Filibuster reform would be a gift to Big Labor

Writing in Roll Call, Fred Wszolek of the Workforce Fairness Institute says that filibuster reform would be a gift to Big Labor bosses.

In fact, Obama already re-nominated Richard Griffin and Sharon Block — the two members unconstitutionally appointed last year. Griffin is the former general counsel of the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) and was recently mentioned in the portion of a racketeering and embezzlement lawsuit dealing with a cover-up. And according to Fox News, 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."

It is also worth mentioning that other special interests are salivating over the idea of President Obama being able to pack the courts with an army of liberal activist judges — who would receive lifetime appointments with little scrutiny and would be able to write laws from the bench that stand no chance of passage in the Congress.

So now, the Senate filibuster could be the last line of defense against keeping these job-killing policies, or, worse, full implementation of the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) from becoming law at the hands of unelected government bureaucrats. EFCA was sought by union bosses in 2009 and 2010 and failed miserably when both Republicans and Democrats opposed the legislation, which economists found would cost the nation more than 600,000 jobs in the first year alone. Card check — as the legislation is known to many — would virtually eliminate the secret ballot and empower government to mandate contracts on employees and employers alike if an agreement has not been reached shortly after a collective-bargaining unit has been formed.

Earlier this month, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid noted that if "Republicans in the Senate . . . don’t start helping get some of these nominations done," then he would consider changing the rules surrounding filibusters. His threats are echoed by others, including Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, who said, "I hate to suggest this, but if this is an indication of where we're headed, we need to revisit the [filibuster] rules again."

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