Marathon Pundit: GOP hits back on NMB overreach

Friday, May 20, 2011

GOP hits back on NMB overreach

In a letter to National Mediation Board Chairman Harry Hoglander, Rep. Darrell Issa, who represents a San Diego area district, accused the chairman asked whether the NMB is tryin to "advance a partisan policy agenda."

I covered this subject on Tuesday, but it's important enough for a second look.

From The Hill:

One battle over union rights for airline and railroad employees has helped stall the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) reauthorization bill. The gridlock is forcing the House next week to take up another stopgap measure — the 19th in a row — to fund the FAA.

House Republicans inserted a provision in the FAA reauthorization bill to repeal the NMB's new rules that would ease union organizing. The White House threatened to veto the legislation unless that provision was removed.

The board's new union organizing rules continue to attract GOP attention. Some Republicans have even suggested defunding the NMB if it does not repeal the new labor standards.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said this week that he was going to look into the rules that were changed last year to ensure that non-voters were not counted as votes against forming a union for workers covered by the Railway Labor Act.