Harold Craig Becker (born November 14, 1956), known professionally as Craig Becker, is a member of the National Labor Relations Board.
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Craig Becker was born to Ruth and Sam Becker; his mother, now deceased, was a nurse, and his father a World War II veteran and a professor at the University of Iowa.[1] Becker graduated from Yale University in 1978, and Yale Law School in 1981. He was an editor of the Yale Law Journal.
Becker clerked for Judge Donald P. Lay from 1981 through 1983. He then worked at Kirschner, Weinberg & Dempsey (1983–1989), a firm located in Washington, D.C. After his work there, he taught at UCLA Law School (1989–1994) and Georgetown University Law School (1987–1988). He taught at the University of Chicago Law School.[2] He has been Associate General Counsel to the AFL-CIO[3] and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Throughout his career, he argued many cases in court, including in front of the Supreme Court of the United States. In 2009, he was a member of the Obama transition team, assisting with the review of the United States Department of Labor.[4]
Becker was nominated by President Barack Obama for a seat on the National Labor Relations Board; a 13-10 vote by a Senate panel on Feb 4, 2010 allowed his nomination to move to the Senate floor.[5] However, his nomination failed to move to a floor vote on a vote of 52-33, falling eight short of the votes needed to block a Republican filibuster.[6] On March 27, 2010, President Obama made a recess appointment of Becker to the National Labor Relations Board.[7] The president’s action enabled Becker to serve without Senate confirmation until the chamber adjourns at the end of 2011.
On January 26, 2011, Obama renominated Becker to the same seat, which would expire in December 2014.[8] However, Becker's nomination remained stalled in the Senate, and with Becker's recess appointment drawing to a close, Obama withdrew the nomination on December 15, 2011.[9]
Becker resides in Washington, D.C. with his wife and two sons. His wife, Amy Dru Stanley, is an Associate Professor of history at the University of Chicago. His father, Samuel L. Becker, is a retired professor and chair of the Department of Communication and Studies at the University of Iowa.[10]