Obama's NLRB Tries to Shut Down Boeing SC Plant to Placate Unions

In March of 2010, Obama made 2 recess appointments to the NLRB. One, Craig Becker, had been effectively blocked by the heavily Democrat Senate when debate failed cloture by a vote of 52 to 33.

Bloomberg News reported the recess appointment this way:

The appointment of Craig Becker, a union lawyer who will now serve on the National Labor Relations Board, drew immediate criticism. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued a statement denouncing the appointment of Becker, who has represented the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union, while Congress is away.

“The business community should be on red alert for radical changes that could significantly impair the ability of America’s job creators to compete,” said the Chamber’s labor vice president Randel Johnson in yesterday’s statement.

Rulings such as this one against Boeing should be no surprise since Obama has loaded the board with far left union activists.

Excerpt from Business Week article: South Carolina political leaders used words such as "frivolous," "shameful" and "ludicrous" Thursday to describe a National Labor Relations Board complaint against Boeing Co., which is building a $750 million aircraft assembly plant in the state.

"We absolutely will not allow them to bully our businesses or mess with our employees. As governor, I absolutely will not stand for it," vowed Republican Gov. Nikki Haley at a news conference a short distance from where Boeing is building a second assembly line for its new 787 jetliners.

The complaint filed Wednesday alleges Boeing decided to build the plant in South Carolina, a right-to-work state, because it was concerned about strikes by union workers in the state of Washington.

U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said the agency's request for a court order forcing the aerospace company to build the line in the Pacific Northwest shouldn't be taken seriously.

"Boeing came here because it was a darn good deal for Boeing and a great deal for South Carolina," the S.C. Republican said. "Boeing is going to stay here. They are going nowhere, just like this complaint, eventually, will go nowhere."

Graham said he will work with other lawmakers to make sure Congress knows about what he called "this outrageous decision by the NLRB -- unelected bureaucrats that have put in motion a precedent that will destroy American businesses."

He said the complaint is, in effect, a proposal to give unions a veto over decisions by businesses to come to right-to-work states.

out and they are filing a complaint that is frivolous at best and irresponsible at worst," he said.

"This is a shameful act. It is outrageous and extraordinarily wasteful," added Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., the only Democrat at the news conference. "Huge sums of money will be spent on this litigation and Boeing will prevail, without any question."

He said no one in Washington lost a job because of the Boeing decision and, in fact, jobs were added in the Northwest.

"I will apologize to the employees of Boeing that you have to go through this because this is ludicrous," said North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey. "When our own federal government stands in the way of economic growth and development in this country, it's ludicrous."

Read full BusinessWeek article here.