5 replies to this topic

[a673teamster]

OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

Crippling the Right to Organize


By WILLIAM B. GOULD IV

Published: December 16, 2011



UNLESS something changes in Washington, American workers will, on New Year’s Day, effectively lose their right to be represented by a union. Two of the five seats on theNational Labor Relations Board, which protects collective bargaining, are vacant, and on Dec. 31, the term ofCraig Becker, a labor lawyer whomPresident Obama named to the board last year through a recess appointment, will expire. Without a quorum, the Supreme Court ruled last year, the board cannot decide cases.

What would this mean?

Workers illegally fired for union organizing won’t be reinstated with back pay. Employers will be able to get away with interfering with union elections. Perhaps most important, employers won’t have to recognize unions despite a majority vote by workers. Without the board to enforce labor law, most companies will not voluntarily deal with unions.
http://www.nytimes.c...r=2&ref=opinion


Can this be true?

[unionbustersandtrollsout]

There is a lot of alarmist language in the beginning of the article that starts to get teased out without solutions. My understanding is that Obama gets to elect two judges to the NLRB. If we get the right judges we might be able to get Fed Ex drivers to be classified as employees vs. contractors. There's lots of advances we could make if the right judges came along, much needed advances since our membership is at an all-time low and there's many people who would like to give us a final blow. They'd like to take us out (like that could ever happen).

In typical obstructionist fashion the GOP will not allow any Obama candidate to go through, we could be without two judges for the rest of Obama's term.

This will leave three scenerios from what I can tell:

1. The court will be halted under a watered-down judge gets accepted.

2. The (GOP) - Greedy One Percent - hope to wait it out and get two conservative judges on the court once a Republican candidate is elected president

3. We reelect Obama and kick out the tea-baggers. Give Pro-Labor judges their seats.

The Tea bagging GOP is just stalling in the hopes for the best.......its pathetic.

We should be talking about this more and we should demand pro-labor judges sit on a court that is designed to act in the best interests of labor.

[unionbustersandtrollsout]

In addition to the above comment, it should be noted about Gould:

Gould, whose nomination by President Clinton was confirmed by the Senate last week on a 58-38 vote, becomes the first African American to serve as chairman of the NLRB and only the second black member in its 58-year-history.

I'm not sure if Gould is arguing for non-partisan judges? I know we need neutrality in the law.

Gould's grandpa was a former slave. He doesn't look black. Here is another article by Gould with picture at the bottom:

http://leraweb.org/p...tion-law-perspe

[unionbustersandtrollsout]

New article about the NLRB judges that Obama has every right and all authority to appoint: http://thehill.com/b...-to-labor-board

I don't like the language in the article. Labor will be 'disappointed' in Obama?!? We have rights as workers. 'Disappointed' is not the word......

The Chamber of Commerce thinks Obama is running scared. Who elected this guy, vice president dude Randy Johnson?

Obama has authority as president of the United States. Randy Johnson as vice president of the Chamber of Commerce should not even be a player.

[xg22]

Republicans Fight Min Wage for Health Workers

President Obama introduced (Dec 16) a rule that would finally extend federal minimum wage and overtime protections to two million workers who provide home-based care to the elderly and people with disabilities. For 37 years a loophole that puts home health care workers in the same “companion” category as babysitters has prevented those workers from receiving these key labor rights

Republican lawmakers and business groups criticized the proposed rules, which might be modified after a 60-day public comment period. Industry officials said the proposals would push up costs and might cause home care agencies to reduce the hours of aides who work more than 40 hours a week and instead hire more aides.

more

http://thinkprogress...th-care-workers

[unionbustersandtrollsout]

Alright, Obama steped up and made three recess appointments to the NLRB. Time to research who these people are.....

http://www.usw.org/m...isories?id=0478