Mark Gaston Pearce has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve a third term on the National Labor Relations Board. Pearce, a 2010 recess-appointee under then-President Barack Obama, was reappointed to a second term in 2013. That term expired on August 27, 2018. Pearce’s nomination now heads to the Senate for consideration.
Pearce was instrumental to the Board’s shift toward a labor-friendly approach during the Obama Administration. However, following the Senate’s confirmation of Trump’s Republican nominees Marvin Kaplan on August 2, 2017, William Emanuel on September 25, 2017, and John Ring on April 11, 2018, the Board has established a firm Republican and pro-business majority. Indeed, Trump’s Board has already reversed several significant Obama-era decisions.
In July, industry groups reportedly were urging the Trump Administration not to re-nominate Pearce, one of two remaining Democrats on the Board (along with Lauren McFerran). The Trump Administration’s process, which had already begun, was put on pause at the time.
Bloomberg BNA later reported that the Senate was working on a deal with President Trump that would allow Pearce to be reconfirmed and, consistent with tradition, the minority party would retain two of the five seats on the Board. The deal also would ease the backlog of pending nominees to numerous positions within the Department of Labor and other departments. More than 150 nominees reportedly are awaiting confirmation.
A deal could be reached to confirm Pearce by the end of August.
