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Attorneys say changing rules, politics affect the NLRB (Rule by Unelected Bureaucrats)
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin ^ | December 9, 2011 | Roy Strom

Posted on 12/10/2011 7:48:08 AM PST by 1010RD

Attorney Terrance B. McGann said the the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will most likely not be able to make rulings or decide cases by the beginning of next year.

"If the (NLRB) is not there … the next step is more strikes, more picketing and concerted activity by labor organizations," said McGann, a lawyer who represents unions as a partner at Whitfield, McGann & Ketterman.

"No one wins. If we don't get our quorum, no one wins."

If President Barack Obama cannot nominate and receive Congressional approval of a new NLRB member by the end of the year, the board will shrink from three to two members. Due to a 2010 Supreme Court ruling, it will not be able to make decisions or grant rulings because it needs a quorum.

Local lawyers said the threat of a non-functioning board changes the way NLRB currently operates. The partisan political environment in Washington also influences the board more than usual.

David P. Radelet, a partner at Franczek, Radelet P.C., where he handles the employer side of labor law, said political gridlock in Washington may mean the NLRB could lack a quorum for an extended period of time.

The first chance a president might get to nominate and receive approval for a new board member could be after the 2012 election, Radelet said.

"Another recess strategy might be an option, but the politics might not allow (President Obama) to do that," Radelet said, adding that he anticipates that the board will shrink to two members at the end of the year.

When a two-member board happened in the past, most recently for 27 months from 2008 until 2010, the NLRB carried on as usual. That board decided about 600 cases.

The process changed with the 2010 Supreme Court ruling in New Process Steel v. The National Labor Relations Board, which said three members constitute a quorum for the NLRB and any less cannot make decisions on cases or make rules.

Some labor lawyers said in light of the New Process Steel decision, the Democrat-controlled board wants to pass rules and decisions before its quorum might expire at the end of the year.

"The tradition has been that a member of the board is given 90 days in which to dissent" to new NLRB rules, said Brian W. Bulger, a partner at Meckler, Bulger, Tilson, Marick & Pearson LLP, where he represents businesses in employment law cases.

Bulger said the board possibly refused to grant the full 90-day dissension period to the lone Republican on the board, Brian E. Hayes, to allow a vote on a recent rule called the "quick election rule."

The "quick election rule" seeks to shorten the time of discussion among companies and employees between filing a petition to organize a vote on union representation and the actual vote.

Stanley Eisenstein, a lawyer who represents unions and a partner at Katz, Friedman, Eagle, Eisenstein, Johnson & Bareck P.C., said the notion that the board "rushed" a vote on the "quick election rule" is "false."

"This (rule) has been under discussion for a long time," Eisenstein said. "I'll accept that management lawyers may not like the rule. But to characterize it as rushing it through … is not accurate."

Some of these lawyers claim the "quick election rule," and how lawyers on both sides of labor law reacted to it, might highlight an NLRB facing even more political headwinds than usual.

"At the moment, the environment surrounding the NLRB is thoroughly politicized," said Joel A. D'Alba, who represents unions as a partner at Asher, Gittler, and D'Alba Ltd.

Lawyers on opposing sides said they think the current NLRB and the Republican-controlled House each take new political tactics to extend their powers and thus heighten political tension.

D'Alba said none of the labor board's actions vary from the "historical" pivoting from administration to administration. But eight investigations into the NLRB's practices by different House committees is "unprecedented," he said.

"There are threats (by the House) to the board's funding, and there have been threats to de-fund the board 100 percent," D'Alba said. "We haven't had those types of problems in the past to this extent."

Radelet, from Franczek, Radelet, said the "activist" nature of the current NLRB shows in its attitude towards rulemaking.

"Rulemaking is actually something the NLRB hadn't done for 20 years prior to this," Radelet said. "It's a very unusual thing, but here they've already (passed) a couple of (rules) in the last year."

Radelet referred to the "quick election rule" passed Nov. 30, as well as a rule making all employers post signs that show employee's rights under the National Labor Relations Act.

"The world has changed very dramatically and we see it in (NLRB) rulemaking, and we see it in the general counsel, and we see it in the activities of the general counsel," Radelet said, referring to the NLRB's current general counsel, Lafe Solomon.

Joseph M. Gagliardo, a partner and employment lawyer at Laner, Muchin, Dombrow, Becker, Levin & Tominberg Ltd., said the disputes come down to classic political pivoting by the NLRB.

"This board is viewed as being union-oriented, but there are other boards that have been non-union oriented and more pro-business oriented," Gagliardo said. "… While the issues are different, (it's) not that different from what's happened historically."


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Constitution/Conservatism; Government
KEYWORDS:
The last guy to speak is Mr. Gagliardo who previously served as First Deputy Corporation Counsel for the City of Chicago for ten years.

Here's some critical background on Lafe Solomon:

http://biggovernment.com/tag/lafe-solomon/

http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/lafe-solomon/

From the 2nd link:

Lafe Solomon is one of the most powerful bureaucrats in America and is about to get much more powerful. He is the acting general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), best known for suing Boeing Co. over the opening of a billion-dollar manufacturing plant that created thousands of jobs in South Carolina. He also is suing four states - Arizona, South Carolina, South Dakota and Utah - for enacting state constitutional protections for secret ballot voting. He is about to inherit broad powers intended to be exercised by the NLRB itself, effectively making him President Obama's newest czar. Perhaps he'll be called the "no new jobs czar." [end]

FRiends, the battle is real and they're not taking prisoners. 2012 is the most critical election in American history since the Founding.

1 posted on 12/10/2011 7:48:13 AM PST by 1010RD
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To: 1010RD

Down with the NLRB.

Let Unions fend for themselves. If they wish to destroy themselves with more striked and more outrages, let them.


2 posted on 12/10/2011 7:53:22 AM PST by Venturer
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To: 1010RD

NLRB = Enforcement arm of a wannabe Fascist Administration.


3 posted on 12/10/2011 8:02:37 AM PST by I am Richard Brandon (Spreading the Wealth, one dollar at a time)
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To: 1010RD
Among the most foul rulings of the NLRB:

Bulger said the board possibly refused to grant the full 90-day dissension period to the lone Republican on the board, Brian E. Hayes, to allow a vote on a recent rule called the "quick election rule."

The "quick election rule" seeks to shorten the time of discussion among companies and employees between filing a petition to organize a vote on union representation and the actual vote.

4 posted on 12/10/2011 8:11:24 AM PST by yoe
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To: 1010RD

We can all see what Unions do they stop jobs. Look at the Boeing deal in South Carolina,they used it to create more demands. Unions put their leaders in jobs and steal from the working person. They sell their folks just like Sharpton and Jackson sell the Black Community.


5 posted on 12/10/2011 8:13:04 AM PST by E.K. Crossbow
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To: 1010RD

Obama and his goons are going to see the end of lawlessness they have created in America.


6 posted on 12/10/2011 8:16:53 AM PST by EagleUSA
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To: EagleUSA
Obama and his goons are going to see the end of lawlessness they have created in America.

Remember the DNC riots of 1968?

Richard Nixon was elected President on a mandate to restore „law and order‟.
7 posted on 12/10/2011 10:17:40 AM PST by Cheerio (Barry Hussein Soetoro-0bama=The Complete Destruction of American Capitalism)
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