`61 grad confirmed as Labor Relations chair
Special to the Observer
Robert Battista, a 1961 graduate of Notre Dame, has been confirmed as chairman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
Nominated for the position by President Bush on Oct. 4, Battista was confirmed by the U.S. Senate last week. His term extends until Dec. 16, 2007.
"Battista is a renowned employment lawyer of the highest skill, experience and integrity," Robert Hunter, a former member of the NLRB and current director of labor policy for the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, wrote in an editorial. "We can expect to see great advancement in employee protections under his mature and balanced leadership. The president could not have made a wiser choice in appointing Battista."
The NLRB is an independent federal agency created to investigate and remedy unfair labor practices by employers and unions. It was created by Congress in 1935 to administer the National Labor Relations Act, the primary law governing relations between unions and employers in the private sector. The NLRB implements the national labor policy of assuring free choice and encouraging collective bargaining as a means of maintaining industrial peace.
A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Battista has practiced with the Detroit law firm Butzel Long since 1965. From 1985 to 1992, he was manager of the firm's Labor and Employment Law Group.
He is a member of the Michigan advisory committee of the American Arbitration Association, a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, and a member of the Michigan Employment Relations Commission's advisory committee.
All News Stories for Thursday, November 21, 2002
