Marathon Pundit: NLRB overreach: Recess mess edition

Monday, February 06, 2012

NLRB overreach: Recess mess edition

Bridge to prosperity? St. Joseph River
in Mishawaka, Indiana

President Obama's illegal recess appointments created a messy scene in Washington. I also explore the new job-creating right-to-work law next door to me in Indiana.

First from The Hill:

The House Education and the Workforce next week will hold a hearing on the implications of President Obama's recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board.

The Tuesday hearing comes as Republicans continue to argue that Obama's Jan. 4 recess appointments violated the Constitution. On Friday, 39 Senate Republicans said they would challenge the three NLRB appointments, and the appointment of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

Now over to the Senate from Politico:

Nearly 40 Senate Republicans say they will sign on to a court challenge of President Barack Obama's appointments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Labor Relations Board.

"American democracy was born out of a rejection of the monarchies of Western Europe, anchored by limited government and separation of powers,” Texas Sen. John Cornyn said in a statement. “We refuse to stand by as this president arrogantly casts aside our Constitution and defies the will of the American people under the election-year guise of defending them."

The senators didn't indicate which legal case they would join, but one lawsuit making its way through the courts includes a Jan. 13 claim by the National Federation for Independent Business and the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. It argues that appointments to the labor board are unconstitutional. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) announced earlier this week that he would join that case.

The senators said in a letter Friday that they will file a friend-of-the-court brief to support legal action, arguing that Obama overstepped constitutional boundaries when he tapped Richard Cordray to lead the consumer agency and appointed three members to join the NLRB.

Coalition for a Democratic Workplace: CDW Asks Court To Side With JFK And Toss Out Unfair Board Rule

Big Government: Minnesota Lawmakers Take on Teacher Seniority, Lefty Media Yawns

Hoosier Access: Right-to-Work and the Super Bowl: A Better Case

And finally, about Indiana's new right-to-work law from Townhall:

Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois soon may need to construct a wall—not to keep people out but to keep business in. While such a drastic move is unlikely, they will need to do something because they are at a severe regional economic disadvantage now that Indiana has passed a right to work law.

Wise policy decisions by Governor Mitch Daniels and the Indiana Legislature have given that Hoosier state the highest recovery in gross domestic product in the Great Lakes region. Now with the passage of right to work, 333,000 Hoosier workers represented by unions (12.4 percent of the Indiana workforce) will have right to say no to union bosses and still keep their job.

Indiana is poised to surge ahead of its forced unionism neighbors. With a similarly skilled workforce, geography, and manufacturing background, Indiana can offer businesses from around the world the same benefits as other states in the region without the drawbacks of having workers forced into a union against their will.

According to Heritage Foundation analyst James Sherk, "Right-to-work states are much more attractive for businesses investment. Unionized firms earn lower profits, invest less, and create fewer jobs than comparable nonunion firms." Sherk adds that studies "of neighboring counties on state borders with and without right-to-work laws …. manufacturing jobs in counties in right-to-work states is one-third higher than in adjacent counties in non–right-to-work states. Right-to-work laws attract jobs."