President Obama makes three recess appointments to fill NLRB vacancies

Today, the White House announced the recess appointments of three nominees to fill vacancies at the NLRB. After Member Craig Becker’s recess appointment expired yesterday, the Board lost its quorum and was unable to issue decisions under the Supreme Court’s decision in New Process Steel. The Board has not had five Members since August 2010. We are monitoring developments at the Board and will report on them as they occur.

The biographies of the new Board Members from the White House’sannouncement are as follows:

Sharon Block, 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, 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, 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.