05 Jan President Obama Announces Recess Appointments to NLRB

President Obama utilized recess appointments to name three new members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the White House announced.

Since January 1, the board has just two members and cannot carry out most business. Republican Senate leaders have said they will block any NLRB nominations in a move most regard as an attempt to shut down the NLRB. That is part of an overall strategy that has bottled up hundreds of Obama administration nominations. But with the Senate in recess, Obama is allowed to make appointments that last through the current session of Congress.

The President announced his intent to recess appoint the following individuals to fill key administration posts that have been left vacant:

• Sharon Block, Member, National Labor Relations Board
• Terence F. Flynn, Member, National Labor Relations Board
• Richard Griffin, Member, National Labor Relations Board
• Richard Cordray, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

President Obama said, “The American people deserve to have qualified public servants fighting for them every day – whether it is to enforce new consumer protections or uphold the rights of working Americans.  We can’t wait to act to strengthen the economy and restore security for our middle class and those trying to get in it, and that’s why I am proud to appoint these fine individuals to get to work for the American people.” 

In a statement following the White House announcement, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said, “We commend the president for exercising his constitutional authority to ensure that crucially important agencies protecting workers and consumers are not shut down by Republican obstructionism.  Working families and consumers should not pay the price for political ploys that have repeatedly undercut the enforcement of rules against Wall Street abuses and the rights of working people.”

Sharon Block, Member, National Labor Relations Board
Sharon Block is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor.  Between 2006 and 2009, Ms. Block was Senior Labor and Employment Counsel for the Senate HELP Committee, where she worked for Senator Edward M. Kennedy. Ms. Block previously served at the National Labor Relations Board as senior attorney to Chairman Robert Battista from 2003 to 2006 and as an attorney in the appellate court branch from 1996 to 2003.  From 1994 to 1996, she was Assistant General Counsel at the National Endowment for the Humanities, and from 1991 to 1993, she was an associate at Steptoe & Johnson.  She received a B.A. in History from Columbia University and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center where she received the John F. Kennedy Labor Law Award.

Terence F. Flynn, Member, National Labor Relations Board
Terence F. Flynn is currently detailed to serve as Chief Counsel to NLRB Board Member Brian Hayes.  Mr. Flynn was previously Chief Counsel to former NLRB Board Member Peter Schaumber, where he oversaw a variety of legal and policy issues in cases arising under the National Labor Relations Act.  From 1996 to 2003, Mr. Flynn was Counsel in the Labor and Employment Group of Crowell & Moring, LLP, where he handled a wide range of labor and employment issues, including collective bargaining negotiations, litigation of unfair labor practices, defense of ERISA claims, and wage and hour disputes, among other matters.  From 1992 to 1995, he was a litigation associate at the law firm David, Hager, Kuney & Krupin, where he counseled clients on federal, state, and local employment and wage hour laws, NLRB arbitrations, and other labor relations disputes.  Mr. Flynn started his law career at the firm Reid & Priest, handling labor and immigration matters from 1990 to 1992.  He holds a B.A. degree from University of Maryland, College Park and a J.D. from Washington & Lee University School of Law.     

Richard Griffin, Member, National Labor Relations Board
Richard Griffin is the General Counsel for International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE).  He also serves on the board of directors for the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee, a position he has held since 1994.  Since 1983, he has held a number of leadership positions with IUOE from Assistant House Counsel to Associate General Counsel.   From 1985 to 1994, Mr. Griffin served as a member of the board of trustees of the IUOE’s central pension fund.  From 1981 to 1983, he served as a Counsel to NLRB Board Members.  Mr. Griffin holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.

Richard Cordray, Director, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Richard Cordray is Chief of Enforcement at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  Immediately prior, Cordray served as Attorney General of Ohio from January 2009 to January 2011.  As Attorney General, Cordray recovered more than $2 billion for Ohio’s retirees, investors and business owners and took major steps to help protect its consumers from fraudulent foreclosures and financial predators.  Prior to his tenure as Ohio’s Attorney General, Cordray spent two years as Ohio’s State Treasurer and four as the Treasurer of Franklin County, Ohio.  In 2008, he received a Financial Services Cham pion award from the U.S. Small Business Administration and a Government Service Award from NeighborWorks America.  In 2005, he was named “County Leader of the Year” by American City & County Magazine.  Earlier in his career, Cordray was an adjunct professor at the Ohio State University College of Law (1989-2002), served as a State Representative for the 33rd Ohio House District (1991-1993), was the first Solicitor General in Ohio’s history (1993-1994), and was a sole practitioner and Of Counsel to Kirkland & Ellis (1995-2007).  Cordray has argued seven cases before the United States Supreme Court, including by special appointment of both the Clinton and Bush Justice Departments.  Cordray is a graduate of Michigan State University, Oxford University, and the University of Chicago Law School.  He was Editor-in-Chief of the University of Chicago Law Review and later clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justices Byron White and Anthony Kennedy.