WFI Reacts To D.C. Circuit Court Ruling

Obama Labor Board Recess Appointments Unconstitutional

Washington, D.C. (January 25, 2013) – The Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI) today issued the following statement in response to the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit:

“Today, the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit concerning the recess appointments of Richard Griffin and Sharon Block to the National Labor Relations Board is a victory for workers and business owners across the country,” said Fred Wszolek, spokesperson for the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI).  “During their tenure, Griffin and Block have worked to advance the interests of Big Labor bosses to the detriment of American employees and employers.  It is now time for President Obama and his administration to stop playing politics with the NLRB, work with Congress and respect its role of advice and consent, and adhere to the U.S. Constitution.”

The Workforce Fairness Institute is an organization committed to educating voters, employers, employees and citizens about issues affecting the workplace.  To learn more, please visit: http://www.workforcefairness.com.

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http://townhall.com/columnists/fredwszolek/2013/01/25/the-nlrb-makes-the-case-against-itself-n1496643

The NLRB Makes The Case Against Itself

By Fred Wszolek

Townhall

January 25, 2013

The National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) Summary of Operations for fiscal year 2012, released last week, shows an agency that is significantly over-funded. In 2010, the Obama Administration increased the agency’s budget even though it previously operated with a fiscal year-end surplus. Now, the operating report reveals that the agency’s business continues to erode with the decline of unionization in the private sector making its increased appropriation even more unnecessary than it was in 2010.

According to the report, issued by Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon, total case intake decreased by three percent; unfair labor practice case intake decreased by 2.5 percent; representation case intake decreased by 6.5 percent; and petitions filed in certification and decertification cases decreased by 5.7 percent.

So while federal government spending is at an unsustainable level, the NLRB is receiving taxpayer funds it does not need. Considering that this Board has boldly ignored its obligation to be neutral on the question of unionization and has issued job-killing decision after job-killing decision, why should the American taxpayer continue to subsidize its operations much less over subsidize them?

For example, the Board overturned long-standing precedent and authorized the creation of small bargaining units called “micro-unions” – some as small as two or three members – which threaten to balkanize the workplace and undermine collective bargaining. While unsaid, the NLRB’s reason: it is easier to persuade a smaller number of people to vote for the union than it is a larger number.

Obama’s Labor Board also promulgated an “ambush” election rule, which cuts roughly in half the time for an election. If ever implemented the rule will limit the ability of employers to secure legal counsel and express their views on unionization to their employees. And it will deprive employees of their right to hear their employer’s views and make an informed choice. Fortunately, a U.S. District Court judge declared the rule was unlawful. The rule was promulgated by two Board members who in their haste to serve the interests of Big Labor bosses did not wait for the vote of the third member, which was necessary for the government agency to have a quorum to act.

The operating report also shows, once again, that the “ambush” election rule is as unnecessary as it is misguided. According to the report, Board elections take place in a remarkably timely fashion: “93.9% of all initial elections were conducted within 56 days of the filing of the petition” and “initial elections in union representation elections were conducted in a median of 38 days from the filing of the petition.”

But there are still other reasons to question the level of the NLRB’s appropriation. The Board is currently operating with three members of the same political party without the constraint imposed by a former long-standing practice that required a Board of at least four members to issue a major decision. That practice, followed with rare exception since 1947, added credibility to major Board decisions because it assured participation in the decision of a member from the minority party. The practice was discontinued by current Chairman Mark Pearce and former Chairman Wilma Liebman in a 2010 decision in which they denied that the practice ever existed.

Also, one of the three NLRB members, Richard Griffin, is enmeshed in controversy over his former role as general counsel of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE). According to Fox News, “[t]he rap sheet for members of the International Union of Operating Engineers reads like something out of ‘Goodfellas.’ Embezzlement. Wire fraud. Bribery. That’s just scratching the surface of crimes committed by the IUOE ranks.”

Griffin was recently named as a defendant in a federal racketeering lawsuit. According toThe Wall Street Journal, the complaint “describes a ‘scheme to defraud [the local] out of revenue, cost savings and membership,’ by means of kickbacks, bribery, violent threats and extortion. The suit names dozens of IUOE officials as defendants, and Mr. Griffin is highlighted in a section describing embezzlement and its subsequent hush-up.”

In sum, there are ample reasons for lawmakers in Washington to follow through on their rhetoric to pare down the size of government. Reducing the appropriation given an over-funded, out-of-control National Labor Relations Board is a logical place to start.

CEI Today: Pay disparity, Taxpayer Protection Pledge, Obama recess appointments, and bipartisan reg reform

PUBLIC & PRIVATE SECTOR PAY DISPARITY - MATT PATTERSON

Ocean State Current: Public Employee Pay and Benefits Draw Historical Comparison with Corruption in Roman Empire

The incestuous relationship that exists between union officials and the elected officials they help put into office deserves greater attention and scrutiny, Matt Patterson, a labor policy analyst with the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) in Washington, D.C., told the Current.

“The pay disparity between public and private sector workers is one of the great unreported injustices in America,” Patterson said.

“Government-worker unions help hire, make that hire, their own bosses: politicians, who are then unsurprisingly inclined to grant their benefactors generous wage and benefit packages with taxpayer dollars. It’s a little like the later stages of the Roman Empire, when the army would install as Emperor whichever general the soldiers thought would reward them the best. Then as now, such a bargain is a recipe for corruption and incompetence.”  > View the news story on Oceanstatecurrent.com

> Interview Matt Patterson

 

COALITION DEFENDS TAXPAYER PROTECTION PLEDGE In response to an all-out assault by the media and even some in Congress on the Taxpayer Protection Pledge lawmakers signed promising they would not raise taxes, a coalition of national and state policy groups sent a letter to GOP lawmakers on Wednesday that urges them to honor their pledge to taxpayers and refuse to raise taxes. > View the coalition letter

NLRB & OBAMA RECESS APPOINTMENTS - HANS BADER Openmarket.org: Appeals Court Hears Challenge To Obama Administration Power Grab Over NLRB This morning, the D.C. Circuit heard oral arguments in Noel Canning v. NLRB, which includes a challenge to President Obama’s “recess” appointment of two National Labor Relations Board members last January, when the Senate was technically in session, not in recess, and the purported “recess” was very brief, even in the eyes of those who claim there was a “recess.” The Obama administration takes an incredibly expansive interpretation of [the Recess Appointments Clause], arguing that he can appoint officials without the Senate’s consent, not only during any recess, no matter how brief (not just “the” recess between sessions), but also to fill any appointment, regardless of whether the vacancy arose during a recess. Past court rulings have stretched the reach of the Recess Appointments Clause, but never this far.> Read the full commentary on Openmarket.org > Interview Hans Bader

REG REFORM - WAYNE CREWS Openmarket.org: Beyond The Fiscal Cliff, Bipartisan Regulatory Reform If I’m reading this right, the Progressive Policy Institute wants to roll back some over-regulation. It’s not clear how much, but it does seem to be a visible amount. The PPI’s February 2011 policy report, Reviving Jobs and Innovation: a Progressive Approach to Improving Regulation, calls for a Regulatory Improvement Commission to weed out regulations that have accumulated like “barnacles.” The breakthrough is the bipartisan recognition the federal rulemaking process knows how to add but not subtract.  > View the full commentary at Openmarket.org   > Interview Wayne Crews

More in the news... Victory For Small Business: Lawsuit-Spawning Disabilities Rights Treaty Blocked The Temperance Movement Is Alive And Well When Gridlock Is Good Anti-Immigration Group Repudiates Free Market Principles If You Can’t Beat Him, Join Together

CEI is a non-profit, non-partisan public policy group dedicated to the principles of free enterprise and limited government.  For more information about CEI, please visit our website, cei.org, and blogs, Globalwarming.org and OpenMarket.org.  Follow CEI on Twitter! Twitter.com/ceidotorg.

ALG calls for investigation of attorneys who backed Obama's unconstitutional recess appointments

Feb. 23, 2012, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) has submitted a formal complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) asking it to investigate the attorneys who provided the legal justification for Barack Obama's unconstitutional recess appointments.

The complaint — submitted to the DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) — requests that Assistant Attorney General Virginia A. Seitz and other attorneys at the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) be investigated for their roles in drafting a January 6, 2012 memo that retroactively justified Obama's appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NRLB) and the recently-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

"The Obama administration is deliberately trampling on the Constitution in an effort to advance its radical anti-free market agenda," said ALG President Bill Wilson. "This isn't just an abuse of power — it's an unconstitutional usurpation of power.  All Americans should condemn Obama for the contempt he is showing for the rule of law — and the Justice Department attorneys who aided and abetted this usurpation must be held accountable for violating their oaths."

According to the ALG complaint, the DOJ memo authored by Seitz "leaves no practical constraints on the appointment power of the President, regardless of whether the Senate considers itself in recess or not.  The memo also utterly ignores the constitutional right of the Senate set its own schedule and rules." 

To view the complaint, click here.

"Obama is stripping the legislative branch of its constitutional prerogative so that he can continue to appease his union allies," Wilson said. "It's one thing for him to continue rewarding the labor leaders who bankrolled his election, it's something else entirely for his administration to violate the Constitution in the process."

There is legal and political precedent for the OPR to conduct precisely the sort of inquiry that ALG is requesting. In fact the agency spent several years investigating former Justice Department attorneys John Yoo and Jay Bybee regarding the advice they provided former president George W. Bush on enhanced interrogation tactics.

Attachments:

ALG complaint to DOJ Office of Professional Responsibility, Feb. 10, 2012, at http://netrightdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/OPRComplaint02-23-12.pdf

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Americans for Limited Government is a non-partisan, nationwide network committed to advancing free market reforms, private property rights and core American liberties. For more information on ALG please call us at 703-383-0880 or visit our website at www.GetLiberty.org.

Daily Grind: Obama's tenuous truce with the Church

Feb. 13, 2012

Obama's tenuous truce with the Church

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops: "[W]e we note at the outset that the lack of clear protection for key stakeholders… is unacceptable and must be corrected."

Is There Even One Patriot in the U.S. Senate?

Obama has torn through the separation of powers with his radical 'recess' appointments. What is the Senate going to do about it?

Indiana's Right to Work Law Could Boost State's Competitive Standing and Transform Midwest

Indiana's new 'right-to-work' could have a transformative impact on the entire Midwest region where organized labor has traditionally held considerable sway and influence.

Gasparino: A 'deadbeat' bailout

"We're teaching a generation of home-owners that there are no risks to their decisions because the government will bail them out."

Frank's Footnotes: No Raises for Members of Congress

No Raises for Members of Congress Do you think its right to give Members of Congress a pay raise when millions of Americans are unemployed and underemployed? Neither do I. That’s why I voted for H.R. 3835 on Thursday, which would continue the pay freeze for Members of Congress. If you remember, some of the very first votes I cast in Washington cut my own office’s budget by a total of 11.4%. I’ve also voted to freeze my own pay prior to Thursday’s vote and have co-sponsored legislation that would eliminate automatic pay raises for Members of Congress once and for all. With millions of Americans struggling to find a good-paying job, it’s only right that we in the House freeze our own pay. You can be assured I will continue fighting to change the status quo and vote for legislation that keeps the middle class first, not Washington. H.R. 3835 passed the House of Representatives with a strong bipartisan vote of 309-117. It now heads to the Senate.     A Closer Look at Pres. Obama’s Unprecedented Recess Appointments Click the image above to watch the video I wrote last week informing you I had signed onto House Res. 509, which disapproved of the President’s appointment of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and three individuals to the National Labor Relations Board. I co-sponsored the resolution because I’m deeply concerned with the President’s decision to circumvent the Senate by not permitting it to perform its constitutional obligation of providing the president with advice and consent. I took further action during a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee entitled “Unchartered Territory: What are the Consequences of President Obama’s Unprecedented “Recess” Appointments?” on Wednesday. During the hearing, I had a conversation discussing these “recess” appointments with Sen. Mike Lee (R, UT). You can watch our discussion by clicking here.     Reforming Washington’s Broken Budget Process Americans have rightfully lost trust in our budget process. The Senate’s refusal to pass a budget in over 1,000 days is a prime example of this broken system. Yet, their inaction is just one case of Washington’s inability to accomplish the most basic function of government. As a member of the House Budget Committee, I’m working to pass legislation that would finally fix this system. I was pleased to see two of these reforms pass the House on Thursday and Friday: H.R. 3578, the Baseline Reform Act and H.R. 3582, the Pro-Growth Budgeting Act. For too long, Washington politicians on both sides of the aisle have used budgetary gimmicks to give the illusion of spending cuts. For too long, Washington has made legislative decisions without considering the long-term affects those actions will have on our economy. Although these are only the first steps in reforming the broken process, these two bills will go a long way in finally repairing it. Click here for more information about H.R. 3578, the Baseline Reform Act and H.R. 3582, the Pro-Growth Budgeting Act.     A 21st Century Upgrade to America's Aviation The House did something very important this morning. We passed the Conference Report to H.R. 658, the FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2012 . It authorizes funding of the Federal Aviation Administration through Fiscal Year 2015. The final measure, agreed upon by a House and Senate conference committee, is the first reauthorization of federal aviation programs since the last law expired at the end of fiscal 2007. The FAA has been operating on a lengthy series of short-term extensions in recent years. I have the honor of serving on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, including the Aviation Subcommittee. This is a significant step forward. Congress must face up to its responsibilities and stop the merry-go-round of short-term funding measures we’ve seen in recent years that have caused so much uncertainty for our economy. The previous Congress couldn’t pass a reauthorization bill. So today’s vote is further proof that the House is getting the job done. It shows what Congress can accomplish when both chambers and both parties work together. The final bill contains measures that will increase aviation safety, create jobs and boost FAA efforts to modernize the nation’s air traffic through the NexGen system, which will guide aviation into the 21st Century. The FAA Conference Report now goes to the Senate for approval. Click here for more information on today’s vote.     Up Periscope! My visit to the submarine USS San Juan My visit to the submarine USS San Juan The closest many of us will ever get to a submarine is the movie screen. So I jumped at the chance to visit one at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard last Saturday. I spent a fascinating hour touring the USS San Juan (SSN 751), which is completing a series of repairs at the facility. I was deeply impressed by the professionalism of the San Juan’s officers and crew, and by the Shipyard’s workers. Granite Staters know the quality of work performed at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and how vital that work is to defending our freedom. The jobs that are provided here are vitally important to the Seacoast’s economy, too. I recently expressed my support for a bipartisan congressional effort to make sure that work continues here. On my tour, I saw first-hand how deeply committed the 134 men who serve on the San Juan are to fulfilling their mission. I want them, and all the military and civilian workers at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, to know I’m equally committed to keeping it open. “Click here” for more pictures and information on my visit to the Shipyard.     A Taste of New Hampshire vs. A Bite of the Big Apple - Looking Forward to a Patriots Victory on Sunday! Call it “A Taste of New Hampshire vs. A Bite of the Big Apple,” and who winds up eating depends on the result of Sunday’s Super Bowl. I have a friendly wager riding on the outcome of the big game with fellow House freshman Rep. Nan Hayworth (R, NY-19). Hayworth is putting up a menu of cold cuts, baked ziti and New York cheesecake in support of the New York Giants. I’m backing-up my hopes for a Patriots victory with a feast for 12 people called “A Taste of New Hampshire.” It includes: Lobster from Brown’s Lobster Pound in Seabrook, New Hampshire maple syrup from Smith Farm Stand in Gilford, Poutine from Chez Vachon in Manchester. Just as the Patriots represent the best in football, the Taste of New Hampshire represents goodies that Granite Staters have enjoyed for years. I’m proud to showcase the best of our state’s foods with my bet. But I’m sure that when the Patriots whittle the Giants down to size Sunday evening, the lobster, syrup and poutine won’t be going anywhere. And speaking as someone with a fondness for ziti, I’ll be rooting doubly hard for a Patriots win!” Two weeks ago, my office scored a delicious meal in another Capitol Hill wager when the Patriots defeated the Baltimore Ravens to win the AFC Championship. Rep. Andy Harris, (R, MD-1) personally delivered one dozen Maryland crab cakes to my office after the Ravens lost 23-20. You can watch WMUR’s video of the AFC Championship wager by clicking here.