Becker served as General Counsel to both the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union until his appointment.

The business community should be on “red alert,” says U.S. Chamber of Commerce spokesman Randel K. Johnson says.

“This is the first time since 1993 that the Chamber has opposed a nominee to the NLRB. The Chamber’s opposition is based on Mr. Becker’s prolific writings, which suggest a radical view of labor law that flies in the face of established precedent and case law and is far outside the mainstream,” Johnson says.

ABC 2010 National Chairman Jim Elmer calls Becker’s appointment “a political payback to big labor,” and notes that it is unlikely Becker “will administer our nation’s labor laws in an unbiased manner.” Becker is the first person to sit on the NLRB who worked directly for a labor organization, according to the builder’s association.