"Pro-union NLRB alarms employers" - Obama's Strong Stand For Organized Labor Upsets Corporate Attys

[TomCADem]

I know there are a lot of talking points on DU pushing the false equivalency idea that President Obama and Democrats are no different than Republicans, and they have not really helped or tried to help unions. Yet, outside of the political pundits, here is a trade magazine among corporate counsel expressing alarm and concern about the pro-union bias of the NLRB, which now has a Democratic majority. Again, what is interesting is that this appears in a trade magazine for corporate counsel. Nonetheless, the corporate media is simultaneously portraying the Wisconsin contest as a Nation wide repudiation of unions while also suggesting that it is President Obama's fault that Democrats did not capture one more seat in two Republican districts when the election was widely portrayed as referendum on Governor Walker.

Yet, when you get through all the Blame The Democrats/Union, Give Republicans a Free Pass rhetoric, the fact remains that the Obama administration has been very pro-labor. Indeed, the pro-union rulings of President Obama's appointees directly lead to recent FCC shutdown by House Republicans, and here is a recent corporate counsel trade magazine expressing alarm at President Obama's pro-union appointees to the NLRB.

Finally, these six incumbents won back in 2008 when President Obama was winning Wisconsin. If these districts did not go Democratic back then, how would President Obama's presense effect areas that leaned Republican to begin with?

Still, at the risk of spoiling the Blame the Democrats, Give Republicans a Free Pass narrative, here is the corporate counsel trade magazine expressing alarm at President Obama's Pro-Union NLRB appointees.

http://www.insidecounsel.com/2011/08/01/pro-union-nlrb-alarms-employers

Ask almost any veteran management-side labor attorney about the current National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and he will make two points: First, the board always shifts from favoring business to favoring unions when control of the White House changes, and second, the current board has made an unusually sharp shift to the left.

“The NLRB has traditionally swung a pendulum back and forth depending on which party is in power, and that’s historical back to the founding of the NLRB,” says Charles Caulkins, a partner at Fisher & Phillips.

That’s because the president appoints the board, with three members from his own party and two from the opposition party. The current board has four members—three Democrats and one Republican—with a vacancy in the fifth position. All three Democratic members have strong union ties, and two were given recess appointments when it appeared they would not be confirmed by the Senate. Subsequent proposed rulemakings and case decisions reflect that pro-union tilt.

“The unions claim that previous boards were very pro-employer and this is payback, but I think this board is going far beyond what previous boards have done,” says Hal Coxson, a shareholder at Ogletree Deakins.

[OHdem10]

1. Now we see in plain view-- Business is behind all the UNION

BUSTING. These Republican Governor are doing their
dirty work.

Could this be why Obama did not make a trip to Wi
to bolster the troops on the Ground. Unions and Activists.

[TomCADem]

4. These Particular Districts Went Republican In 2008, Would Obama's Presense Help...

...in local contest where Republicans held the seat at the height of President Obama's popularity? Frankly, I think it was correct to turn the election into a referendum on Walker, rather than a referendum on President Obama, particularly in the midst of the debt limit fight.

[jaxx]

2. K&R

[inna]

3. "Obama's Strong Stand For Organized Labor" - OMFG! Is this from the Onion?

Thanks for the comic relief, anyway; it was much needed! :D

[TomCADem]

5. This Is "Inside Counsel" A Corporate Trade Magazine, Not A Political Rag...

...This is the Nation wide trade magazine for the in-house corporate attorneys who must actually deal with unions, and at least from a corporate counsel perspective, they regard the current NLRB filled with President Obama appointees as among the most pro-union in decades. Maybe all these corporate attorneys are completely deluded, but they are the ones who must actually deal with unions on the other side of the negotiation table. The intended audience are corporate in-house attorneys.

[Lasher]

7. And you see no potential for bias?

Hell, Dick Cheney wouldn't be rightwing enough to suit these people.

[readmoreoften]

11. Yes, compared to corporate, anti-union filth Obama is pro-union. But that's only because he

won't grind unions into the ground with tanks. Slow privatization and incremental destruction or hollowing out isn't enough for the hardcore anti-union proponents. That doesn't mean that Obama is pro-union by any stretch.

It's like calling Archie Bunker a proponent of civil rights because he's not a member of the Klan.

[JVS]

14. This thread is one step away from saying "The teabaggers called him a socialist, so socialists...

should be completely satisfied"

[Bluebear]

8. Lol

[Angry Dragon]

6. I fail to see what the employers' bitch is

Employers claim it is the American way that greed is good
The people have the right of assembly
The people assemble to protect themselves and bargain for wages
Higher wages are good according to CEOs
So employers should be happy that employees want higher wages and protection

[Starry Messenger]

9. Have you been in a union?

Corporations would gleefully set dogs on us if they could get away with it. Their threshold for "pro-union" is mightily low, to put it charitably.

[readmoreoften]

12. Set dogs on us? That's not enough. They'd use tanks if they could.

But only after using tanks on our children and pets first, just to ratchet up the pain.

[LooseWilly]

10. Two recess appointments and suddenly Obama's suddenly hugely pro-labor?

Despite the fact that the article says " “The NLRB has traditionally swung a pendulum back and forth depending on which party is in power, and that’s historical back to the founding of the NLRB,” says Charles Caulkins, a partner at Fisher & Phillips."?

Sorry... but this is barely a bone tossed to labor. And the cries of "foul" from corporate counsel about the "strong labor ties" of these judges?... They would probably claim the same about Sotomayor...

It is reassuring to see that there are DUers who are reading through issues of corporate counsel trade magazines though... to, err, "keep an eye on them"... :+

[madrchsod]

13. really? obama is a friend of the unions?

one of his close advisors is anti union and one of the main reasons card check was dropped. duncan has blamed the teachers and their unions for the failure of the public schools. not one union leader was on his economic panel chaired by the head of GE the company that paid 0 taxes. trade policies that further erode our manufacturing base.

i will give him credit for placing democrats to the nlrb. at least there will be a counter from the rightwing gutting of established labor laws.

[TeamsterDem]

15. The NLRB makeup is crucial, and they did rule on the side of labor in the Boeing thing. n/t