WASHINGTON – President Obama has nominated Republican Thomas M. Beck, an attorney, to succeed Republican Elizabeth Dougherty on the three-member National Mediation Board.
The nomination requires Senate confirmation, and a confirmation hearing before the Senate Labor Committee has yet to be scheduled.
Since October 2, Beck has been serving as a Senate-confirmed member of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA) for a term that expired July 1. The FLRA administers labor-management relations for non-Postal Service federal employees.
As with the NMB, members of the FLRA may continue serving until a successor has been confirmed by the Senate. Dougherty’s term at the NMB expired June 30.
Previously, Beck was a partner in the law firm of Jones Day, practicing labor and employment law. He is a 1992 graduate of the University of Virginia Law School. Beck also is a part-time professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., where he teaches courses on legislation and public policy.
The other two members of the NMB are Democrats – Chairman Harry Hoglander, who is serving his third term on the NMB, and Linda Puchala, who was confirmed to her first term on the NMB in May 2009.