Research Briefing

Recess Appointment Of Becker Payback From Obama To His Union Paymasters, With More Job-Killing Bailouts To Come

Today, “President Obama Announced His Intent To Recess Appoint Fifteen Nominees … [Including] Craig Becker: Nominee For Board Member, National Labor Relations Board …” (Office Of The Press Secretary, “President Obama Announces Recess Appointments to Key Administration Positions,” The White House, 3/27/10)

UNION BOSSES RUNNING OUT OF MONEY, EAGER FOR PAYBACK FROM WHITE HOUSE …

Labor Organizations Like SEIU Running Out Of Money To Meet Union Members’ Pension Claims. “The average union pension has resources to cover only 62 percent of what is owed to participants, according to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. Pensions with less than 80 percent of the assets needed to cover present and projected liabilities are considered ‘endangered,’ while those that fall below a 65 percent threshold are classified as ‘critical’ under the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Michelle Ringuette, a spokeswoman for the SEIU, acknowledged that pension funds for her union and for others were facing difficulties …” (Kevin Mooney, “Unions Want Washington’s Help With Pension Funds,” The Washington Times, 3/25/10)

Vice President Biden To Union Bosses: “[W]e Owe You.” (Michael O’Brien, “Biden To Labor Group: We Owe You,” The Hill, 5/12/09)

• SEIU’s Andy Stern: “We Spent A Fortune To Elect Barack Obama — $60.7 Million To Be Exact — And We’re Proud Of It.” (Michael Mishak, “Unplugged: The SEIU Chief On The Labor Movement And The Card Check,” The Las Vegas Sun, 5/10/09)
• “Gerald Mcentee, President Of The Influential American Federation Of State, County And Municipal Employees, Told The Washington Times In An Interview That EFCA Was ‘Payback’ For The Labor Movement’s Massive Campaign Effort For Mr. Obama And The Democrats.” (David R. Sands, “Labor’s ‘Priority’ On Back Burner,” The Washington Times, 12/29/08)
• During The 2008 Cycle, Labor Contributed At Least $526,597 To Obama. (Center For Responsive Politics Website, www.opensecrets.org, Accessed 1/14/10)
• Several Unions Joined “Health Care For America Now,” A Group That Pushed Obama’s Government-Run Health Care Bill. (Health Care For America NOW! Website, http://healthcareforamericanow.org/, Accessed 7/10/09)

SO OBAMA BAILED UNION BOSSES OUT TODAY BY PLACING “CARD CHECK CRAIG” ON NLRB THROUGH PROCESS HE CALLED “THE WRONG THING TO DO"

Obama Used Recess Appointment To Place Union Boss Lawyer Craig Becker On The National Labor Relations Board, Even Though Senate Rejected Him Last Month. “Mr. Becker says he ‘worked with and provided advice’ to SEIU Local 880 in Chicago … one of two SEIU locals currently in the national spotlight for its deep ties with Acorn … Acorn co-founder Wade Rathke praised Mr. Becker by name … ‘For my money, Craig’s signal contribution has been his work in crafting and executing the legal strategies and protections which have allowed the effective organization of informal workers ...” (Editorial, “Acorn’s Ally At The NLRB,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/15/09; Cloture Motion On Craig Becker, Of Illinois, To Be A Member Of The National Labor Relations Board, Senate Roll Call Vote #22, Rejected 52-33, D 50-2, R 0-33, 2/9/10)

• Even Though, In 2005, Obama Called Recess Appointment “Wrong Thing To Do.” “It’s the wrong thing to do. John Bolton is the wrong person for the job,” said Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., a member of Foreign Relations Committee. “The president is entitled to take that action, but I don’t think it will serve American foreign policy well.” (Jennifer Loven, “Officials: White House To Bypass Congress For Bolton Nomination,” The Associated Press, 7/30/05)

Becker’s Wants Card Check Legislation “Realized Through The Rule-Making Power Of The NLRB,” Potentially Killing 1.5 Million Jobs Per Year. “[F]or every 3 percentage points gained in union membership through card checks and mandatory arbitration, the following year’s unemployment rate is predicted to increase by 1 percentage point and job creation is predicted to fall by around 1.5 million jobs.”  (Dmitri Iglitzin and Steven Hill, “Obama’s Pro-Union Nominations to Labor Relations Board Stalled,” The Huffington Post, 01/25/10; Anne Layne-Farrar, “An Empirical Assessment of the Employee Free Choice Act,” SSRN.com, 3/4/09)

• And “Envisions” Card Check As A Way “To Increase Government Funding” To Unions. “We can envision a meeting of employers and unions in the industry in which they agree that they should act cooperatively to increase government funding and to avoid the waste of scarce resources on bitter election campaigns by permitting employees to decide whether to be represented by a union through a card check, knowing exactly what it will mean if they do, and without employer opposition. We can envision a no-strike guarantee that goes into effect immediately upon the majority choosing to be represented when the terms of the pre-negotiated, but conditional contract becomes effective …” (Jonathan Hiatt & Craig Becker, “At Age 70, Should The Wagner Act Be Retired? A Response To Professor Dannin,” Berkley Journal of Employment & Labor Law, 2005)

Becker Helped Draft President Obama’s Pro-Labor Executive Orders In 2009. “Mr. Becker also won’t give a clear answer about his role in preparing several pro-labor executive orders issued by President Obama shortly after inauguration … When asked by Sen. Hatch if he was ‘involved or responsible in any way’ for these executive orders, Mr. Becker responded: … ‘As a member of the Presidential Transition Team, I was asked to provide advice and information concerning a possible executive order of the sort described. I was involved in researching, analyzing, preliminary drafting, and consulting with other members of the Transition team.’”  (Editorial, “Acorn’s Ally At The NLRB,” The Wall Street Journal, 10/15/09)

• Including Executive Order That Forces Federal Contractors To Bargain With Unions Used By Previous Contractors. “It is the policy of the Federal Government that service contracts … shall include a clause that requires the contractor … under a contract that succeeds a contract for performance of the same or similar services at the same location, to offer those employees … employed under the predecessor contract whose employment will be terminated as a result of the award of the successor contract, a right of first refusal of employment under the contract in positions for which they are qualified.” (President Barack Obama, Executive Order – Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers Under Service Contracts, The White House, 01/30/09)

BUT THE BAILOUTS FOR OBAMA’S UNION PAYMASTERS WON’T END THERE, WILL COME ON THE BACKS OF AMERICAN WORKERS AND JOB CREATORS

“Nonunion Workers And Private Companies Could Be Forced Into Absorbing The Financial Liabilities Of Underfunded Union Pension Plans, Thanks To Pending Health Care Mandates And An Executive Order That Could Be Finalized This Year …” (Kevin Mooney, “Unions Want Washington’s Help With Pension Funds,” The Washington Times, 3/25/10)

After Pushing For Obama’s Government-Run Health Care Bill, Union Bosses Want To Use Legislation To “Expand The Health Care Centers Available For Unionization.” “The SEIU, which has many of its members employed in health care, has been out front and center in pushing for the legislative changes to the nation’s health care system that won congressional approval over the weekend and was signed by President Obama on Tuesday. “The idea here is to expand the health care centers available for unionization, and the SEIU already represents many of these providers,” Ms. Furchtgott-Roth said. Employees with Kaiser Permanente, the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York, Tenet Healthcare Corp. and Dominion Hope are all represented by the SEIU and could see their ranks swell as more of the uninsured gain coverage.” (Kevin Mooney, “Unions Want Washington’s Help With Pension Funds,” The Washington Times, 3/25/10)

Obama Drafting Executive Order That Would Bend The Rules In Favor Of Unions Unfairly Receiving Millions Of Taxpayer Dollars Through Federal Contracts. “Next up after health care could be final approval of an executive order that calls for multi-employer, multi-union PLAs to be used when federal construction projects exceed $25 million. PLAs stipulate that projects be awarded to contractors and subcontractors who agree to recognize unions as representing their employees during that particular job … PLAs typically require contractors to participate in multi-employer union pension plans. This arrangement puts nonunion contractors at a financial disadvantage because they must pay for the union plan and for their existing company plan, the Associated Builders and Contractors points out in its analysis of the Obama order.” (Kevin Mooney, “Unions Want Washington’s Help With Pension Funds,” The Washington Times, 3/25/10)

• An Executive Order That Would Disadvantage Job Creators By Forcing Them To “Cover Costs For Underfunded Union Pensions.” Another disadvantage to private companies concerns the “withdrawal liabilities” they may be forced to cover as pensions erode, John R. McGowan, an accounting professor with St. Louis University, has warned in a study that examines the impact of PLAs. Employers that are tied in with collectively bargained agreements are obligated to cover costs for underfunded union pensions when other contractors drop out, according to the study.” (Kevin Mooney, “Unions Want Washington’s Help With Pension Funds,” The Washington Times, 3/25/10)
• And Kill Small Businesses’ Ability to Create Jobs By Essentially “Putting The Davis-Bacon Act On Steroids.” “But not so good for job creation ... Smaller businesses will find it harder to win government work.  Even if they put in better bids, many can’t match the benefits offered by big companies, or always meet the government’s plans to impose a new ‘livable wage’ standard for employees of its contract firms.  This is like putting the Davis-Bacon Act on steroids.  That’s the 1931 legislation that continues to distort federal spending by establishing ‘a prevailing wage’ standard for public works projects, which in practice means the top local union wage.” (Editorial, “Procuring The Union Agenda,” The Wall Street Journal, 3/9/10)

Obama’s Former TSA Nominee Supported Unionizing Airport Screeners. “President Obama’s second nominee to head the Transportation Security Administration confirmed Wednesday that he would support unionization of the nation’s 40,000 airport screeners.  Treading lightly on a topic that helped to derail the president’s first nominee, Robert Harding acknowledged under questioning that the Obama administration wants the work force to have collective bargaining rights and said his job as TSA administrator would be to implement the change in a way that does not hurt security.” (Mike Ahlers, “TSA Nominee Says He’d Allow Screeners To Unionize,” CNN, 3/24/10)