NLRB overreach: Agency not impartial anymore edition

Peter Schaumber, a former chairman of the National Labor Relations Board, blows the whistle at his old workplace.

This one is a rarity--it starts with a joke. Although the left-wing assault on our economy is anything but funny.

From NRO:

What's the difference between a defendant's sister on the jury and a committed member of the labor movement on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)? Answer: The defendant's sister is more apt to be impartial.

Being impartial no longer fits the job description for a member of the NLRB, at least if you are a Democrat. In fact, it disqualifies you. With the continuing loss of union density in the private sector, organized labor looks to members of the NLRB to augment union power and stack the deck to favor a union outcome. And with hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions given to Democrats, they get their way. It was for this reason that President Obama gave Richard Griffin and Sharon Block, two union advocates, unprecedented and constitutionally suspect recess appointments.

It was outrageous enough that the president acted while the Senate was in session — using a technique invented by Sen. Harry Reid to prevent President George W. Bush from making recess appointments during his last year in office. But the appointments of Griffin and Block were even more egregious: they were nominated on December 15, just before the Senate adjourned for Christmas, and were "recessed" 18 days later, just after the New Year. Both nominees were sworn into office without even completing the Senate committee's questionnaire inquiring into their potential conflicts of interest.

These recess appointments are terribly wrong.

More NLRB mischief from the Workforce Fairness Institute blog: Depth Of Obama Labor Board Job-Killing Dishonesty On "Micro-Units" Revealed

Publius Forum on right-to-work legislation. Indiana Democrats Fleebagging Again, Abandoning Their Jobs

The people united will never be divided. From The Hill:

The Laborers' International Union of North America (LIUNA) left the BlueGreen Alliance on Friday, citing a disagreement with the group's members over the Keystone XL pipeline.

LIUNA, a vocal Keystone supporter, took aim at other unions for opposing the project.

"We're repulsed by some of our supposed brothers and sisters lining up with job killers like the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council to destroy the lives of working men and women," LIUNA General President Terry O’Sullivan said in a statement.

The BlueGreen Alliance, a coalition of environmental groups and labor unions, confirmed LIUNA's exit Friday afternoon.

The Daily Mail:

Last year, the received wisdom was that Washington DC was paralyzed by gridlock. The President and the Speaker of the House, John Boehner, were locked in an unending struggle that would only be broken when the American people pulled them apart in November 2012, deciding which direction the country would take.

In the last few months, however, the President has pushed forward his agenda in uncompromising fashion, regaining much of the political initiative. The only problem is that he has done so in a way that abuses his powers. 2012 may therefore prove to be the high water mark of the Imperial Presidency.

He new attitude really hit home on January 4th. The US Constitution requires that senior officials in the Executive branch be appointed only with the 'advice and consent' of the Senate. Many such appointees are controversial, and are often filibustered. The Constitution, however, provides for the President to fill vacancies temporarily when the Senate is in recess (the actual wording relates to vacancies 'that may happen during the recess,' but since 1832 this has been interpreted to mean 'happen to exist.')

Public servants? These SEIU members fall short of that label in California.

From KSEE-TV:

The strike will last for three days.

Union members expect many departments to completely shut down because of it, but county officials plan on keeping things up and running.

Health services, food stamps, welfare, child support, libraries, and administrative offices: All of it could be severely impacted if SEIU Local 521 follows through with plans for a strike.

Health clinics have already cancelled appointments for early next week, and nurses say they plan on standing with Local 521 for the duration of the strike.

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