Wilma B. Liebman

President Obama named Wilma Liebman to be Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board in January 2009. Ms. Liebman served as Chairman until August 27, 2011, when her third term expired. Since then, she has been engaged in various advisory roles and consulting projects and has taught at several universities, most recently New York University Law School. Ms. Liebman has served as a Visiting Scholar at Rutgers University’s School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR) and has taught at Cornell University’s Law School and Industrial and Labor Relations School, the University of Illinois’ College of Law and its School of Labor and Employment Relations, and George Washington University Law School. Appointed in March 2020, she serves as chief external ethics officer for the United Automobile Workers Union. 

Ms. Liebman was first appointed to be a Member of the NLRB by President Clinton and was twice reappointed by President Bush. She was the third longest serving Member of the NLRB in its 85 year history. Earlier, Ms. Liebman served as Deputy Director of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS). Prior to joining FMCS in January 1994, she held positions as Labor Counsel for the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen, and Legal Counsel to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. 

As of June 2021, Ms. Liebman serves as President of the Labor and Employment Relations Association. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Economic Policy Institute and a senior fellow of the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership and Profit Sharing at Rutgers’ School of Management and Labor Relations. Ms. Liebman is the Co-Chair of the Council of Advisors at the Institute for the Cooperative Digital Economy at the New School.  For the last seven years, she has served as Chair of the Dunlop Commission on Agricultural Labor, a private dispute resolution body.  

Ms. Liebman is the author of several publications on a variety of labor law and policy issues.