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New NLRB Chairwoman Liebman a Welcome Change
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| Wilma Liebman |
The union movement is praising President Obama’s nomination of Wilma Liebman as the next chairwoman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
As an NLRB member over the past eight years, Liebman has challenged the Bush administration’s war on workers. The board’s Republican majority made it harder to form unions through majority sign-up, limited the ability of illegally fired workers to recover back pay and allowed employers to discriminate against union supporters in the hiring process.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney says Obama made the right choice.
America’s working men and women will finally have the fair and committed leader they deserve with Wilma Liebman as chair of the National Labor Relations Board. What a refreshing change it will be to have a labor board that aims to safeguard rather than blockade workers’ rights. Liebman will work to help the NLRB serve one of its key missions–to undergird all workers’ right to collective bargaining as a cornerstone of our economy and democracy.
In a statement, Liebman says:
The Board’s work matters, just as it did when the National Labor Relations Act was passed in 1935. Democracy in the workplace is still basic to a democratic society, and collective bargaining is still basic to a fair economy. The statute we administer is the foundation of America’s commitment to human rights recognized around the world.
Liebman was first appointed to the NLRB by President Clinton in 1997. Her current term expires in 2011. Before joining the NLRB, Liebman served from 1994 to 1997 at the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, first as special assistant to the director and then as deputy director. She began her legal career as an NLRB staff attorney in 1974, then served on the legal staff of two unions: the Bricklayers and the Teamsters.
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5 Comments
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Welcome Ms. Liebman!
Next comes Hilda Soles!!
Maybe anti-union workers will begin to see what having allies in government can mean with ragard to fair treatment, a liveable wage and keeping American jobs American. Now only if FEMA could be “upgraded” by Obama just as he did to the NLRB!
Welcome back, chairwoman Ms. Leibman;
It’s been a rocky road for all the laborers of the United States, yet change have strength our growth under your leadership and remember to bring back the repetitive strain (stress) Injuries requirement to the table. Yes, the first veto Lil George rejected to protect injured workers from Energy Corporation & Companies.
Sad that the microchips caused so much destruction around the world.
We welcome President Obama’s choice of Wilma Liebman as the next appointed chairperson
Between 2004 and 2007, the so-called “Bush board,” utilizing a 3-2 Bush-appointed majority, established several precedents favorable to employers, reversed several Clinton-era board precedents and was subject to heavy criticism by unions and its own minority members.
Now with the changing of the guard at all levels the trickle effect will also mean the changing of the guard at the National Labor Relations Board in 2009 that promises to roll back the pro-employer decisions of the 2004-2007 board, led by President George W. Bush-appointed Chairman Robert J. Battista.
It is widely predicted that the new Obama board will reverse as many of these controversial pro-employer Bush board precedents as they can get their hands on which includes the’Dana Corp.’: Voluntary Recognition, ‘Harborside Healthcare’: Supervisors Soliciting Authorization Cards, ‘Register Guard’: E-Mail Solicitation, and ‘Oakwood Healthcare’: Definition of a Supervisor. Other decisions with less importance include ‘Brown University’: Graduate Students Are Not Employees, ‘Oakwood Care Center’: Contingent Workers Not in Same Unit as Regular Employees, ‘IBM Corp.’: Weingarten Rights for Non-Union Employees, ‘Brevard Achievement Center’: Disabled Workers in Rehabilitation Settings Are Not Employees, ‘Crown Bolt’: Threat of Plant Closure Not Presumed Disseminated Throughout Plant, and ‘Lutheran Heritage Village-Livonia’: Work Rule Prohibiting “Abusive or Profane” Language.
POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS
Between 2004 and 2007, the NLRB had a 3-2 majority of Bush-appointed members, with Chairman Robert Battista, Member Peter Schaumber and either Member Ronald Meisburg or Member Peter Kirsanow forming the majority and Democrat appointees Wilma Liebman and Dennis Walsh dissenting on practically every important decision. Due to political wrangling between the Bush White House and the Democratic Congress, the board has only contained two members since January 2008, Chairman Schaumber and Member Liebman.
In 2009, it is expected that the board will regain its full quota of five members, which typically includes three members linked to the party of the sitting president. While it is too early to tell who President Obama will nominate to the board, we are happy to here that Wilma Liebman has been appointed as the next chairperson.
For More Information on EFCA please visit our website and blog
http://www.employeefreechoiceactnow.org
http://efcanow.blogspot.com/
http://www.FreeChoiceActNow.Org
http://www.LaborUnionResources.Org
http://www.spfpa.org/UnionBusterPagemakerBrochure.pdf
Thank God