Marathon Pundit: Illegal Obama-appointed NLRB board member will receive payments from Operating Engineers' union

Monday, January 23, 2012

Illegal Obama-appointed NLRB board member will receive payments from Operating Engineers' union

IUOE bumpersticker, Morton Grove, IL

One of President Obama's so-called recess appointments to the radicalized National Labor Relations Board has a clear conflict of interest. The Heritage Foundation's Foundry blog explains:

Financial disclosure documents filed by two of President Obama's illegal appointments to the National Labor Relations Board show that one will continue to receive payments from a major labor union during his time on the board.

Richard Griffin, the former general counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers, will receive regular payments under two different IUOE pension plans. The payment amounts are not listed on the disclosure form. He will also receive a single lump sum payment equal to three weeks of salary (one week for each of the three years since he enrolled in the plan). Griffin's annual salary as the IUOE's general counsel was $376,778, according to the disclosure form.

In his capacity as general counsel, we have noted, Griffin advanced policies that helped insulate corrupt union leaders from challenge.

Obama didn't even attempt to get the Senate involved in this and another illegal appointment. Also weighing in on this controversy is the Workforce Fairness Institute:

"President Obama's recess appointment of Richard Griffin to the National Labor Relations Board was clearly a giveaway to Big Labor and outside the authority provided in the Constitution. In addition, the recess appointment was made just days after the nomination was announced highlighting the extreme nature of the payback,” said Fred Wszolek, spokesperson for the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI). "We are now learning that Richard Griffin will receive payments from labor pension plans therefore calling into question any impartiality on his part, which was highly dubious to begin with considering his track record of working against employees and in favor of union bosses. Any decisions Griffin would make on the Obama labor board would undoubtedly force workers into unions and pad Big Labor’s bottom line, and in turn, affect the value of his own pension. This is simply unacceptable and intolerable. Griffin has a clear conflict of interest and this development explains why President Obama did not want him to go through the proper and required nomination process. Congress must act immediately to address this matter."