Obama pushing new regulations to allow unions to bully workers before "ambush elections"

[SheriffJoe]

Obama admin pushing new regulations to allow unions to bully workers before union ‘ambush elections’

Posted on Apr 21, 2014 at 10:53 AM in Politics | 7 Comments

This new rule change will force companies to hand over the phone numbers and home addresses of workers to union bosses, which will obviously be used to bully workers into voting to unionize:

DAILY CALLER – The Obama administration is poised to change regulations to allow for union “ambush elections” in which workers have less time to decide whether or not to join a union — and in which workers’ phone numbers and home addresses are provided to unions.

The administration’s National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) proposed rules would allow for union elections — in which workers at a company vote whether or not to unionize — to be held 10 days after a petition is filed. And what, exactly, would be happening to the unions during those 10 days? The new rules require employers to disclose workers’ personal information, including phone numbers, home addresses, and information about when they work their shifts.

Insiders close to the situation believe the new rules will almost certainly go into effect with few or no fundamental changes.

“The members of the Board went through two days of grueling hearings that went into the evening. They asked plenty of probing questions. But I wonder if any minds were changed at all,” Workforce Fairness Institute spokesman Fred Wszolek, who recently testified at an NLRB hearing in opposition to the rule, told The Daily Caller.

“Certainly some parts of the proposed rule will be changed at the margin. But it seems very likely that going forward, union organizing elections will happen much more quickly and more private contact information of employees will be turned over to the unions,” Wszolek said.
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[Dave007inVegas]

If the workers are prone to being intimidated than it’s a plus for unions.

Otherwise I see it as desperate move.

Does this have to go through Congress or can Congress be bypassed with executive order?

 

[russ1945]

It is all part of the agenda, socialism at it worst. The article mentions the NLRB so it looks like the administration is looking to bypass Congress (what's new). Executive order?, be ready there will tons of those coming down as Obama runs out of time.

 

[Coldweather]

This not be good for America or the people!

:think2:

 

[Coldweather]

This not be good for America or the people!

hno:

 

[Willie99]

whatever the least prepared man in the room does, it's fucked up

just a stupid man

 

[russ1945]

[h=2]Union Hammers Obama for ‘Gutless’ Keystone XL Delay[/h]‘The administration is making a political calculation instead of doing what is right for the country’





Large sections of Keystone Pipeline in Texas / AP

BY: Lachlan Markay
April 21, 2014 12:05 pm
A top labor union blasted the Obama administration on Friday over what it described as a nakedly political decision to once again delay a decision on the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Terry O’Sullivan, general president of the Laborers International Union of America (LIUNA), called the move “gutless” and a “low blow to the working men and women of our country.”
The State Department announced on Friday that it would push back its decision on the pipeline until after the midterm elections in November.
The delay was widely seen as an effort to appease high-dollar environmentalist donors, who have made Keystone their cause célèbre and threatened to battle even Democrats who support the project.
The administration denies that the decision was political, insisting that uncertainty created by litigation over the pipeline route in Nebraska required further study by regulators overseeing the project.
O’Sullivan rejected the explanation.
“The administration is delaying a finding on whether the pipeline is in the national interest based on months-old litigation in Nebraska regarding a state level challenge to a state process—and which has nothing to with the national interest,” he said in a Friday statement.
O’Sullivan’s union represents many workers who would be employed in the construction phases of the project.
“It’s not the oil that’s dirty, it’s the politics,” he wrote.
“Once again, the administration is making a political calculation instead of doing what is right for the country. This certainly is no example of profiles in courage. It’s clear the administration needs to grow a set of antlers, or perhaps take a lesson from Popeye and eat some spinach.”
O’Sullivan’s statement indicates a growing divide between labor unions and the Democratic Party’s environmentalist supporters (and donors) that could spell trouble for the party in the midterms, even with a steady flow of Tom Steyer cash.
Republicans have seized on the most recent Keystone delay to claim that Senate Democrats who support the project—who number at least 11—are ineffective legislators, even when it comes to very important issues in their states.
Sen. Mary Landrieu (D., La.) has been one of her party’s most outspoken proponents of the pipeline, which would carry crude oil from Canada to refineries in her home state. She called Obama’s delay last week “irresponsible, unnecessary, and unacceptable.”
Speaking out against the decision could play well in Louisiana, but Republicans say the decision speaks to her effectiveness in Washington, which she has touted as an asset for the state and its oil-intensive economy.
“Landrieu has been telling anyone who will listen how influential she is after being named Chairman of the Energy Committee, but it turns out that Landrieu isn’t influential at all,” said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Brad Dayspring in a Monday statement.
LIUNA’s fury at the administration could also spell trouble for Democrats. The union has already threatened to direct its political “fury” toward any Democrat who actively opposes the pipeline.
The nascent alliance between unions and Republican lawmakers makes for some rare political common ground.
“These are the same people who oppose health care reform; oppose raising the minimum wage; and oppose protecting the rights of working people to organize,” Steyer said of Keystone supporters.
The Keystone pipeline is one of several energy policy issues that does not fit neatly into traditional partisan divides.
Unions are joining with Republicans, business groups, and free market organizations to back policies that would stimulate U.S. energy production in the face of staunch environmentalist opposition.
LIUNA is also a strong supporter of innovative oil and gas extraction techniques such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling that are helping to produce record amounts of oil in blue collar areas of the country that have struggled economically in recent decades.
“The shale became a lifesaver and a lifeline for a lot of working families,” Dennis Martire, LIUNA’s mid-Atlantic regional manager, told the Associated Press.
Pipeline projects in Pennsylvania and West Virginia that carry oil from the Marcellus shale formation are large sources of work for LIUNA members in the area, Martire said. Members of the union worked 5.7 million hours on those projects in 2012, up from 400,000 hours in 2008, the AP reported.
“It has created more work for our business. There’s jobs here for the first time in many, many years. Legitimate, good-paying jobs,” one Pittsburgh-area contractor said of the fracking-induced oil boom, according to the AP.
This entry was posted in Issues and tagged Keystone, Tom Steyer, Unions. Bookmark the permalink.

 

[russ1945]

[h=2]UAW Gives Up in Tennessee[/h]Union ends appeal to overturn February defeat





Workers assemble Volkswagen Passat sedans at the VW plant in Chattanooga, Tenn. / AP

BY: Bill McMorris
April 21, 2014 11:55 am
The United Auto Workers union (UAW) ended its appeal to overturn a February union election on Monday morning, just before a National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) hearing on the issue was scheduled to begin.
The union suffered a decisive defeat in its effort to unionize a Chattanooga, Tenn., Volkswagen plant, despite cooperation from the company. UAW officials immediately challenged the 712-626 vote against unionization, claiming that the results were tainted by anti-union politicians and outside groups that gathered support from local workers.
“The UAW is ready to put February’s tainted election in the rearview mirror and instead focus on advocating for new jobs and economic investment in Chattanooga,” UAW president Bob King said in a statement. “The UAW’s objections informed the public about the unprecedented interference by anti-labor politicians and third parties who want to prevent workers from exercising their democratic right to choose union representation.”
While the union has contended that it was treated unfairly by outside groups, it enjoyed considerable support from VW itself. VW allowed union organizers to set up shop on factory grounds and organizers were granted access to the plant in the weeks leading up to the election. A VW board member also threatened to withdraw funding from the Tennessee plant unless it formed a European-style Works Council under the leadership of the UAW.
VW rejected a petition from employees to allow union opponents to present their case in the weeks leading up to the election. The company later aided in the UAW’s appeal by objecting to giving workers opposed to unionization the opportunity to defend the election results to the NLRB.
The National Right to Work Foundation, which represented several workers challenging the union, celebrated the UAW’s decision to withdraw from the case.
“The UAW did everything they could to silence opposition, first in the election itself and then again to keep workers from defending their vote in the NLRB objection process. Once they realized both sides of the case would be presented at the hearing they withdrew rather than have their allegations disproved,” foundation spokesman Patrick Semmens said. “This is a big win for the workers of Volkswagen.”
The Tennessee battle was a key component to the UAW’s attempt to reverse its decline. The VW plant would have given the union a foothold in southern right-to-work states where car companies have been expanding to avoid the costs of unionization. Some labor watchdogs said that the UAW pulled out of the case in order to avoid another loss that could further deter future workers from joining the union.
“The UAW made a calculation to cut their losses and not risk another vote. If a new election was ordered, the union might feel like the dog who caught the car. Another election loss would be the final blow to the flagging UAW southern strategy,” said Center for Union Facts president Rick Berman. “Employees aren’t buying what unions are selling.”
This entry was posted in Issues and tagged UAW, Unions. Bookmark the permalink.

 

[SheriffJoe]

It is all part of the agenda, socialism at it worst. The article mentions the NLRB so it looks like the administration is looking to bypass Congress (what's new). Executive order?, be ready there will tons of those coming down as Obama runs out of time.

Yep, same radical board (hand picked by Obama, 2 recessed appointments) that unionised college athletes.

Just what the economy needs - more union goonery.

This is why Republicans block these radical nominations, and then the left accuses them of not being "bipartisan"

:neenee:

 

[Dave007inVegas]

Yep, same radical board (hand picked by Obama, 2 recessed appointments) that unionised college athletes.

Just what the economy needs - more union goonery.

This is why Republicans block these radical nominations, and then the left accuses them of not being "bipartisan"

:neenee:

Isn’t that the reason why conservatives elected them?

 

[GasMan]

You guys are just stupid birther loons. Obama has our best interests in mind.

 

[SheriffJoe]

Isn’t that the reason why conservatives elected them?

This is why you hold your nose and vote for the RINO no matter who the GOP nominates. I don't like it, but it's reality.

You're not just voting for the candidate (warts and all) you're voting for the 3,000 or so positions they are going fill. Not to mention, JUDGES.

I know this is going to come as a shock, but the people Obama has infiltrated the government with to do his dirty work behind the scenes are as radical as it gets (the last two NLRB rulings are perfect examples), hence the record number of "blocked" judges and positions. Even members of his own party can't bring themselves to rubber stamp some of these commie loons.