President Ignores Constitution, Decades of Precedent to Advance Special Interest Union Agenda
WASHINGTON, D.C. // JANUARY 4, 2012 // Today, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace lambasted the recess appointments of three Members to the National Labor Relations Board, saying the President violated the intent of the Constitutional separation of powers to avoid working with the Senate to clean up the destruction wrought by his previous recess appointee, Craig Becker.
Today’s announcement of the appointments of Terence Flynn, Sharon Block and Richard Griffin comes despite a specific written request of 47 Senators in December. The move, which installs Block and Griffin, whose names were only submitted recently, means the President has abdicated his responsibility for working with the Senate to arrive at a package of nominees that can responsibly put the NLRB back to work and clean up Becker’s galling record of anti-employer, anti-employee, pro-union bias.
CDW chairman Geoffrey Burr said, “The administration has flouted the will of elected officials by bypassing the Senate and contravening the intent of the Constitution. This provocation threatens the basic system of checks and balances instituted by America’s Founding Fathers by undermining the Senate’s right to confirm persons for key public service roles.
“The President is refusing to work with Congress to run the country responsibly. In fact, he’s attempting to rewrite the Constitution and its established interpretations regarding recess appointments, all in the name of stacking the Board with Members who are more likely to do the bidding of Big Labor than focus on policies that protect workers, encourage economic growth, and increase employment.”
Burr concluded, “We urge the President to consult with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who blocked recess appointments for the final two years of the George W. Bush administration over concerns about the practice.”
Today, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace sent a letter to Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Reps. John Kline (R-MN), Phil Roe (R-TN), and Phil Gingrey (R-GA) commending them on the introduction legislation to demonstrate Congress’s disapproval of the National Labor Relations Board’s unfair ambush election rule.
In addition to laying out three “fatal flaws” with the Board’s rule, CDW relies on the position of former Senator and President John F. Kennedy, who emphasized that employees need at least 30 days to decide how to vote in NLRB elections.
Today, the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), which represents over 600 employers, associations and other organizations operating in every Congressional District, thanked the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and Chairman Darrell Issa for holding a hearing on four unlawful appointments by the Obama administration.
In response to Mr. Obama’s continuing assault on workers’ rights, on Thursday, Education and Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline, Minnesota Republican, and I [Rep. Phil Gingrey] introduced a joint resolution of disapproval pursuant to the Congressional Review Act (CRA) on the NLRB’s ambush election rule. Sen. Michael B. Enzi, Wyoming Republican, introduced the Senate companion.
The partisan clash over President Barack Obama’s NLRB recess appointments was on full display at a House hearing Tuesday: Democrats called the meeting a waste of time and Republicans called it instructive.
GOP lawmakers are still steaming over the White House decision to ignore brief pro forma Senate sessions to single-handedly name three members to the National Labor Relations Board and Richard Cordray as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Senate Republicans are weighing a plan to block most of President Barack Obama’s federal appeals court nominations starting in June or earlier in response to the recess appointments he made this month.
