Marathon Pundit: NLRB overreach: Second verse same as the first edition

Thursday, January 26, 2012

NLRB overreach: Second verse same as the first edition

Second verse same as the first.
"Henry the Eighth, I Am." Herman and the Hermits
and numerous others

President Obama's illegally recess-appointed National Labor Relations Board members represent his second Big Labor-favoring packed generation on that panel.

And yes, it's second verse, same as the first.

In Illinois, the Teamsters union used its muscle to put an alleged mobster back on the state payroll.

From Fox News:

The chairman of the National Labor Relations Board hopes to have another round of regulations in place by the end of the year that would make it easier for unions to establish and win representation elections in workplaces.

Undeterred by Republican protests, Mark Pearce said he will urge the board to approve the new rules now that it has a full component of five members after President Barack Obama bypassed the Senate to fill three vacancies.

"We keep our eye on the prize," Pearce said in an interview with The Associated Press. "Our goal is to create a set of rules that eliminate a lot of waste of time, energy and money for the taxpayers."

One change Pearce wants is requiring businesses to hand over lists of employee phone numbers and emails to union leaders before an election.

Bad news for union members. More annoying phone calls during dinner could be coming your way.

About those illegal appointments...from Politico:

Citing Congress's constitutional prerogative to set its own rules, Rep. Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) has asked President Barack Obama to revoke appointments he made over the winter break and revisit his legal counsel's determination that he had the right to make such "recess" appointments even when the House and Senate were meeting regularly for pro forma sessions.

"The president's recent appointments are unconstitutional and are an egregious example of executive overreach," Rokita said in a statement announcing that he and 26 co-signers had sent a letter to Obama on the matter late Monday. "While the president may view the Constitution as an impediment to his agenda, we are asking the president to uphold his oath to protect and defend the Constitution. We urge him to retract his appointments and refrain from attempting to circumvent the Constitution by making appointments while the Senate is in pro forma session."

The Hill:

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) on Tuesday asked Attorney General Eric Holder for all documents and other information related to the Obama administration's decision to make four recess appointments when the Senate was not in recess.

In his letter to Holder, Smith argued that the appointment of Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the three appointments to the National Labor Relations Board were "unprecedented," because the Senate was not in recess.

"[T]he Senate, which has the power to determine the 'rules of its proceedings,' did not believe it was in 'recess' for purposes of the recess appointments clause during the relevant time period," Smith wrote.

My taxes, which went up dramatically last year, pay the salary of an alleged former mobster in Illinois.

From Fox 32 Chicago:

Fox Chicago's investigators have learned that the state of Illinois has been ordered to re-hire a former mob bookie, and cut him a check for more than $100,000.

Ralph Peluso was fired in 2010 after we started asking questions about how he landed on the state payroll.

He is now back on the job, thanks to the powerful Teamsters union.

Peluso allegedly took plenty of bets during his long career as an outfit bookmaker. But even he may be stunned at how he beat the odds and scored a major payday at the expense of Illinois taxpayers.

Speaking of the Teamsters...

New York Daily News: Teamsters lawyer Kevin Clor pleads not guilty to ripping off union for $211,000

To my east, Indiana will probably become a right-to-work state soon.

Northwest Indiana Times:

The Indiana Senate will act on House-approved right-to-work legislation next week, culminating in a possible final vote Wednesday before the Legislature breaks for the Super Bowl.

The Senate Pensions and Labor Committee is scheduled to meet at 8 a.m. region time Monday to review House Bill 1001, right-to-work legislation that is nearly identical to Senate Bill 269, which passed 28-22 on Monday.

If, as expected, the committee approves the House version, the measure would be eligible for amendment on the Senate floor Tuesday.