[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 16159]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     NOMINATION OF LAUREN McFERRAN

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, this morning we convened a hearing to 
consider the President's nomination of Lauren McFerran to fill an 
impending vacancy on the National Labor Relations Board. Ms. McFerran 
is well known to most of us as a senior staffer on the Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and I look forward to her 
speedy confirmation. She has been nominated to fill a vacancy that will 
result from the departure next month of a current Board member, Nancy 
Schiffer. I would like to thank Ms. Schiffer for her dedicated service. 
She has been a highly respected Board member, and I wish her every 
success in her future endeavors.
  The National Labor Relations Board is an agency that is absolutely 
critical to our country, to our economy, and to our middle class. Over 
75 years ago, Congress enacted the National Labor Relations Act, 
guaranteeing American workers the right to form and join a union and 
bargain for a better life. The act sets forth a national policy to 
encourage collective bargaining. Specifically, the act states:

       It is declared to be the policy of the United States to 
     eliminate the causes of certain substantial obstructions to 
     the free flow of commerce and to mitigate and eliminate these 
     obstructions when they have occurred by encouraging the 
     practice and procedure of collective bargaining and by 
     protecting the exercise by workers of full freedom of 
     association, self-organization, and designation of 
     representatives of their own choosing, for the purpose of 
     negotiating the terms and conditions of their employment or 
     other mutual aid or protection.

  For union and nonunion workers alike, the act provides essential 
protections. It gives workers a voice in the workplace, allowing them 
to join together and speak up for fair wages and benefits, and for safe 
working conditions. These rights ensure that the people who do the real 
work in this country have a shot at receiving a fair share of the 
benefits when our economy grows--and with rising income inequality in 
our country, these rights are more important than ever.
  The NLRB is the guardian of these fundamental rights. Workers 
themselves cannot enforce the NLRA, but they can turn to the Board if 
they have been denied the basic protections provided under the law. In 
short, the Board plays a vital role in vindicating workers' rights. In 
the past 10 years, the NLRB has secured opportunities for reinstatement 
for 22,544 employees who were unjustly fired. It has recovered more 
than $1 billion on behalf of workers whose rights were violated.
  The Board also provides relief and remedies to our Nation's 
employers. For example, employers can turn to the Board for relief if a 
union commences a wildcat strike or refuses to bargain in good faith 
during negotiations. The NLRB has a long history of helping businesses 
resolve disputes efficiently. By preventing or resolving labor disputes 
that could disrupt our economy, the work that the Board does is vital 
to every worker and every business across the Nation.
  That is why it is so important that we maintain a fully functional, 
five-member NLRB. I am proud of the fact that, just a little over a 
year ago, we were able to confirm members to completely fill the board 
for the first time in over a decade. Now, we need to fill a soon-to-be 
open seat so that the Board can continue to function effectively.
  Ms. McFerran is not the first nominee for this seat. In September, 
the HELP Committee approved the nomination of a dedicated public 
servant, Sharon Block. Republicans and Democrats agreed on Ms. Block's 
reputation and qualifications, but her nomination was withdrawn in the 
face of circumstance beyond her control. As a result, Ms. Block will 
not have the opportunity to serve on the Board. Ms. Block is a 
tremendous public servant whose qualifications are unaffected and 
undiminished by the present circumstances and I look forward to Ms. 
Block's future service to our country.
  I am heartened, however, by the President's decision to nominate 
Lauren McFerran. Ms. McFerran currently serves as Chief Labor Counsel 
and Deputy Staff Director on my HELP committee. I am proud to have her 
as a member of my staff; she has served the committee with excellence 
and great professionalism; and I know firsthand that the President 
could not have found a more able successor to Ms. Schiffer. Ms. 
McFerran is an incredibly talented lawyer with deep knowledge of labor 
law. She is a person of sterling integrity and strong character. She 
will be a great asset to the Board.
  It is my hope that by promptly confirming Ms. McFerran's nomination 
to fill the looming vacancy we can continue the progress that has been 
made recently, and begin a new era where orderly transitions on the 
NLRB are the norm. We should set a new precedent of confirming 
nominees--Democratic and Republican alike--in a timely manner.
  I have no doubt that Ms. McFerran will do an excellent job in this 
important position. I look forward to moving her nomination 
expeditiously.

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