Posted on 01/17/2011 5:25:06 AM PST by markomalley
This is pretty bad, even by Obama administration standards. Such blatant help for union political allies certainly makes the administration's intentions clear, and tells us who really owns this White House. From a political perspective, Republicans in these states should welcome the development:
The National Labor Relations Board on Friday threatened to sue Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah over constitutional amendments guaranteeing workers the right to a secret ballot in union elections.
The agency's acting general counsel, Lafe Solomon, said the amendments conflict with federal law, which gives employers the option of recognizing a union if a majority of workers sign cards that support unionizing.
The amendments, approved Nov. 2, have taken effect in South Dakota and Utah, and will do so soon in Arizona and South Carolina.
Business and anti-union groups sought the amendments, arguing that such secrecy is necessary to protect workers against union intimidation. They are concerned that Congress might enact legislation requiring employers to allow the "card check" process for forming unions instead of secret ballot elections.
In letters to the attorney general of each state, Solomon says the amendments are pre-empted by the supremacy clause of the Constitution because they conflict with employee rights laid out in the National Labor Relations Act. That clause says that when state and federal laws are at odds, federal law prevails.
Solomon is asking the attorneys general in South Dakota and Utah for official statements agreeing that their amendments are unconstitutional "to conserve state and federal resources."
It does seem a little odd, given that the sentence they quote isn’t about WORKERSs rights, it explicitly says company rights (”gives employers the option”).
The states are trying to stop employers from implementing a union based on signed cards, which are known to involve intimidation of workers.
Nationally, we’ve been fighting the “card check” legislation which would FORCE companies to accept a union based only on signed cards. But there are some companies that get in bed with unions against the workers, and the states are trying to prevent that to protect their workers from ending up in a union against their will.
It will be interesting to see the court fight — it is true after all that federal law trumps state law, so the outcome I guess will hinge on how a court interprets a state constitutional amendment giving workers additional rights, and a federal law which only offers employers an “optional” choice.
Card check is now federal law? I must have been asleep.
When did this happen? Last I heard, card check was on the RATS agenda along with cap & trade, the DREAM act, etc.
I think that employers already had the "right" to recognize a union based strictly on signed cards without having an election, but they could also demand an election even if 50% of the employees signed cards. The new card check law Obama wanted was to remove the option of the election and require employers to recognize the union if they got a 50% signature rate.
Thank you.
“Nah, that’d be giving them too much credit. For the most part, unions are just criminal enterprises - shakedown rackets extorting “protection” money from businesses and the taxpayers, just like the old organized crime families of yesteryear did.”
Unfortunately labor cartels do not need to operate as criminal enterprises because they have Democrat politicians in their pockets. Labor cartels are enabled by a vast network of law, executive orders, agency rulings, and court cases that effectively force others to use their services.
Philosophically, I agree with your assessment. Labor cartels are just another group trying to eliminate competition. The mob rules through violence and intimidation. In the old days, the mob have police, politicians, and judges on their payroll although this practice was never codified in law.
Labor cartels will resort to violence and intimidation when needed. The US Supreme court has given them a free pass on violence and intimidation at least to some level. In addition, police and politicians rarely sanction labor cartels for illegal strikes/job actions and other unlawful practices. For example, the NY sanitation labor cartel will not suffer any consequences for its illegal and immoral practices during the last major snowfall.
The National Labor Relations Board on Friday threatened to sue Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah over constitutional amendments guaranteeing workers the right to a secret ballot in union elections.
Don’t see the conflict either. If the states fight this right, they may be able to preempt card check before it ever gets passed into law though.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.