Announcing 15 recess appointments last weekend, President Barack Obama made a good start toward filling hundreds of vacancies in his administration.

As other presidents have done before him, he sidestepped political foot-dragging in the U.S. Senate by making the appointments during a congressional break. George W. Bush made 171 recess appointments during his presidency and Bill Clinton made 139, according to the Washington Post.

In 2005, when Democrats blocked the nomination of John R. Bolton to be ambassador to the United Nations, calling him an abrasive bully, Bush appointed him during the summer recess.

Back then, Democrats protested the move as an abuse of presidential power, just as Republicans are doing today. Yet it is hard to criticize a president’s determination to fill out his roster so government can work effectively.

Obama’s appointments aren’t as high-ranking as a U.N ambassador. They include the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection and officials of the Homeland Security Department, Commerce Department and Treasury Department.

The president also named four members to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and National Labor Relations Board. These boards are largely unable to function because each lacks a quorum.

Currently the labor board has only two members ”“ one Republican and one Democrat. They are currently at an impasse on many issues and a quorum is badly needed to resolve many labor-management disputes. In naming Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the Labor Board, Obama has tipped the board’s balance in a pro-labor direction.

The appointment of Becker, who has represented labor unions and written extensively about the rights of labor, failed last month when Democrats could not overcome a Republican filibuster. Senate Republicans criticize his writings and unanimously urged Obama not to install him using a recess appointment.

But government has a duty to both labor and management to resolve employment disputes promptly. Because of the lack of a quorum, the Labor Relations Board has had to postpone certification of union elections, and workers who claim they were wrongly fired have been kept waiting for their claims to be resolved.

Many business groups and politicians are simply opposed to the interests of organized labor. It may be a bitter pill for them to accept a new alignment on the labor board, but it’s perfectly legal and reasonable for the president to fill these positions with candidates of his choosing.

— Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Nick Cowenhoven at nickc@journaltribune.com.