NLRB overreach report, post House vote edition

Yesterday morning the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Protecting Jobs from Governmental Interference Act, which will prevent the NLRB from blocking companies from building factories in right-to-work states. The Hill reports on Mitt Romney's reaction:

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was the first Republican candidate for the presidential nomination to respond Thursday to the House passage of a bill intended to prohibit the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from ordering companies to relocate employees.

Romney tweeted: "Congrats to House #GOP on passing #HR2587 to protect workers and job creators from Obama Administration Labor Board."

Romney gave a speech blasting the NLRB earlier this week, siding with Boeing in a labor dispute over the airline company's new South Carolina plant. The bill came in reaction to NLRB's lawsuit against the company that alleges Boeing relocated its expansion project to South Carolina as retaliation to worker strikes in Washington state.

Union issues look to be an important issue in 2012, with several labor-related clashes between Democrats and Republicans taking place this year in multiple states and a fight shaping up between the Tea Party movement and union leaders in August. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) has been pushing the GOP field of candidates to state their positions on the controversy in her state.

From the National Examiner:

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley expressed her pleasure Thursday after the U.S. House of Representatives passed S.C. Congressman Tim Scott's bill rebuking the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and she called on the the U.S.Senate to follow the lead of the House.

"We applaud the leadership of Congressman Tim Scott and members of the U.S. House for bringing common sense to a rogue agency that has lost its way," Haley said referring to the NLRB. "We ask the U.S. Senate to show the same leadership and realize this is not about Republicans versus Democrats or the next presidential election - but about making sure American companies can keep creating American jobs."

From It's News.com:

Today, U.S. Senator Jim DeMint (R-South Carolina) praised the bipartisan House vote to pass H.R. 2587, a bill that protects American jobs by preventing the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from preventing companies from locating in certain states. The bill was sponsored by Rep. Tim Scott (R-South Carolina) and Senators DeMint and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) have introduced the companion bill in the Senate.

"American businesses should be free to locate in any state in our nation, and states should be able to compete against each other freely to create the best places to do business," said Senator DeMint. "I'm thankful for Tim Scott's leadership in fighting for this commonsense bill to strengthen our economy. If Harry Reid and Democrats are serious about protecting American jobs, they will hold a vote on this bill immediately."

"This bill is a wake-up call for President Obama to stop trying to score political points with union bosses and end the baseless attacks on workers in right-to-work states that choose not to unionize. President Obama packed the NLRB with unelected and unconfirmed union activists and now American workers are paying the price. If Congress doesn't force the NLRB to stop their attacks on non-union workers, more businesses will locate jobs and investment overseas."

According to a recent Rasmussen poll: "64% (of Americans) think Boeing has the right to open the plant in South Carolina while just 21% disagree… Fifty-nine percent (59%) of union members agree that Boeing should be allowed to operate the South Carolina production plant."

Once again, from The Hill:

Rep. Tim Scott

Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who represents the district housing the controversial Boeing plant currently being contested by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), said Thursday that he believes that the labor board makes decisions based on the interests of President Obama's reelection campaign.

"I absolutely think the NLRB is absolutely showing favoritism towards unions and things they believe strengthen the president's reelection campaign," Scott said on Fox News.

The House approved legislation sponsored by Scott Thursday that would prohibit the NLRB from dictating corporate decisions about where to open factories. The labor board brought a lawsuit against Boeing charging that the airplane manufacturer opened a plant for its new 787 Dreamliner in South Carolina, a right-to-work state, as retaliation for a strike by union employees in Washington state.

The Wall Street Journal, paid registration required:

The House passed a measure that would bar the NLRB from telling a company where it can operate. It's hard to believe such a bill is necessary in the land of the free, but in the Obama era no economic verity is safe. The NLRB, which is dominated by Mr. Obama's appointees, has sued to stop Boeing from building some of its 787 Dreamliners in South Carolina because it is a right-to-work state that doesn't force union membership on workers.

The bill passed 238-186, with eight Democrats joining all but seven Republicans. So few defections shows how much sway Big Labor still carries in Democratic ranks because most Americans favor the right to invest where you want. The bill will now move to the Senate, where Democrats may be able to filibuster it—but at some political cost. It'll be interesting to see where Claire McCaskill (Missouri), Jon Tester (Montana), Ben Nelson (Nebraska), Joe Manchin (West Virginia) and Bill Nelson (Florida) come down on this one.

As for Mr. Obama, he's said he favors the free movement of capital but that the NLRB is an independent agency and so he won't take a position. He thus gets to please labor by staying silent without offending CEOs, who he is trying court for his re-election campaign. Now that the legislation is moving he may have to show what he really thinks, and whether he wants to force a great U.S. manufacturer like Boeing to build aircraft only with union labor in America—and perhaps have to send more jobs overseas as a result.

From Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell:

I commend the House today for passing, with bipartisan support, the Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act, and I call on the Majority Leader to move similar legislation in the Senate. This is a case of unelected officials at an agency telling American companies where they can and cannot create jobs, and represents yet another example of the Obama administration’s job-killing policies.

And finally, every public opinion poll shows that Americans support Boeing in its battle the the NLRB.

Related post:

Report from the bloggers' call Rep. Tim Scott on the NLRB-Boeing case

Technorati tags: jobs economy news government politics labor unions nlrb south carolina tim scott Mitt Romney McConnell Kentucky