President Trump Makes Key Labor Nominations

Employment Law

President Trump took a step this week toward establishing a Republican majority on the National Labor Relations Board, though one more name needs to be forwarded to accomplish that.  The President nominated Marvin Kaplan to fill one of the two vacant Republican positions on the Board and, Pat Pizzella as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Labor, and Senate HELP staffer Kyle Fortson as a Member of the National Mediation Board.  The three bring solid credentials:

• Mr. Kaplan currently serves as a Chief Counsel to an Occupational Safety and Health Review Commissioner, with previous experience as counsel to the House Education and the Workforce Committees.  Senate HELP Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said, "Marvin Kaplan has the qualifications to be an effective member of the National Labor Relations Board.  Once Mr. Kaplan's nomination paperwork is received, the Senate Labor Committee will move promptly to consider his nomination."  Mr. Kaplan's inclusion on the Board would give it a composition of two Republicans and two Democrats.  
• Mr. Pizzella currently serves as Acting Chairman of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) and has served as a member of the FLRA since 2013.  He previously served as DOL Assistant Secretary of Labor for Administration and Management for the entirety of the George W. Bush Administration.  
• Ms. Fortson currently serves as the Labor Policy Director for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, where she has been a staff member since 2004.  Alexander praised her for her "experience, knowledge and diligence."  The National Mediation Board enforces the Railway Labor Act, which governs collective bargaining in the airline and railroad industries.