Republican Senators Ambush NLRB Nominee at Confirmation Hearing

At a hearing this week on the nomination of Sharon Block to the National Labor Relations Board, Republicans on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee pushed Block to justify many of the board's decisions during her term as a recess appointee.

Chairman Tom Harkin (D-IA) opened the hearing by praising Block's qualifications and calling for her speedy confirmation. Block would replace Nancy Schiffer who leaves the board in December.

"A little over a year ago, for the first time in over a decade, we were able to confirm a fully functional five-member NLRB," Harkin reminded his colleagues. "It is my hope that by promptly confirming Ms. Block's nomination to fill the looming vacancy, we can continue the progress that has been made and begin a new era where orderly transitions are the norm, not the exception."

But the hearing was contentious, with Republican members of the committee attacking Block.

Block served as a member of the Board from January 2012 until summer 2013, as a recess appointment made by President Obama. The Supreme Court's Noel Canning decision in June 2014 held that the president's recess appointments were invalid, despite the fact that they were necessary to counter the Senate Republicans' refusal to move forward on any presidential nominations.

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), who is the ranking member of the committee and is in line to become chairman if Republicans take over the Senate in the fall elections, has announced that he and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) plan to introduce legislation soon "to restore the NLRB to its original purpose," which is to "act as an umpire instead of an advocate."

Alexander said Block already had "demonstrated a willingness to tilt the playing field in favor of organized labor" and questioned her ability to make impartial decisions, especially concerning cases from January 2012-June 2013 that may be reconsidered.

Block said she would take any request to recuse herself seriously and also consult with the agency's ethics department, but that didn't satisfy any of the Republican members.

Already, labor laws rarely work in the U.S. because Republicans like Alexander make crippling the NLRB their mission.