Sharon Block (government official)

Sharon Block is an American attorney, government official, and labor policy advisor who served on the National Labor Relations Board and in the United States Department of Labor. She is the executive director of the Labor and Worklife Program Harvard Law School.[1]

Sharon Block
Member of the National Labor Relations Board
In office January 9, 2012 – August 1, 2013
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Craig Becker
Succeeded by	Nancy J. Schiffer
Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Education	Columbia University (BA) Georgetown University (JD)

Early life and education

Block received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia University in 1987 and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University Law Center, where she received the John F. Kennedy Labor Law Award.[1][2]

Career

From 1991 to 1993, Block was an associate at Steptoe & Johnson. She then served as Assistant General Counsel at the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1994 to 1996. She served as an attorney in the appellate court branch from 1996 to 2003, and a senior attorney for National Labor Relations Board Chairman Robert Battista.[3]

From 2006 to 2009, Block was senior counsel to the Senate HELP Committee under Senator Ted Kennedy. She then served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Congressional Affairs in the United States Department of Labor from 2009 to 2011.[3]

In 2011, Block was nominated by President Barack Obama to serve on the National Labor Relations Board.[4] She was sworn in as a board member on January 9, 2012 following a recess appointment by the President.[5] However, in 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled her appointment as invalid.[6] Block left the board after serving for 18 months in August 2013.[7][8]

Block returned to the United States Department of Labor and served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and senior counselor to then United States Secretary of Labor Tom Perez from 2013 to 2017.[9]

In 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the ruling that President Barack Obama's 2012 recess appointments exceeded his authority and were thus invalid.[10] Obama tapped Block for a reappointment on the National Labor Relations Board, but withdrew her nomination later that year when her nomination was opposed by Senate Republicans.[11][12]

In 2016, Block is hired by Harvard Law School as Executive Director of the Labor and Worklife Program and joined the program in January 2017.[9][13]

Following the 2020 United States presidential election, Block had been cited as a potential United States Secretary of Labor for the Biden administration. However, Mayor of Boston Marty Walsh ended up being selected for the position.[14][15][16][17] Block has also been mentioned as a possible appointee to the Supreme Court.[18]

Political views

Block is considered to be a political progressive and a supporter of the labor movement.[19] Block is a supporter of legalizing sectoral bargaining,[20] ending at-will employment, works councils in all workplaces, and members-only unions.[21] Block has argued that revitalizing the American labor movement is necessary to save democracy.[22]

See also

• NLRB v. Noel Canning
• Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School

References

1. "Sharon Block". lwp.law.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
2. "Alumni in the News". Columbia College Today. Spring 2012. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
3. "President Obama Announces Recess Appointments to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. 2012-01-04. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
4. News, Bloomberg (2011-12-15). "Obama Names Two to Serve on Labor Board (Published 2011)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
5. "Sharon Block | National Labor Relations Board". www.nlrb.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
6. "Court says Obama exceeded authority in making appointments". The Washington Post. January 25, 2013. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
7. "Board Members Since 1935 | National Labor Relations Board". www.nlrb.gov. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
8. Hicks, Josh. "How Obama's NLRB nominees became central to Senate filibuster deal". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
9. "Sharon Block - CV". Retrieved November 20, 2020.
10. Trottman, Jess Bravin and Melanie (2014-06-26). "Supreme Court Narrows President's Recess-Appointment Powers". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
11. Trottman, Melanie (2014-07-11). "President Obama Taps Former NLRB Recess Appointee for Board Again". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
12. Dovere, Edward-Isaac. "White House pulls controversial NLRB pick". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
13. Sachs, Benjamin (2016-12-21). "Sharon Block to Join Harvard's Labor and Worklife Program as Executive Director". OnLabor. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
14. "7 Names To Watch As Biden Picks His Labor Secretary - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
15. "Punching In: Previewing Biden's Labor Secretary Sweepstakes". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
16. "Andy Levin Lands New Union Backing to Be Biden's Labor Secretary". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
17. Morath, Eric (2020-11-13). "Biden Labor Department to Focus on Executive Actions If GOP Keeps Senate". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
18. Kim, Seung Min. "Democratic presidential candidates come under pressure to release Supreme Court picks". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-01-22.
19. "Sharon Block, Union Ally, Named to White House Regulatory Post". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
20. Block, Sharon (2020-03-30). "Why American Workers Have Been Left Out of Our Life-and-Death Decision-Making". The American Prospect. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
21. "Worker Organizations Must Enable Worker Power". American Compass. Retrieved 2021-01-21.
22. "A surprising solution to save American democracy | Opinion". Newsweek. 2020-01-23. Retrieved 2021-01-21.