By: Mark M. Trapp
As part of an apparent package deal to move through the Senate numerous Trump judicial and other nominees, President Trump on Tuesday re-nominated Democratic member Mark Gaston Pearce for another term on the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”). Pearce, who has served on the Board since 2010 (when he received a recess appointment from President Obama), saw his latest 5-year term expire at midnight on Monday, only to be renominated within 24 hours.
Pearce served as Chairman of the Agency for nearly six years until President Trump installed his own Chairman in early 2017. His renomination by Trump comes in the face of sharp criticism from the business community and Republicans, upset that in his more than eight years on the NLRB, Pearce was a consistent vote for pro-union outcomes, including the controversial Browning-Ferris joint-employer decision in 2015. An August 17th editorial in the Wall Street Journal summarized the business community’s complaints against Pearce as follows:
Among other labor hits, Democrats allowed graduate students to unionize; required employers to disclose to unions the names, phone numbers and email addresses of workers; and protected workers who vilify their employers on social media. Mr. Pearce also ruled that employees who had resigned their union membership after their labor contract expired could be dunned for back dues. A D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel overruled his decision in June. As chairman, Mr. Pearce snubbed Republican colleagues. GOP member Brian Hayes told a member of Congress in 2011 that Mr. Pearce wasn’t sharing information and public comments on the board’s “quickie election” rule that trampled employers’ due process rights. Mr. Pearce then accused Mr. Hayes of threatening to resign to deny the board a quorum, which prompted an investigation by the board’s Inspector General. Mr. Hayes was exonerated, but Mr. Pearce jammed through the election rule anyway without letting him vote. A federal judge appointed by Mr. Obama blocked the rule because the board lacked a quorum.
If confirmed by the Senate, Pearce will not upset the recent 3-2 Republican majority on the NLRB, which is traditionally staffed by three members of the president’s party and two members of the minority party. But many Republicans and business advocates remember the precedent set during the Obama presidency, which repeatedly left open Republican seats when those members’ terms expired, including once for a full two years. This allowed the Obama-era Board to utilize lengthy 3-1 Democrat advantages to reverse over 4,500 years of NLRB precedent, according to one study.
Now with Trump in office, many business owners and Republicans hope to reverse as many as possible of the Pearce-led changes, a task which would become much easier were Pearce’s seat to remain vacant. Many cases are decided by random three-member panels, and if the Board is 3-1 Republican, no such panel will have a Democratic majority, and cases decided without dissent can move more quickly through the NLRB’s internal processing. In addition, the Democrats have been pushing to force the recusal of Republican members John Ring and William Emanuel on the joint-employer issue. A Pearce confirmation combined with the recusal of these two Republicans would give the Democrats a 2-1 majority on perhaps the biggest issue to many business owners.
It will be interesting to see whether Pearce can make it through Senate confirmation as, for now, it does not appear that the nomination is a “done deal” in that Chamber. In the meantime, the Board will operate with four members. Many employers and business owners large and small would like to see this period extended as long as possible, even if Pearce is ultimately confirmed. If and when Pearce is again confirmed, he would serve until August 27, 2023.
Of course, we here at Conn Maciel will be keeping an eye on this issue of importance. For now, for employers it’s “four-speed ahead!”