The top priority for the labor movement during the Obama
administration has been to enact "card check" legislation, which
would deny workers a secret ballot on unionization, and thus
enable labor to rapidly add members through intimidation. While
the most obvious way to make this law would be through the
legislative process, the Orwellian named Employee Free Choice Act
(EFCA) has been stalled in the Senate. However, Democrats can
also enact "card check" through the regulatory process, which is
one reason why President Obama appointed union lawyer Craig
Becker to be the tie-breaking vote on the National Labor
Relations Board.
The Becker nomination has been held up by Republicans thus far,
but he testified yesterday before the Senate Health Education
Labor and Pensions Comittee, which is expected to approve his
nomination tomorrow. At that point, Becker will need to be
approved by sixty votes in the Senate. Sen. Harry Reid's office
has
said that the Majority Leader is "committed to doing what is
necessary to bring the nomination to the floor as soon as
possible and get his nomination confirmed."
The catch is that, right now, even though Scott Brown's election
has been certified by the Massachusetts Secretary of State and is
merely awaiting Gov. Deval Patrick's signature tomorrow morning,
Brown isn't scheduled to be sworn-in until next Thursday,
potentially giving Reid a week to ram through the Becker
nomination. The Boston Globe
reports that Brown's office is now seeking to be seated
immediately, which would allow him to be in place to help block
it.
In a recent magazine piece, I
explained why Becker's nomination was so worrisome:
Currently, there are only two members on the five-member NRLB
-- one is a Republican and the other a Democrat. To tilt the
balance of the board, Obama tapped two union lawyers (Craig
Becker and Mark Pearce). He also appointed a Republican Senate
staffer, Brian E. Hayes, in hopes it would dissuade Republican
senators from blocking the other two.
Becker, a longtime labor activist, is the associate general
counsel of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
The left-wing magazine In These Times wrote that he
"helped lay the intellectual foundation for the Employee Free
Choice Act." More relevantly, he wrote a law review article
arguing that the major aims of EFCA could be achieved through
rulings by the regulatory body to which Obama has appointed
him.
"This is somebody who has announced ahead of time that he
thinks he can do much of the left's agenda through the
regulatory process," Grover Norquist, president of Americans
for Tax Reform, said in an interview with TAS. "It's
one thing for him to say he intends to do something, but when
you look at it, where are the guardrails? Who says he can't?
Who slaps him down?"
Norquist said that if Becker were confirmed, all that would
need to happen would be for somebody to file a complaint
arguing that the unionization process at a particular business
was unfair, and the union-friendly board could decide in the
person's favor and set rules for unionization and collective
bargaining along the lines of what is prescribed by EFCA.
UPDATE: The Hill is now
reporting that Brown will in fact be seated tomorrow.
…War on Terrorism Afghanistan Iraq Washington Congress Election Obama Administration Older Dems To Ram Through Union Crony for NLRB by Stephan Tawney on Wed, Feb 3, 2010 Senate Democrats intend to ram through the nomination of union crony Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board prior to the seating of Senator-elect Scott Brown (R-MA). Becker’s confirmation will lead to the…
…p.m.): More flurries this afternoon… Workforce Management, “ NLRB Nominee Fails to Assuage Business Community “ American Spectator Blog, “ Will Reid Advance Stealth ‘Card Check’ Strategy Before Brown Gets Seated? “ Boston Herald, “ Brown pushes for swearing-in tomorrow “ Irritation from the left, Firedoglake, “ Scott Brown Demands to be Sworn in ASAP…
Flee| 2.3.10 @ 3:37PM
Another in a long line of union friendly moves by this
administration. So much for transparency. It is curious that a
man that I am certain has never been part of a union can be such
an ardent supporter.
Marc Jeric| 2.3.10 @ 6:19PM
Show me a strong union and I will show you a dead or dyimg
industry. Proof? Automobile, electronics, steel, apparel, ...And,
of course, education. Teacher unions have destroyed the best
schooling system in the world by reducing it to a third world
class. We have already 3 generations of illiterate noncompoops
full of self-esteem - voting for Abu Hussein from Kenya, our
Community Organizer-in-Chief and taking remedial reading courses
at universities while taking government loans never to be
repaid.
Some 45% of "teachers teach" while 55% of them administer,
coordinate, develop, interrelate, enforce political correctness
and hate speech codes, set rules for affirmative action and
multiculturalism... etc.
By the way - perform a survey in your household: see where your
socks, underwear, pyjamas, shirts, pants, shoes, ties came from;
also your TV set, printer, computer, desk lamp, telephone, radio,
knives and forks, coffee cups, plates, couch, armchair, ...When
there is no strong union involved there are labor rules, tax
rules, EPA, LRB, IRS, ...
No wonder we are outsourcing; our labor unions and their Democrat
stooges are now trying to enforce our union and environmental
rules on foreign countries and so put a stop to this "criminal"
outsourcing.
The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Will Reid Advance Stealth … Type About Type The Sponsors The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Will Reid Advance Stealth … The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Will Reid Advance Stealth … Tags: craig-becker, lotus-notes, national, national-labor, posted-on-feb, regulatory, the-page, the-tie-breaking, the-words Dirk Shaw: Convert check-in's into loyal…
…Support for … Related Blogs on Norquist Arizona Politics for Conservatives by Sonoran Alliance » Grover … Exclusive Interview with Special Guest Grover Norquist The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Will Reid Advance Stealth … Related posts: More Than 175 Public Health Organizations Send Letter of Support … Portland's bicycle master plan | My Oregon – OregonLive.com CNN Political…
…a union as their bargaining agent. Card Check would replace the secret ballot with allowing union officials to intimidate employees into just signing a card. The left-wing magazine In These Times wrote that Becker “helped lay the intellectual foundation” for Card Check. He wrote a law review article to propose using the NLRB’s regulatory power to achieve the goals of Card Check without…
Pingback| 2.3.10 @ 3:36PM
Dems To Ram Through Union Crony for NLRB | The American Pundit links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 2.3.10 @ 3:36PM
Shopfloor » Blog Archive » In the Jobs of the Future …And an NLRB Nomination Update links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Flee| 2.3.10 @ 3:37PM
Another in a long line of union friendly moves by this administration. So much for transparency. It is curious that a man that I am certain has never been part of a union can be such an ardent supporter.
Marc Jeric| 2.3.10 @ 6:19PM
Show me a strong union and I will show you a dead or dyimg industry. Proof? Automobile, electronics, steel, apparel, ...And, of course, education. Teacher unions have destroyed the best schooling system in the world by reducing it to a third world class. We have already 3 generations of illiterate noncompoops full of self-esteem - voting for Abu Hussein from Kenya, our Community Organizer-in-Chief and taking remedial reading courses at universities while taking government loans never to be repaid.
Some 45% of "teachers teach" while 55% of them administer, coordinate, develop, interrelate, enforce political correctness and hate speech codes, set rules for affirmative action and multiculturalism... etc.
By the way - perform a survey in your household: see where your socks, underwear, pyjamas, shirts, pants, shoes, ties came from; also your TV set, printer, computer, desk lamp, telephone, radio, knives and forks, coffee cups, plates, couch, armchair, ...When there is no strong union involved there are labor rules, tax rules, EPA, LRB, IRS, ...
No wonder we are outsourcing; our labor unions and their Democrat stooges are now trying to enforce our union and environmental rules on foreign countries and so put a stop to this "criminal" outsourcing.
Pingback| 2.4.10 @ 5:47PM
The American Spectator : AmSpecBlog : Will Reid Advance Stealth … Type links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 2.6.10 @ 1:21PM
Progress Ohio | Dennis Spisak's Blog: Public Support for … | Educational Oregon links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
Pingback| 3.4.10 @ 6:10AM
The Problem Is Government Unions : USACTION NEWS links to this page. Here’s an excerpt:
mili8951| 5.10.10 @ 2:01AM
http://www.edhardycawholesale.com/