Trump announces pick for last open labor board seat

Business groups are lauding President Trump for announcing his intent to fill the last open seat on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) with labor-law attorney William Emanuel.

Emanuel, who represents employers in labor and employment law matters at Littler Mendelson in Los Angeles, would round out the panel, which had two vacancies when Trump took office. 

“It is long past time that these vacancies on the National Labor Relations Board are filled,” Mark Mix, president of the National Right to Work Committee and the National Right to Work Foundation said in a statement.

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“The Senate should quickly confirm these qualified nominees.”

Last week, Trump announced his plans to nominate labor lawyer Marvin Kaplan to the board in what groups viewed as the first step in an expected shift in control from Democrats to Republicans.

If confirmed, Kaplan and Emanuel would mean two more Republicans, in addition to Chairman Philip Miscimarra, on the five-member board.

In a statement, the Workforce Fairness Institute said the moment has arrived to restore balance in a government agency that has operated to the benefit of labor bosses and detriment of workers over the past eight years. 

“Emanuel is a serious person with decades of experience working on issues surrounding employment and labor law, and will ensure the five-member board is ready to work and undo damaging policies, such as the ambush election rule, Specialty Healthcare decision and new joint employer regulation,” the group said.

NLRB issued a series of controversial decisions during the Obama administration that angered business groups.  The panel changed the longstanding definition of a joint-employer, allowed unions to organize employees in so-called micro-unions and allowed employees to speed up union elections.

Emanuel is a member of the conservative Federalist Society and has litigated a number of cases before the NLRB.