The NLRB is a very important institution, because it governs labor relations in the U.S. Union organizing and bargaining and almost all labor union issues are deliberated by the NLRB, and their decisions determine the rights of workers, including the right to organize.
The NLRB is supposed to have 5 governing members, according to law, but appointees to the NLRB have been blocked for years. As a result, there are only 2 of 5 members, 1 R and 1 D. It's basically a stalemate situation.
President Obama nominated 3 appointees to the NLRB. Striving for bipartisanism, he appointed 1 R and 2 D, which when confirmed would yield 3 D and 2 R overall. He was not required to nominate a Republican - that was a bipartisan gesture of good will.
The Republican Senators, in response, decided to put a hold on Obama's 3rd nominee, the D swing voter, who has a strong pro-labor track record. As a result of this dysfunctional process, not a single new NLRB member has been appointed since 2008.
Why, one might wonder, is this a problem for working Americans?
Perhaps most importantly, the NLRB has allowed Republican-imposed limitations on labor union organizing to continue - more specifically, corporations were allowed to use Wal-Mart like practices to discourage union formation, to fire labor organizers and pro-union employees.
Thus, it is very difficult to organize workers into unions, and the Presidency of Mr. Obama hasn't been able to do anything about that.
The NLRB alone can make a huge difference in helping working Americans, but the Republicans have used their 40 vote filibuster power to block nominations. In other words, the Dems have completely failed to do anything about the NLRB, even with their 60 vote majority.
Not only that, but there has been almost no talk about the rights of workers during the first year of the Obama Administration.
And, in addition, there is really no evidence of movement toward an urgently needed jobs bill. True, stimulus funding has been allocated, but it's not enough, not nearly enough. Millions of Americans are losing their unemployment benefits, which only provide partial income and no health benefits, for a few months.
We're in an ongoing economic crisis - but we the working people are not getting anywhere near the kind of help we need.
Slapping the large bankers on the wrist with limitations and a mild scolding isn't even beginning to address the needs of the working people.
Time for a change - where is the change?