Obama trying to stack deck at the NLRB

Senate Democrats’ are attempting to push through confirmation of SEIU Associate General Counsel Craig Becker and Mark Pearce, a member of the New York State United Teachers union for seats on the National Labor Relations Board.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), is a quasi-judicial agency responsible for administrating federal labor law. The Board’s functions include overseeing elections in union certification drives and resolving unfair labor practices committed by union organizers or employers.

Nominated by the President and adamantly supported by ACORN Founder Wade Rathke who said, “Here’s a big win no matter how you shake and bake it: Craig Becker being nominated for a seat on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)!”

Becker is currently the associate general counsel for the AFL-CIO and the SEIU. He has practiced and taught labor law for more than 25 years

Rathke cites Becker’s role in the creation of the “non-employee state employees” in California (dues paying union members without all the benefits of being state employee like retirement, healthcare, vacation time, sick leave, set work rules) and devising strategies for organizing the informal workers.

Becker believes that, “employers should be stripped of any legally cognizable interest in their employees’ election of representatives.” Despite years as an advocate for compulsory unionism, Becker claims he can be “fair and impartial”. 

Here are some examples of what Becker brings as part of his belief system as reported on the National Right to Work Committee’s website. Committee President Mark Mix analyzes Becker’s extreme views. 

Becker:

• Supports “home visits,” in which union goons repeatedly harass workers at home until they sign union authorization cards (see here for an example of this intimidating practice)
• Advocates letting government arbiters impose contracts on workers and employers on workers, without even allowing the workers to vote on the contract (a practice which even Far Left icon George McGovern opposes)
• Believes employers should be absolutely prohibited from sharing any truthful and noncoercive information with employees about the effects of unionization
• Illogically and radically compares union certification elections to US Congressional elections, stating that the only question decided in such elections should be which union gets monopoly control over workers, not whether they wish to remain independent and union free.

Watch this video:

If confirmed Becker would join a board stacked to be extremely pro member. Wilma Liebman, a longtime union supporter is already in place. The Board’s other member, Peter Carey Schaumber, was appointed by former President Bush. Two positions remain vacant. Obama has already nominated Mark Pearce and the other seat will be filled with a Republican member.

Pearce, is a member of the New York State United Teachers union, He has represented workers as a lawyer and also served as a member of the New York State Industrial Board of Appeals as well as a trial specialist for the NLRB’s regional office in Buffalo.

Obviously if both are confirmed the NLRB becomes a very union friendly environment. This will also create some new momentum for the “Employees’ Free Choice Act”. Both developments spell potential problems for small businesses. So once again America – the administration is attempting to add more radical reformers to key government positions so they can continue to push us toward a more socialistic society. Driving up union membership supports the administration’s social reengineering agenda and provides a payback to the administration’s union allies. Write your representatives and tell them we are not interested in an American makeover or living in a socialist nanny state. We must send them a clear message that these people must not be confirmed. Making the NLRB more polarized in favor of the unions will not help encourage job creation.

Restore the Republic, Reject the Angenda of the Progressive Left!

“Sometimes I wonder whether the world is being run by smart people who are putting us on, or by imbeciles who really mean it.” – Mark Twain