Dec. 13, 2011, Fairfax, VA—Americans for Limited Government (ALG) President Bill Wilson today called comments by National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Lafe Solomon “a deplorable threat against any company that is considering moving operations to a right-to-work state.”
Although the NLRB’s recent dispute with Boeing after the company set up a manufacturing operation in right-to-work South Carolina has been resolved, now Solomon has said that “If we were ever faced with a similar pattern, we might well issue a complaint.”
The original complaint had accused Boeing of “retaliation” against the Machinists union for past strikes in its plant facilities in Washington state. The complaint was dropped after Boeing agreed to have its new 737 jet built in Washington, not South Carolina.
Now, Wilson said that the NLRB’s Solomon wants to make sure other companies don’t try the same thing.
“This is a not so subtle threat against every company that does not have millions of dollars to defend themselves against the coercive threats of big government and big labor,” Wilson said, adding, “It sets a precedent against companies from expanding manufacturing operations into states that protect workers’ freedom of choice.”
Wilson said the only solution was to pass legislation by Rep. Austin Scott that would remove the quasi-judicial powers from the NLRB to act against employers, HR 2978, the “Protecting American Jobs Act”.
“Cases like those that were lodged against Boeing would be impossible under this Rep. Scott’s legislation,” Wilson explained.
The law would strip the Board of all its judicial authority, making federal courts the sole arbiter of alleged infractions of labor law.
“The NLRB is not a court, it is an agency of the executive branch, and yet for nearly a century, its rulemakings have been granted the weight of court decisions. No longer,” Wilson declared.
In an exclusive interview with ALG, bill sponsor Rep. Austin Scott described the bill and said the labor disputes were better handled in the courts. “It takes away the judicial authority of the National Labor Relations Board, [and] puts the decisions in the courts,” he said, adding, “Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for this agency. The unions and corporate America can fight it out in the courts without doing it on the taxpayer’s dime.”
A poll conducted by the polling company™, inc./WomanTrend on behalf of ALG found that 66 percent of respondents thought the agency had too much power “to officiate legal proceedings over private U.S. companies in its own court system”.
The bill has already attracted 38 cosponsors, who Wilson said were “supporting the only legislation that would rein in this out-of-control agency.”
“The Boeing case was only a symptom of the problem. Now the NLRB’s threat to file more suits against any other company thinking about setting up shop in a right-to-work state makes the solution crystal clear. Congress needs to strip the NLRB’s adjudicatory powers so this never happens again,” Wilson concluded.
Attachments:
“Treating the NLRB symptoms not enough,” by ALG President Bill Wilson, September 21st, 2011 at http://netrightdaily.com/2011/09/treating-the-nlrb-symptoms-not-enough/.
the polling company™, inc./WomanTrend poll on behalf of Americans for Limited Government regarding National Labor Relations Board, Aug. 19-23, 2011 at www.getliberty.org/files/NLRBPoll8-19to8-23-11.pdf.
Interview Availability: Please contact Rebekah Rast at (703) 383-0880 or at rrast@getliberty.org to arrange an interview with ALG President Bill Wilson.