what a future with real C-3POs means.” The trouble, the authors warn, is we might like robots too much.

As do the Black Eyed Peas:

Last week Grammys performance featured more dynamic, dancing robots, but there was too much “Imma be” before the poppier weirdness started. (For another view of the Oprah event, with its impressive flash mob choreography, go here.)

Robots have been on a hot streak in popular culture recently, and we don’t mean the fantastic yet tendentious “Avatar.”

“Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow” has been playing on the nether channels of broadcast digital, with its excellent pulp era robots on display.

And timely, indeed: Sky Captain’s Spitfire is also a submersible fighter, and Popular Mechanics is reporting the unveiling of yet another cool machine: “Dreams of off-the-shelf high-speed personal submarines came closer to a reality today when Hawkes Ocean Technologies, the creator of the Super Falcon personal submersible, announced it would team up with Virgin Galactic entrepreneur Richard Branson to build the next-gen winged exploration vessel.”