The senior Republican on the Senate Working Body clashed with the Biden administration candidates for senior legal positions on the National Labor Relations Board and the US Department of Labor, accusing the duo of being politically motivated ideologues.
The fireworks took place Thursday during the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee’s confirmation hearing of Jennifer Abruzzo, President Joe Biden’s nominee for NLRB General Counsel, and Seema Nanda, his election as labor attorney.
Senator Richard Burr (RN.C.) repeatedly criticized what he called the couple’s partisan motives and grilled the Abruzzo over Biden’s dismissal of the Trump-appointed NLRB Attorney General on the first day and Nanda about her previous work on the Democratic National Committee and controversial tweets.
Both candidates sought to recreate the Republican-led narrative by talking about their long career in the labor advocacy, and the panel’s Democrats praised them for their experience in the same departments they were chosen to lead. Democrats gave women space to speak about their political priorities in terms of collective bargaining, Covid-19 measures, and accountability for labor law violations.
Abruzzo and Nanda are nominated for senior legal positions that have an enormous – if not always obvious – influence on federal labor policy. As General Counsel to the NLRB, Abruzzo would select cases to be pursued before the Board of Directors, while Nanda would be the primary legal advisor for all litigation, policies and regulations at DOL.
Burr has blown the government’s picks as a betrayal of Biden’s demands for bipartisanism and unity. He noted that Biden had fired Trump-appointed NLRB top attorney Peter Robb and asked if Abruzzo, as a member of Biden’s transition team for employment agencies, had been involved in preparing this action.
Committee chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) Said the Democrats were merely trying to redistribute power among workers affected by the pandemic.
“The past 15 years have been marked by unprecedented Republican obstruction to our NLRB candidates,” said Murray, noting that a Democratic seat in the NLRB has been empty for nearly three years. “They are tipping the scales of justice against workers and against corporations.”
Jennifer Abruzzo, candidate for General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, testifies during her April 29 confirmation hearing.
Photographer: Al Drago / Bloomberg
Burr began producing emails as of February 2021 saying Abruzzo’s involvement in NLRB politics during her time on the transition team – including what he alleged to be Robb’s dismissal. During the digital exchange, which Burr read portions of, a White House official described the role of Abruzzo in briefing acting Advocate General Peter Sung Ohr on transitional materials.
“Miss Abruzzo said she was not involved in the layoff, but that is honestly a little hard to believe given that she was heavily involved in the labor agency work team that covered the NLRB,” Burr said earlier and added that the NLRB as an independent agency should be protected from the political whims of the White House.
Abruzzo said she was part of a 25-person transition team and dealt directly with NLRB policy, but was vague about her involvement in the White House’s decision to fire Robb. After initially saying that she was “not involved in the decision to fire Robb,” she admitted that she had raised concerns from outside groups about Robb’s “management”.
“I shared the view that these concerns and stakeholder recommendations that consideration should be given to the removal of General Counsel Robb should be increased,” Abruzzo said.
‘Activist’ indictment
Nanda served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant Attorney at DOL during the Obama administration. But it was her most recent appearance as chief executive officer of the Democratic National Committee that caught Burr’s attention. He called her a “Democratic Party activist” in his opening speeches and beat her for attacking GOP lawmakers on social media.
“It is unclear to me that they will ever enjoy the trust of anyone outside of the biased, anti-business bubbles that fester on the fringes of the left,” Burr said, referring to both nominees.
Burr targeted Nanda over past tweets, including retweeted a message to Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) criticizing her decision to try Brett Kavanaugh in the US Supreme Court.
Seema Nanda, the candidate for the Labor Bar, speaks during her confirmation hearing in April.
Photographer: Al Drago / Bloomberg
“I think that with the discourse of our country I was involved in that discourse,” replied Nanda. “I can’t explain every tweet I’ve ever sent, but I can promise you that in the future – if I’m lucky enough to be confirmed – I’ll work with members of this committee as well as other stakeholders. ”
Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) Defended Nanda’s experience in government and discussed his own work with the DNC.
“I was chairman of the Democratic National Committee,” said Kaine. “If someone introduced me and they just focused on that, they wouldn’t tell you the story of who Tim Kaine is.”
Enforcement vision
Portraying the nominees as a fix for the past four years of the Republican leadership of the two agencies, Murray said the Trump administration repeatedly favored companies and injured workers.
In Nanda’s case, if confirmed, it would likely mean realigning the department’s payroll and security agencies to conduct more aggressive investigations to eradicate bad actors.
Nanda avoided addressing several high-profile DOL initiatives on-going, including questions about the department’s efforts to establish an emergency safety rule for Covid-19 in the workplace and DOL’s stance on shared employment liability. She said it would be inappropriate to comment on ongoing matters if she is not currently with DOL.
However, the civil rights attorney gave a glimpse into her vision of running one of the largest government law firms that has made a significant impact due to its ability to sue employers without Justice Department approval.
At one point, Nanda spoke about the importance of exposing violations of the minimum wage and overtime laws.
“Theft of wages, I believe, undermines the basic promise of a democratic society that you will go to work and get paid for what you agreed to do. It is a detrimental problem, and unfortunately it falls disproportionately on those workers who cannot afford to lose those wages the most, ”said Nanda. “Wage theft will continue to be a priority for me if I’m lucky enough to be verified.”
And while Nanda said she hadn’t been briefed on the details of the Occupational Safety and Health Agency’s Covid-19 ruling, which is currently under review at the White House, she described the steps she would take at the law firm to make sure employers do the Protect workers from infection in the workplace.
“I want an understanding of what cases are currently in the pipeline, how these standards are enforced – whether it is a temporary emergency standard or the general mandatory clause,” she said when asked about health and safety. “But it will be incredibly important to really make sure we have solid enforcement so that we can protect our nation’s workers.”
Abruzzo discussed enforcement of the National Labor Relations Act, the basic law that gives private sector workers the right to bargain collectively and advocate changes in labor policy.
She said she would “vigorously protect” workers’ right to speak out against unsafe conditions during the pandemic and encourage employers to enter into safety partnerships with unions.
If confirmed, Abruzzo would commit to reaching “vulnerable populations in underserved communities” to ensure workers are informed of their rights under the NLRA.
“There is no mandatory requirement for employers to publicize workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act, so it is imperative for the agency to train these workers,” she said.
Noting that the NLRB currently lacks a budget position for outreach activities, she added, “I hope we do that at some point.”
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