WFI statement on Obama's nomination of illegal NLRB appointments

Earlier today President Obama renominated the two board members who were 'recess' appointed to the radicalized National Labor Relations Board.

The Workforce Fairness Institute issued a statement on this move.

Workforce Fairness InstituteResponds To NLRB Nominations

Labor Board Member Enmeshed In Controversy; Senate Should Proceed With Nomination Hearing

Washington, D.C. (February 13, 2013) – The Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI) today issued the following statement in response to news reports that President Obama has re-nominated Richard Griffin and Sharon Block to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB):

“Today’s news that President Obama has re-nominated Richard Griffin and Sharon Block to the National Labor Relations Board demonstrates once again that payback to Big Labor bosses is a top priority in this White House.  Both Griffin and Block continue to issue decisions considered illicit by the D.C. Circuit Court because they are not lawfully on the Board.  Griffin’s record should result in the President asking him to step down, not offering him a job at taxpayers’ expense,”said Fred Wszolek, spokesperson for the Workforce Fairness Institute (WFI).  “Griffin is embroiled in controversy having recently been named a defendant in an embezzlement case, in addition to serving as long-time general counsel to a union tainted by mob ties and corruption. Now that President Obama has decided to re-nominate Griffin, the U.S. Senate should promptly take up the nomination and reveal to the American people his troubling and deeply-flawed record.”

BACKGROUND:

President Obama Re-nominates Richard To NLRB:

“In a provocative move, President Obama Wednesday re-nominated two controversial Democratic candidates to the National Labor Relations Board just weeks after a federal court invalided their recess appointments to the posts.  Mr. Obama again nominated Sharon Block, a former Democratic Labor Department official, and Richard Griffin, a Democratic union lawyer, to serve on the NLRB.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled Jan. 25 that their appointments to the NLRB were invalid because Mr. Obama installed them in the posts in January 2012 through an unconstitutional exercise of his appointment powers.  The court said the president did not have the authority to make the ‘recess appointments,’ a means of circumventing the Senate confirmation process, because the Senate was not in recess at the time.”(Dave Boyer, “Obama Renominates Contentious Labor Board Picks,” The Washington Times, 2/13/13)

“Lawsuit Accuses Obama Appointee Of Embezzlement Cover-Up”:

“A recent lawsuit filed in a federal court in California alleges that National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Richard Griffin was complicit in a scheme to cover up embezzlement at a major labor union by terminating employees who attempted to expose the effort. The allegations appear in a lengthy complaint filed against the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE).  The lawsuit alleges numerous violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, and names Griffin, IUOE’s former general counsel, as a defendant.  President Barack Obama controversially appointed Griffin to the NLRB in January 2012 in a move some observers described as illegal. He never faced confirmation hearings or standard background checks.” (Lachlan Markay, “National Labor RICO Board,” Washington Free Beacon, 1/8/13)

“Obama Pick For NLRB Was Top Lawyer For Union Tainted By Mob Ties, History Of Corruption”:

“The rap sheet for members of the International Union of Operating Engineers reads like something out of ‘Goodfellas.’  Embezzlement. Wire fraud.  Bribery. That’s just scratching the surface of crimes committed by the IUOE ranks.  And it is from this union that President Obama earlier this year picked one of his latest appointees to the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency tasked with resolving labor disputes between unions and management. That recess appointee, Richard Griffin, was former general counsel for the 400,000-member union of heavy equipment operators -- a union tainted over the years by mob connections and a history of corruption. Public documents obtained by Fox News show that more than 60 IUOE members have been arrested, indicted or jailed in the last decade on charges that include labor racketeering, extortion, criminal enterprise, bodily harm and workplace sabotage.” (Doug McKelway, “Obama Pick For NLRB Was Top Lawyer For Union Tainted By Mob Ties, History Of Corruption,” Fox News, 6/22/12)

Griffin’s Recess Appointment Product Of President Obama “Sticking A Thumb In [Congress’] Eye And Hitting Below The Belt”: 

“Remember those terrible days of the Imperial Presidency, when George W. Bush made several ‘recess appointments’ to overcome Senate opposition?  Well, Czar George II never did attempt what President Obama did yesterday in making recess appointments when Congress isn’t even on recess.  Eager to pick a fight with Congress as part of his re-election campaign, Mr. Obama did the Constitutional equivalent of sticking a thumb in its eye and hitting below the belt.  He installed Richard Cordray as the first chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and named three new members to the National Labor Relations Board. He did so even though the Senate was in pro forma session after the new Congress convened this week … As for Mr. Obama’s three NLRB appointees, he only notified Congress of his intent to nominate them on December 15.  The Senate hasn’t had time to hold a single confirmation hearing. The nominees, two Democrats and one Republican, will give the labor board a quorum that it wouldn’t have had with the December 31 expiration of the term of previous recess-appointee Craig Becker.  Under this Administration, the supposedly nonpartisan NLRB has become a partisan arm of Big Labor, and that will probably continue this election year. Appointee Sharon Block is the Labor Department’s Congressional liaison and former aide to Ted Kennedy. Richard Griffin is general counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers.” (Editorial, “Contempt For Congress,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/5/12)

The Workforce Fairness Institute is an organization committed to educating voters, employers, employees and citizens about issues affecting the workplace. To learn more, please visit:http://www.workforcefairness.com.

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