Obama doesn't take stand on Union Labor in South Carolina Boeing NLRB Union Dispute..

[KoKo]

President Obama was asked today about the decision by the National Labor Relations Board with respect to Boeing, and you can see his answer above. He said that the NLRB is an independent agency and that there’s a pending judicial matter. “So I don’t want to get into the details of the case. I don’t know all the facts. That’s going to be for a judge to decide.”

However, he then spoke broadly about the fact that corporations need to have the “freedom to relocate,” although they have to follow the law, and that if that relocation occurs in the United States, “that’s a good thing.” He concludes that labor and management shouldn’t fight and should “come to a sensible agreement” before it results in shutting down a plant.

I’ll take the President at his word that he doesn’t know all the facts. Specifically, he must not know the fact that Boeing admitted flat-out that they made the decision to relocate from Washington state to South Carolina, a right-to-work state, because they wanted to avoid unionization. This violates the NLRA explicitly, and the NLRB had to act.

Now, the President may be making a further argument that any American job is a good job, and there’s no value in a union job vis-a-vis a nonunion job at the same company. Freedom of relocation, then, matters more than unionization. That’s at variance with everything we know about the effect of unionization on wages and prosperity, but that could be his opinion. It appears to be the opinion of his hand-picked Commerce Secretary:




Obama on NLRB/Boeing
> http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/06/29/obama-on-nlrbboeing-case-in-general-companies-have-the-freedom-to-relocate/
Case: In General, Companies Have the “Freedom to Relocate”
By: David Dayen Wednesday June 29, 2011 11:02 am

VIDEO OF OBAMA's COMMENTS in TODAY's NEWS CONFERENCE AT:

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/06/29/obama-on-nlrbboeing-case-in-general-companies-have-the-freedom-to-relocate/

[rug]

1. Clueless.

[msanthrope]

13. Indeed, I find the OP's stance baffling.

As Mr. Obama generally should not comment on pending Executive Branch litigation, lest he unduly influence it, I find it baffling that he be critiqued for declining all but a general comment.

[KoKo]

2. I apologize..posting on the fly...here's some commentary by Obama.....

President Obama was asked today about the decision by the National Labor Relations Board with respect to Boeing, and you can see his answer above. He said that the NLRB is an independent agency and that there’s a pending judicial matter. “So I don’t want to get into the details of the case. I don’t know all the facts. That’s going to be for a judge to decide.”

However, he then spoke broadly about the fact that corporations need to have the “freedom to relocate,” although they have to follow the law, and that if that relocation occurs in the United States, “that’s a good thing.” He concludes that labor and management shouldn’t fight and should “come to a sensible agreement” before it results in shutting down a plant.

I’ll take the President at his word that he doesn’t know all the facts. Specifically, he must not know the fact that Boeing admitted flat-out that they made the decision to relocate from Washington state to South Carolina, a right-to-work state, because they wanted to avoid unionization. This violates the NLRA explicitly, and the NLRB had to act.

Now, the President may be making a further argument that any American job is a good job, and there’s no value in a union job vis-a-vis a nonunion job at the same company. Freedom of relocation, then, matters more than unionization. That’s at variance with everything we know about the effect of unionization on wages and prosperity, but that could be his opinion. It appears to be the opinion of his hand-picked Commerce Secretary:

MUCH MORE at:


VIDEO OF OBAMA's COMMENTS in TODAY's NEWS CONFERENCE AT:

http://news.firedoglake.com/2011/06/29/obama-on-nlrbboe... /

[ChrisBorg]

3. "I don’t know all the facts." Will this lead to another beer summit?

[KoKo]

4. "beer summit?" Huh?

:shrug:

[ChrisBorg]

5. The Gates, police officer beer summit. Here's the quote....

"I don’t know – not having been there and not seeing all the facts – what role race played in that, but I think it’s fair to say, number one, any of us would be pretty angry; number two that he Cambridge police acted stupidly in arresting somebody when there was already proof that they were in their own home," Obama said in response to a question from the Chicago Sun-Times's Lynn Sweet.

Gates, Obama allowed, "is a friend, so I may be a little biased here. I don't know all the facts."

[Peregrine Took]

6. Barack Obama, one of the finest young moderate rethugs in the land! n/t

[KoKo]

8. I think he really doesn't "hone down on Dem History." He has his own agenda

and that's why he was made President. It's because he doesn't have that "historical GUT about what Dems were about. He is CHARTING his OWN COURSE as (what he feels is) PRESIDENT OF US ALL...

Take that for what it means. "PRESIDENT OF US ALL." (Banksters/Hedge Funds/Libertarians/Wall Street/Big Labor/Big Pharma/Big Business (Chamber of Commerce)/Big Insurance/ BIG BUSINESS!

I think he's "well intentioned"....but he really hasn't lived the lives of many/most of us out here in HinterLand America.

I still have hope he will WAKE UP ...AND SMELL THE COFFEE!" Today's "Meet the Press" made me ANXIOUS.

But...there's still time for him to change his direction. I send ((((vibes & prayers))) still hoping...

Maybe he's MUCH BETTER than he's turning out to be.... His "book" is still open to write in...let's hope it all gets better.

[boppers]

7. South Carolina doesn't want jobs!

Why is Boeing foisting jobs on them?

[KoKo]

9. SC wants the jobs but it's a "Right to Work State" and keeping their people poor is all they want..

Just so you know...I grew up in that state. I was lucky enough to grow up in educated Charleston...but the rest of the state was BIBLE BELT... Keep your women barefoot and pregnant...send your kids off to war and PRAISE JESUS...for the rest of them. It got worse after I moved out of there!

[boppers]

11. Lots of those...

I grew up in Arizona. I'm in Oregon now, thank god.

[AtomicKitten]

10. I would rather he get up in Massey Energy's grill.

safety first

[ClarkUSA]

12. Um, the Obama administration is pushing for N.L.R.B. rules that would streamline unionizing.

Link to facts: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=433&topic_id=697458&mesg_id=697458

What was wrong with what he said? Why should he get involved with a state issue at a presser specifically aimed at pushing back on Republicans' debt ceiling bullshit. It's obvious his administration is working on unions' behalf (read the above link re: his initiative via N.L.R.B. rules that would streamline unionizing.).

What other recent Democratic administration has ever tried to do this for unions?

[Ice Number Nine]

14. sorry he didn't preempt the actual Judge in the case like you wanted.