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We Cheer for Michigan
December 14, 2012 | 214 comments
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Busting Union Reform
February 13, 2012 | 21 comments
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Obama’s Big Labor Wins a Big One
December 20, 2011 | 46 comments
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Ambush Election Prevention
November 30, 2011 | 34 comments
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Obama’s Favorite Union Heavies
July 26, 2011 | 51 comments
The Public Policy
Unionization via Regulation
Republicans lawmakers push back on Obama overreach on behalf of private unions.
Are unions desperate? When it comes to reviving their fortunes in the private sector, it certainly seems that way. Union leaders, unable to reverse decades of continued decline in private sector membership, are seeking political solutions to their ills — specifically, changes to labor law that would favor unionization.
They pinned their hopes on the election of Barack Obama as President, following the Democrats’ winning control of Congress in 2006. With Democrats running both elected branches of the federal government, pro-union legislation — including “card check” and bailouts for underfunded union pensions — seemed imminent in the early days of the Obama administration.
However, effective Republican opposition managed to hold back much of the unions’ legislative agenda. Then the Democrats’ trouncing in the 2010 midterm elections ended union hopes of pro-union labor law changes in Congress. Yet despite that huge setback, unions haven’t given up on politics, and instead have moved on to a different arena.
Obama will need organized labor’s support for his reelection campaign, so it’s in his self-interest to stay on the unions’ good side. This may explain why his administration has been pushing unionization through regulation — enacting regulatory changes favoring unionization without the consent of Congress. Considering the lengths to which the administration is going, it’s fair to ask: Is Obama desperate to give unions something?
Two key agencies in the administration’s efforts are the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the National Mediation Board (NMB). The NLRB supervises the National Labor Relations Act, which governs labor relations involving most private sector employees, while the NMB does the same for the Railway Labor Act (RLA), which governs railroad and airline employees.
The NLRB recently threatened to sue Boeing for its decision to build a major new plant in South Carolina, a right-to-work state, as well as four states — Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Utah — for enacting amendments to their constitution that protect a worker’s right to secret ballots in union organizing elections.
The NLRB’s case against Boeing rests on a thin reed. The Board seized on a statement by Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Jim Albaugh that an overriding factor in the decision to locate the plant in South Carolina was that the company cannot afford to have a work stoppage “every three years.” The NLRB cited that statement as supposed evidence that Boeing was trying to retaliate against unionized workers in Washington State. In fact, Albaugh was not referring to any specific union job action.
Moreover, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which first filed the complaint against Boeing with the NLRB, had waived having a say on where the company could locate its new facilities. Finally, Boeing wasn’t transferring any work but rather expanding it. The company, facing a backlog for orders of its new 787 Dreamliner passenger jet, had hired 2,000 additional workers at its Puget Sound facilities, even as it hired another 1,000 in South Carolina.
A year ago, the NMB changed RLA voting rules from requiring a union to win a majority of votes in a bargaining unit to be certified as its monopoly bargaining representative to requiring a majority of votes cast — which made it possible for a union to become certified with only a minority of bargaining unit members voting for it. For example, under the new rules, if only 80 workers show up to vote out of a bargaining unit of 100 employees, the union would only need 41 votes to become the legally mandated representative of all workers in the bargaining unit.
Indeed, that has already happened. On November 5, 2010, the Communication Workers of America (CWA) won an election it would have lost under the old rules. (The FAA Reauthorization Bill, passed by the House on April 1, restores the RLA’s original voting rule, but the bill still needs to go through conference committee.)
To call the actions of the NLRB and NMB spurious and arbitrary would be charitable; unwarranted and baseless would be a more apt description. In fact, the NLRB’s and NMB’s actions go so far in promoting organized labor’s agenda that now some Republican lawmakers are pushing back, and looking into the politicization of these agencies.
On May 3, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), minority ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, joined nine other senators in sending a letter to NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon requesting documents pertaining to the Board’s actions against Boeing.
Then on May 12, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), along with Reps. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and Dennis Ross (R-Fla.), also wrote to Solomon, requesting documents pertaining to its threatened lawsuit against Boeing and the four states with secret ballot amendments — including any communications with union officials.
On May 13, Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), chairman of the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the House Education and Workforce Committee, and 10 other senators (including Reps. Gowdy and Ross) also sent Solomon a letter, in which they strongly criticize “what we perceive to be an activist, job-destroying agenda.”
And on May 17, Reps. Issa and Ross wrote to NMB Chairman Harry Hoglander, requesting documents related the NMB’s change of the RLA voting rule — including, as with their request to Solomon, communications with union officials.
The NMB documents sought by the lawmakers are due to House Oversight Committee on May 24 and the NLRB documents on May 27. They should make for an interesting reading.
The GOP pushback is welcome and timely. With pro-union legislation off the table, the Obama administration seems to be throwing every pro-union regulatory initiative at the proverbial wall to see what sticks. For Obama, that may represent his last chance to earn meaningful policy successes for his union supporters. For American businesses struggling to recover, however, it only amounts to yet more regulatory uncertainty and added costs they can ill afford.
Redstateboy| 5.25.11 @ 8:56AM
what does it matter..? like TAS's other article here today "Enough?" The Unions, against their own self interest, will Still Vote and support the Slave (Democrat) Party.
AgentRose| 5.25.11 @ 9:50AM
Please stay on this story. Go deeper. This is socialism by regulation. See Agenda: Grinding America Down, show it, give it out to every walking thinking American!
AgentRose| 5.25.11 @ 9:56AM
Agenda Grinding America Down is a DOCUMENTARY, not propaganda. It is the most important and powerful expose of the attempts to take America down so far. Available at: http://agendadocumentary.com/
Go deeper, while we still have SOME freedom of the press, unlike Venezuela where ANOTHER opposition journalist Wilfred Ojeda was found murdered .
Shamus| 5.25.11 @ 9:58AM
Democrats are desperate because they are losing their funding. If they are unable to count on union dues to fill their coffers they have a big problem.
Dustoff| 5.25.11 @ 10:12AM
The funny part.
Boeing supports many dem's.
loulou| 5.25.11 @ 10:36AM
Boeing is based in the People's Republic of Washington State--they have to support Dems.
The NLRB should be abolished.
Redstateboy| 5.25.11 @ 4:22PM
when ya think about it.. Liber-uls and Liber-ulism is its own worst enemies (if you're not a Liber-ul - you're collateral damage) Look what the Liber-uls on the US Supreme Court (with some really stupid other Justices) just did to Liber-ul California - Ordering the release of 46,000+ Inmates from California prisons on to the general population - a population hamstrung by strict Gun control laws? Watch... in the coming Months and years - the California public both Liber-uls and not.. will suffer directly because of the stupidity of Liber-ulism
AgentRose| 5.25.11 @ 10:21AM
It goes like this: Fabian socialists ----SDS----weather underground-----Bill Ayers----anti-war movement----moveon.org------democratic party----LABOR!!! LABOR is spectaculary represented by Richard Trumka who Obama embraces and has an interesting history:
President of AFL-CIO, key player in New Labor Movement ; Former President of the United Mine Workers Union ; Pled the Fifth Amendment to avoid self-incrimination in Teamsters Union money-laundering scandal linked to prominent Democrats. (Discover the Networks) Pure as the wind driven snow.
Supported all the "democracy" in Egypt. Richard Trumka, 10,000 union members flood Maryland State Capitol. Featured in People's World SEVERAL TIMES.
George S| 5.25.11 @ 10:55AM
What is the GOP pushing back? The Constitution has not delegated any powers to the federal government to tell a person where he can do business. Instead of "pushing back" with requests for letters and documents, the GOP should be exercising their Article III powers and threaten to pull jurisdiction of such suits from the federal courts. Enough of this nonsense.
Oldefarte| 5.25.11 @ 11:04AM
This is typical of Democrats, and is the reason why any sane and rational person should not vote for any Democrat candidates, period! Economically/financially, labor unions have destroyed [and will conitinue to do so] any/all companies [and their related jobs] that they are involved with. Detroit automobile manufacturers were highly unionized, historically bacame uncompetitive to Japan's similar manufacturers, and were eventually replaced by same, both sales and safety wise [the number of product recalls for Japan is far less than that of Detroit]. It costs approximately 1/3 to 1/2 as much to manufacture a vehicle in a foreign country as it does in Detroit, all due to the excessive union wage premium over that represented by supply and demand. Ditto that for all other manufacturers, that eventually and totally moved their manufacturing operations oversees in order to take advantage of those countries' lower/non-unionized work forces and to reduce their manufacturing costs/expenses accordingly. The reason, again is LABOR UNIONS, and the reason why USA consumers pay higher prices for domestically produced goods is strictly due to these unions!!!!!!!
Redstateboy| 5.25.11 @ 4:34PM
As a child growing up in Buffalo, NY.. I was mesmerized at night by the multiple Refineries with their Flames burning off the excess Gases, Bethlehem Steel lighting up the same night sky, GM Delaware Plant, the 3 Trico Wiper Blade plants, the Massive Westinghouse plant, Westwood Pharmaceuticals, American Brass, Worthington Compressor and on and on... the ONE common denominator?? You Know it... Unionized and they also now have something else in common... THEY'RE ALL GONE!!!! When I wrote these sentiments here in the Knoxville News Sentinel.. It received more Rabid Liber-ul (Yes, there actually are Rabid Liber-uls in Knoxville, TN.) responses than any other piece I've ever submitted. You wanna get Liber-uls besides themselves with Rage?? Cite the Truth.
Al Adab| 5.25.11 @ 11:26AM
Reward your friends and punish your enemies. That is the program from The Left in domestic pol9tics. If only they would carry it over into foreign policy. There however, they use the reverse. betray your friends and reward your enemies. How the mindset ever developed into such perversion is beyond me, but that is the administration we have. Carthago delenda est.
Ray| 5.25.11 @ 1:37PM
How ironic! The Unions, originally created to protect the common man's ability to work without having to forfeit a portion of their wages as a condition of their employment (Company Towns, anyone? That's where the labor movement originated!) is now BLOCKING laborers from employment because those laborers don't forfeit a portion of their wages to the Unions as a condition of their employment! The Unions have become the thing that hated the most: the Company Town Bosses!
Ray| 5.25.11 @ 1:40PM
Move sixteen tons and what you get? A Labor Boss telling you: "you haven't paid yet!"
Ray| 5.25.11 @ 1:51PM
By the way, it's interesting to note that the Labor Unions love to employ lawyers to represent them and their interests even though Lawyers don't have a Union of their own! YOU must pay the Union so THEY can hire non-union people to represent them! Talk about the ultimate form of hypocrisy!
Flee| 5.25.11 @ 3:21PM
The NLRB Fact Sheet on the Boeing case is available on their site. Interesting reading in that it fails to mention that Boeing expanded production in Washington and simply expanded to South Carolina too. They did not restrict any labor activities as claimed in the complaint. WA employees remain free to strike to their hearts content. I don't understand how NLRB can claim there were violations of this type. Here is a link to the sheet. http://www.nlrb.gov/boeing-complaint-fact-sheet
Oldefarte| 5.26.11 @ 3:26PM
The NLRB can make these claims simply because they are [Chicago Way] controlled by the WH, and same are now using each/every governmental-legal entity to browbeat/politically harrass private industry businesses into labor union friendly compliance!!!!!!!!!!
tj| 5.25.11 @ 3:31PM
off topic but more of the same from this admin
The Feds have seriously escalated their attack on the states by issuing a formal threat to the State of Texas. Please share this information widely!
Warning from DC: No Fly Zone for Texas?
Please read and comment - and share this article everywhere: Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice upped the ante in a high-stakes political game of chicken. Lobbying against pending legislation in the Texas legislature which would criminalize any searches conducted without probable cause, U.S. Attorney John E. Murphy sent a letter to a few high-ranking members of Texas’ government warning against promoting the bill and threatening a complete closure of all flights to and from the state.
“If HR [sic] 1937 were enacted, the federal government would likely seek an emergency stay of the statute,” Murphy wrote. “Unless or until such a stay were granted, TSA would likely be required to cancel any flight or series of flights for which it could not ensure the safety of passengers and crew.”
No doubt written with the threatening intent one reads into it, Murphy added: “We urge that you consider the ramifications of this bill before casting your vote.”
Previous to the federal government’s threat, the Texas legislature had considered the ramifications of the bill. More importantly, they were responding to a clear need to uphold the Fourth Amendment and ensure that each person enjoys the right “to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures” — a right which the U.S. Constitution mandates “shall not be violated.”
Old Progrmr| 5.25.11 @ 3:38PM
If the Obama Admin strongly supports the NLRB and its illegal Czar and pushes this action through the courts and ultimately forces Boeing out of South Carolina this becomes an un-Constitutional action verging on the Central Government declaring economic war on an individual State. If there was ever a basis for a State to secede, this is it! South Carolinians marched to the Customs House in Charleston on two past occasions.
Doesn't anybody out there truly understand the seriousness of this type of dictatorial and tyrannical action by the central government against its own citizens. What next? If an independent corporation or a State government does not bend to the will of the Union thugs will the Government just order the company shutdown, order the state to end local government services to the company or simply natonalize that corporate location. We need some heroes to stand against this un-Constitutional abuse of power. Don't underestimate the importance of this Boeing situation; WE are at a tipping point.
Oldefarte| 5.26.11 @ 3:32PM
Anything and everything is NEXT when you have the type of political corruption occurring as that now happening. The same thing is being done with Interior Debt's political intimidation of south Louisiana oil drillers, the Justice Dept's harrassment legal suit against Arizona over immigration and also it's legal burying of its impending conviction of the New Black Panthers over voter intimidation, the Homeland Security Dept's refusal to enforce federal immigration policy for political reasons, etc. The way to stop all of this.......VOTE REPUBLICAN IN NOVEMBER OF NEXT YEAR!!!!!!!!!!
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air max france | 5.26.11 @ 3:34AM
For American businesses struggling to recover, however, it only amounts to yet more regulatory uncertainty and added costs they can ill afford.
Speedypete| 5.26.11 @ 6:31PM
For most of us our memories are really really short. Think back to a time when Airbus was just starting to get traction in the commercial aviation market. Part of it was Boeing did not yet have an aircraft with the fuel economy (underpowered from a pilot's perspective) as the A320 but what did the Boeing state of Washington unions do for Boeing? Yep!
Johnny| 5.27.11 @ 2:07PM
Unions started out as a wonderful thing but have now outlived their usefulness. Let them go quietly into the night ( or loudly). Lock up any govt. official that attempts to influence the demise of the union through "regulation" or by simple fiat!