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.
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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.
