Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the Chamber said:

Appointing three of five members to the NLRB in a legally questionable way casts doubt on the work of the entire agency. We cautioned in January that shoehorning these nominees into office in this controversial way would throw the legal validity of every decision of the Board into question.  Our concern has now become a reality.  We are simply asking the courts to sort out the question of the NLRB’s authority quickly, so that employers and employees alike can have predictability and certainty.

Donohue also addressed how these appointments have created uncertainty:

Employers and employees need to know what it means when the NLRB orders an employer to bargain with a union, to modify its compensation and benefit plans, or to cease contracting work — to offer just a few examples.  Is the order legally rendered, or will it be invalidated in the future?  Without this kind of certainty, we cannot foster an environment that will lead to economic growth and job creation.

The Chamber asserts that “the courts should resolve the question of the NLRB’s authority quickly, so that employers and employees alike can have predictability and certainty.”

The Chamber’s motion for leave to intervene is available here.

Hiring Our Heroes also welcomes today Capital One’s partnership in executing this effort.  Capital One, a company with a long record of supporting veterans and their families both in hiring and transition support, joins with the Chamber and dozens of companies from every major industry and sector to support Hiring Our Heroes and to fund local, free hiring fairs for veterans and military spouses.

“We began this program with the mission to connect our heroes and their spouses with new career and job opportunities,” said Schmiegel.  “Capital One is the perfect example of a company that gets it.  With their assistance, we have the opportunity to connect hundreds of thousands of veterans this year with thousands of companies across the nation.  Without Capital One and all of our corporate partners stepping forward, this program would not be possible.”

In March 2011, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce launched its Hiring Our Heroes program, a nationwide effort to help veterans and military spouses find meaningful employment. The Chamber started the program to improve public-private sector coordination in local communities, where veterans and their families are returning every day. Working with our extensive network of state and local chambers and public, private, and non-profit partners, we will do a better job of matching veteran and military spouse talent with career opportunities in the private sector.

Since the launch of our program in March 2011, the Chamber has hosted 91 hiring fairs in 44 states and have dozens more scheduled before the end of March 2012. Thus far, the Chamber hiring fairs have hosted more than 90,000 veterans and military spouses and given them the opportunity to meet with over 4,600 different employers. As a result, the Chamber has helped more than 8,000 veterans and military spouses find employment. Our efforts have only one measure of success: jobs for America’s veterans and military spouses.

“Capital One is privileged and honored to have veterans of every branch of service as colleagues, team members and leaders throughout our company,” said Jory Berson, Capital One’s Chief Human Resources Officer.  “The tremendous problem-solving and leadership skills that are central to so many military careers apply exceptionally well to the private sector. We hope that through this partnership we can help more companies put these skills and talents to work.”

Through Capital One and all of the Chamber’s corporate partners, Hiring Our Heroes will continue to grow beyond its 400 hiring fairs in the coming year.  On March 28, the initiative will mark its 1st anniversary with hiring fairs in New York, Chicago, Fort Hood, and Stuttgart, Germany (via a virtual online hiring fair).  At the fair aboard the USS Intrepid in New York City, Hiring Our Heroes will make another significant veterans hiring announcement.