Washington, DC (July 1, 2010) – Prompted by a letter from Rep. Darrell Issa (R, CA.) and other members of the House Oversight Committee, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Inspector General has announced he will investigate NLRB recess appointee Craig Becker’s involvement in St. Barnabas v. SEIU Local 1957. The investigation bolsters several motions for recusal filed by National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, who contend that Becker’s evident conflicts of interest should have disqualified him from ruling on their cases.

Right to Work attorneys filed 13 recusal motions against Becker, who served as associate general counsel for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and the AFL-CIO before he was appointed to the Board during a Congressional recess. As the SEIU’s general counsel, Becker litigated against Right to Work Foundation attorneys and developed legal strategies for SEIU affiliates across the country. His published writings also indicate a strong level of hostility to the Foundation’s employee-oriented legal aid program.

Foundation attorneys asked Becker to step aside from any case involving Foundation-assisted workers or the SEIU and its state and local affiliates. Despite these apparent conflicts of interest, Becker has rejected the recusal motions in all but one case pending before the NLRB.

In one notable case, Becker refused to recuse himself from union lawyers’ attempt to overturn the NLRB’s landmark Dana decision, which created a 45 day window period for employees to vote out union officials if they acquired their monopoly bargaining privileges through a card check organizing drive. Becker denies having pre-judged the case despite a career of advocating for card check union organizing.

After Rep. Issa raised the issue in a recent letter, the NLRB’s Inspector General announced he will investigate Becker’s involvement in the pending St. Barnabas case. Becker claims that he has abided by all relevant provisions of the federal code and a signed ethics pledge he submitted to the Obama Administration. That pledge states he will not participate in any cases involving his former employer for two years following his appointment to the NLRB.

“We’ve provided free legal aid to thousands of workers who have clashed with the Service Employees International Union, Craig Becker’s former employer,” said Mark Mix, President of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Becker’s evident conflicts of interest – not to mention his avowed hostility toward the Foundation’s legal aid program – should be reason enough for recusal in several NLRB cases.”

“That the Inspector General of this decidedly pro-forced unionism Administration is launching an inquiry demonstrates the extent of Becker’s ethical problems,” continued Mix. “Throughout his career, Becker has revealed himself as an avid supporter of Big Labor’s special privileges. The IG should expand the scope of the investigation to the numerous other cases in which Becker’s background as an SEIU lawyer makes him unable to judge objectively.”

The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.