Undaunted by the constitutionally-questionable appointment of three members to Barack Obama’s National Labor Relations Board, union attorney and current NLRB chairman Mark Pearce declared in an Associated Press interview that he and his union comrades are continuing their assault on the 93% of private-sector employees who are union-free.

In fact, if Obama’s union appointees have their way, all employees who are targeted for unionization will have their employers forced to turn over their home telephone number and e-mail addresses to unions.

Ever since the 1960s, when unions have targeted companies for unionization through a NLRB-supervised election, employers have been required to turn over the list of employee names and their home addresses. The NLRB, in turn, promptly gives the list of employee names and home addresses to the involved union(s).

This list, called an Excelsior List, gives union organizers the ability to conduct intrusive home visits prior to the NLRB election. As is often said, just as when any other salesperson doing door-to-door sales knocks at the door, targeted employees can invite the union organizers into their homes, or they can sic the chihuahua on them.

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Undaunted by the constitutionally-questionable appointment of three members to Barack Obama’s National Labor Relations Board, union attorney and current NLRB chairman Mark Pearce declared in an Associated Press interview that he and his union comrades are continuing their assault on the 93% of private-sector employees who are union-free.

In fact, if Obama’s union appointees have their way, all employees who are targeted for unionization will have their employers forced to turn over their home telephone number and e-mail addresses to unions.

Ever since the 1960s, when unions have targeted companies for unionization through a NLRB-supervised election, employers have been required to turn over the list of employee names and their home addresses. The NLRB, in turn, promptly gives the list of employee names and home addresses to the involved union(s).

This list, called an Excelsior List, gives union organizers the ability to conduct intrusive home visits prior to the NLRB election. As is often said, just as when any other salesperson doing door-to-door sales knocks at the door, targeted employees can invite the union organizers into their homes, or they can sic the chihuahua on them.

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The greatest enemy that exists to freedom is tyranny. Tyranny is above the law, ignores the law, makes up its own rules, steals power from others elected to govern, and defends the actions of lawless men. President Obama has increasingly shown himself to be a lawless man, whether its failing to enforce laws he doesn’t approve of (see DOMA, immigration) or making up his own rules. We are either a nation of laws or a nation of men. We can’t be both.

“He (the President) shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law.”

Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese and Todd Gaziano, both with my employer The Heritage Foundation, have written an excellent piece in the Washington Post explaining why the installation of Richard Cordray as head of the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Richard Griffin, Sharon Block and Terence Flynn to be on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) are unconstitutional acts.The president claimed to use the constitutional power of the president to make recess appointments.

As another Heritage colleague, Hans von Spakovsky, explains for Pajamas Media, Congress is not in recess. The Senate actually conducted some very important business during one of the “pro-forma” sessions the White House has called a “gimmick”: On Dec. 23, it passed the payroll tax extension that caused such a political uproar in Washington.

Congress has five options to respond to this power grab by the executive branch of the federal government:

1. Filibuster all nominations and deny unanimous consent to the waiver of any rule with regard to nominations until these four unconstitutional appointments are rescinded
2. Condition passage of all must-pass legislation on the rescission of these unconstitutional appointments
3. Conduct vigorous oversight to demand the production of witnesses and documents supporting the president’s legal theory justifying this unprecedented power grab
4. Make major cuts in funding of the NLRB and the Department of the Treasury where the CFPB was placed by its authorizing statute
5. Pursue legal remedies to get those unconstitutionally appointed officials out of office. 

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Reagan Attorney General Ed Meese and Todd Gaziano, both with my employer The Heritage Foundation, have written an excellent piece in the Washington Post explaining why the installation of Richard Cordray as head of the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Richard Griffin, Sharon Block and Terence Flynn to be on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) are unconstitutional acts.The president claimed to use the constitutional power of the president to make recess appointments.

As another Heritage colleague, Hans von Spakovsky, explains for Pajamas Media, Congress is not in recess. The Senate actually conducted some very important business during one of the “pro-forma” sessions the White House has called a “gimmick”: On Dec. 23, it passed the payroll tax extension that caused such a political uproar in Washington.

Congress has five options to respond to this power grab by the executive branch of the federal government:

1. Filibuster all nominations and deny unanimous consent to the waiver of any rule with regard to nominations until these four unconstitutional appointments are rescinded
2. Condition passage of all must-pass legislation on the rescission of these unconstitutional appointments
3. Conduct vigorous oversight to demand the production of witnesses and documents supporting the president’s legal theory justifying this unprecedented power grab
4. Make major cuts in funding of the NLRB and the Department of the Treasury where the CFPB was placed by its authorizing statute
5. Pursue legal remedies to get those unconstitutionally appointed officials out of office. 

Read More →

On Wednesday afternoon, the current President of the United States did what may be described as an unconstitutional end run around the United States Senate by “recess appointing” three nominees to the National Labor Relations Board (as well as to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) even though the Senate is not in recess.

Notwithstanding the CFPB appointment, Obama’s seating of the three NLRB appointees—two of whom are  ardently pro-union and demonstrate Obama’s ongoing willingness to continue his union-backed carpet-bombing campaign on millions of job creators—drew immediate fire U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN), who stated:

“President Obama’s stunning move to install not one but three new members to the National Labor Relations Board without a hearing or a vote in the United States Senate is an unprecedented abuse of power and an affront to the will of the American people.

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On Wednesday afternoon, the current President of the United States did what may be described as an unconstitutional end run around the United States Senate by “recess appointing” three nominees to the National Labor Relations Board (as well as to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) even though the Senate is not in recess.

Notwithstanding the CFPB appointment, Obama’s seating of the three NLRB appointees—two of whom are  ardently pro-union and demonstrate Obama’s ongoing willingness to continue his union-backed carpet-bombing campaign on millions of job creators—drew immediate fire U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN), who stated:

“President Obama’s stunning move to install not one but three new members to the National Labor Relations Board without a hearing or a vote in the United States Senate is an unprecedented abuse of power and an affront to the will of the American people.

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Having posted extensively on the Machinists’ union smokescreen at Boeing, there is some sense of satisfaction in knowing that Boeing’s union-free employees in South Carolina are not letting the union get away with retaliating against them for choosing to be union-free.

Indeed, were it not for the fact that the once-unionized Boeing employees in South Carolina kicked the Machinists union out of their workplace, the union would likely never have filed a charge against Boeing for locating the 787 work in South Carolina.

Well, with free legal help from the National Right to Work Foundation, three Boeing employees filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the International Association of Machinists on Wednesday.

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Having posted extensively on the Machinists’ union smokescreen at Boeing, there is some sense of satisfaction in knowing that Boeing’s union-free employees in South Carolina are not letting the union get away with retaliating against them for choosing to be union-free.

Indeed, were it not for the fact that the once-unionized Boeing employees in South Carolina kicked the Machinists union out of their workplace, the union would likely never have filed a charge against Boeing for locating the 787 work in South Carolina.

Well, with free legal help from the National Right to Work Foundation, three Boeing employees filed charges with the National Labor Relations Board against the International Association of Machinists on Wednesday.

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Because there are several significant things going on with President Obama’s National Labor Relations Board, rather than doing several posts, the following is a summary of the more important issues this week:

Barking Up The Wrong Tree on Boeing Issue?

When the new four-year contract extension between Boeing and the Machinists union was ratified earlier this month, part of the agreement was that the union would withdraw its complaint with President Obama’s National Labor Relations Board over the opening of the company’s non-union facility in South Carolina. As is fairly common in unfair labor practice cases, once the Charging Party (the union in this case) withdrew its charge, the NLRB dropped the matter.

The fact that the NLRB dropped its complaint against Boeing has fueled speculation that the NLRB and the union were colluding all along.

While collusion between the union and the NLRB is certainly possible, the NLRB’s dropping of the complaint against Boeing is hopefully not the basis for the investigations that are being called for by Senator Graham [R-SC] or Congressman Issa [R-CA].

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