Correspondence

Dear President Obama: 

We write to express our strong opposition to so-called recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). While the U.S. Constitution empowers the president to fill vacancies to federal positions when the Senate is in recess, exercising that authority when the Senate is meeting in pro forma session to install nominees who have received no public scrutiny is an abuse of power that will harm the strength of our workforce and damage the integrity of the NLRB.   

In June, 2011, you stated, “We can't afford to have labor and management fighting all the time, at a time when we're competing against Germany and China and other countries that want to sell goods all around the world.” We wholeheartedly agree. With 13 million workers unemployed, job creators and labor leaders must be partners in the effort to put Americans back to work. 

Unfortunately, the policies advanced by your NLRB appointees have created uncertainty and unnecessary strife in America’s workplaces. Over the last three years, the NLRB has weakened protections for workers, piled additional burdens on employers, and strengthened union leaders’ ability to undermine the success of businesses nationwide.