Marathon Pundit: NLRB overreach: Usurping edition

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

NLRB overreach: Usurping edition

Stone City, Iowa

Did President Obama usurp powers from the Senate with his so-called recess appointments? Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) thinks so.

From the Daily Caller:

Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley accused President Obama of dictatorial behavior in a floor statement Thursday, saying that his recess appointments were not the first acts he has taken to circumvent the constitutional system of checks and balances.

"President Obama's decision to bypass the constitutional advice and consent of the Senate is not an isolated incident," Grassley said, according to prepared remarks. "It is merely the latest escalation in a pattern of contempt for the elected representatives of the American people and the constitutional separation of powers."

Obama appointed Richard Cordray as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau while the Senate was in recess, after the Senate indicated that they would not confirm his nomination.

Grassley accused the president of "usurping legislative powers" by overriding and working around Congress when possible. This, Grassley argues, is in violation of the Constitution.

It's hard to believe, but Michigan is considering right-to-work legislation. However, however, of the 50 states and the District of Columbia, only the Great Lake State lost population in the last decade.

From the Detroit Free Press:

Another skirmish is expected today at the Capitol in an intensifying battle between the forces of management and labor in Michigan.

But as a Republican-controlled House committee prepares to pass four bills to weaken unions, many on both sides await a fight seen as the main event -- legislation to establish right to work in Michigan.

The push for a right to work law -- under which no one could be required to financially support a union as a condition of employment -- gained momentum this month when a similar measure won partial approval in Indiana. The Hoosier state is expected to become the first industrial Midwest state to approve such a bill, which awaits final approval of the Senate and Gov. Mitch Daniels.

Ahd what about Indiana?

ABC 7 Chicago:

An Indiana Senate committee has passed a right-to-work bill, and Governor Mitch Daniels says he is ready to sign the bill once it clears the full senate.

The bill is expected to clear the senate on Wednesday.

The right-to-work bill is controversial. Protesters were on hand at Indiana's state capitol for Monday's committee vote.

Indiana could be a right-to-work state as early as Wednesday. 22 states are already right-to-work states.

Which brings me to Illinois. From the Washington Examiner:

Folks in Springfield, Ill., witnessed a bizarre scene two years ago. Thousands protested outside the Capitol, chanting: "Raise my taxes! Raise my taxes! Raise my taxes!"

Springfield, Illinois

Who protests for higher taxes?

Government unions do. The American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees helped organize the rally.

This is the new face of the union movement. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported this past Friday that union rates fell again last year. Fewer than one of every eight Americans now belong to unions.

The National Mediation Board bar is open!

SHOT:

Unions Say Workers' Rights Curtailed Under FAA Funding Deal

CHASER:

Union: ‘We Can Live Within’ Labor Rules In FAA Funding Compromise

Transportation Union Blesses Deal On FAA

More on the Employee Rights Act from the Washington Times:

When Congress approved the National Labor Relations Act (aka the Wagner Act) in 1935, it reformed and updated federal labor law to reflect the harsh realities of the American workplace at the mid-point of the Great Depression. Thanks to the Wagner Act, the labor movement was so strengthened that when union membership in the private sector of the economy reached its apogee in 1953, great industries like steel, railroads, autos and mining were dominated by Big Labor. But even then, barely more than a third of all private sector workers were union members. By the time the 21st century dawned, fewer than 10 percent of private sector workers belonged to unions.

It's been a different story in the public sector, which has been fertile ground for powerhouse unions, including the American Federation of Government Employees, National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers, and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Today, these Big Labor giants represent nearly 40 percent of all public employees and make up more than half of all unionized workers in the country. Being unionized puts these public employees in adversarial relationships with the taxpayers who fund their paychecks.

Only 23 states have right-to-work laws that protect workers who choose not to join unions, and federal employees are not even covered by these laws. The result is effectively a union shop for most public workplaces. But before unions win over a majority of government workers, Congress should quickly pass new legislation to update federal labor laws and regulations, much as the Wagner Act did in 1935. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Rep. Tim Scott, R-S.C., have introduced just such a bill, the Employee Rights Act of 2012.