March 5, 2010
This week, DOL Secretary Hilda Solis all but promised the AFL-CIO that controversial NLRB nominee Craig Becker would receive a recess appointment later this month, while she also announced plans to launch a campaign in Houston to inform employees of their rights. Solis' address to the union's winter meeting occurred at a time when tension between the administration and organized labor is running high. Labor leaders were particularly miffed this week when President Obama took sides against a Rhode Island teachers' union over a school district's decision to fire every teacher at a failing high school. Reportedly, labor was not satisfied with a speech by Vice President Biden who promised the administration would continue to push for the Employee Free Choice Act and touted President Obama as a "stand-up guy" who "gets your back." He defended the financial industry bailout by noting: "Had we not done those unpopular things ... we wouldn't have any shot . . . any shot at all (i.e., at enacting labor-backed measures)." Meanwhile, the AFL-CIO announced a net gain of 140,000 members in 2009, generally caused by the return of 213,000 UNITE HERE members. The only actual gains in membership occurred with the public sector unions.