Former NLRB Member Becker To Take Top AFL-CIO Post; Controversial Flynn Resigns
Wednesday, May 30, 2012(Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO)
Craig Becker (r), a
former National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)
member who drew so much GOP ire that a
Republican filibuster kept him from a permanent
board seat, will become Co-General Counsel of
the AFL-CIO on July 1. He’ll join incumbent
Lynn Rhinehart atop the federation’s legal
department. President Barack Obama had
nominated fellow Chicagoan Becker, a former
AFL-CIO and Service Employees associate
counsel, to a permanent NLRB seat, but when the
GOP mustered enough votes to win its threatened
filibuster against him, his nomination was
dead. Obama then named Becker to the NLRB by a
temporary “recess” appointment, which ended
months ago. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka
called Becker "a brilliant lawyer and creative
thinker with deep experience in labor law,
litigation and organizing. His combination of
legal acumen and experience on the ground is
simply unmatched. The strengths of these
two extraordinary lawyers, Becker and
Rhinehart, are a perfect complement, and
together they will lead a powerhouse legal
program to protect and promote the interests of
working men and women.” In other NLRB news,
controversial board member Terence Flynn
resigned last weekend, immediately recusing
himself from all agency business and asking the
President to withdraw his nomination for the
Board. The NLRB Inspector General earlier this
year issued two reports describing how Flynn
funneled confidential information about NLRB
activities and deliberations, including
attorney-client privileged information, to two
former NLRB members who have worked to
undermine and discredit the NLRB. Click
here to
read more on the AFL-CIO Now
blog.
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