The National Labor Relations Board is a five-member body that considers and decides cases concerning workers' rights across the country. For over two years, only two of the five seats have been filled, which has seriously impeded the Board's ability to assess workers' cases. President Obama nominated three candidates, two of whom, including Mark Pearce, a labor attorney, and Republican committee staffer Brian Hayes, were unanimously approved by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP). The third nominee, Craig Becker, associate general counsel for SEIU and the AFL-CIO, was approved by a 15-8 vote.

In light of Becker's obvious support of working men and women, Republicans are trying to fight his nomination to the NLRB. In fact, John McCain placed a hold on his nomination while allowing the other two nominations to pass through. The Chamber of Commerce and others in the business community are staunchly opposed to Becker gaining a seat on the Board and have forced a hearing to question his credibility and values. 

Let's take a look at Becker's credibility and values:

• 1978 graduate of Yale University; 1981 graduate of Yale Law School; has taught at the following law schools: Georgetown, University of Chicago, UCLA
• Highly respected labor lawyer and published scholar with over 27 years of experience advocating for workers, especially low-wage workers
• Senator Tom Harkin, Chair of the Senate HELP Committee, has called Becker "one of the pre-eminent labor law thinkers in the United States"
• 66 labor law professors from the top law schools in the country wrote the Senate urging them to confirm Becker's nomination and expressed Becker's "integrity, fairness, and dedication to advancing Congress' purposes in adopting federal labor law and to the role of the NLRB"

Becker is a highly qualified advocate for working people and we need to make sure that his nomination passes. While the Senate HELP Committee held a hearing yesterday, February 2nd, the Committee has scheduled a vote for this Thursday, February 4th. This vote would then lead to a vote by the full Senate. Some Republicans have vowed to filibuster his nomination, meaning that we need 60 votes to invoke cloture before the nomination itself can be voted upon.

Please contact our Senators TODAY to urge them to vote to confirm Becker and to vote for cloture on his nomination. Although Schumer and Gillibrand should support his nomination, the more they hear from us, the more they will realize just how important Becker's nomination is to working people across the country.