Marathon Pundit: NLRB overreach: Next week is School Choice Week edition

Thursday, January 19, 2012

NLRB overreach: Next week is School Choice Week edition

Silas Willard School, Galesburg, IL,
Ronald Reagan was a student

The Senate was not in recess when President Obama made those "recess" appointments earlier this month.

Writing for Townhall, Fred Wszolek of the Workforce Fairness Institute:

In reading some of the news coverage and commentary concerning President Obama’s non-recess appointments of Richard Griffin and Sharon Block to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) you would think they had waited months and even years under so-called "obstructionism" in the U.S. Senate. In reality, anyone who undertook an objective analysis of the situation would have come to the conclusion that the administration’s complete disregard for the Constitution by ignoring the Senate's advice and consent responsibility was a total handout to the Big Labor bosses bankrolling the president’s campaign.

Let's be clear, there isn't much room for any other interpretation. Union bosses invested half a billion dollars in 2008 to elect President Obama and he has bent over backwards to pay them back. In the process, he has sent the message to workers and small businesses that the current leadership in the nation’s capital is an adversary, not an ally.

An example of the flawed and absolutely ridiculous commentary associated with the non-recess appointments was an editorial published in The Washington Post titled, "Obama's Justifiable 'Power Grab' on Recess Appointments." The editorial writers at the Post claim it is "inexcusable that congressional obstructionism would leave [agencies of the U.S. government] unable to function." This line alone demonstrates a disturbing level detachment from the facts and a total misunderstanding of reality.

The simple truth that eluded the Post was just a Google search away. Had editors done their research they would have found Richard Griffin and Sharon Block were nominated to the NLRB on December 15th, hours before Senators left the nation's capital even though the Congress continued to convene in pro forma sessions. These nominees received non-recess appointments a few weeks later. There was no obstructionism. None. And any claim that there was is deeply misinformed or absolutely dishonest.

My neighbor to the east might soon be a right-to-work state. Hoosier Access has been superb in keeping on top of this story. Latest post: RTW: Right-to-Work or Refusing-to-Work?

Next week is National School Choice Week. To learn more and see if there is a school choice event near you, visit PutKidsFirst.com.

Teacher unions oppose school choice. Here are some recent Big Government posts about the people who claim every education dollar is "for the kids."

Rubber Rooms' Kissing Cousin: New York City's Absent Teacher Reserve Program

St. Paul Union Using Class Size Smokescreen to Preserve Teaching Jobs and the Flow of Dues Dollars

NYC Union Chief Proves Gov. Walker Right: Tougher Teacher Evaluations Must Be Negotiated Into Contract

Michigan Teacher Finds It's Not So Easy, or Cheap, to Become a Former Member of a Teachers Union

Big Labor Partisanship at Teacher Expense