Update: Judge tosses Big Labor Suit Against SC Governor in Boeing-related case

On August 10, 2011, By NRTW Committee Staff

Big Labor lawsuit against SC Nikki Haley rejected by U.S. Court

Big Labor was upset, among other statements, that Governor Haley said, ““There’s no secret I don’t like the unions. … I will do everything I can to defend the fact that we are a right-to-work state. … We are pro-business by nature. I want us to continue to be pro-business.”

But, the court rejected the International Association of Machinist’s and South Carolina AFL-CIO’s complaint.

From BNA:

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) and the director of the state’s Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (LLR) did not violate the constitutional and federal labor law rights of a union attempting to organize workers at Boeing Co.’s plant in North Charleston, S.C., by making various anti-union statements, a federal judge in the state ruled Aug. 8 (International Ass’n of Machinists v. Haley, D.S.C., No. 2:11-cv-00153, 8/8/11).

Judge C. Weston Houck of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina dismissed the Civil Rights Act of 1871 (42 U.S.C. § 1983) claims brought against Haley and LLR Director Catherine Templeton by the International Association of Machinists and the South Carolina AFL-CIO. The two officials’ statements amounted to nonspecific political rhetoric that would not reasonably deter workers or union organizers of ordinary firmness from exercising their First Amendment rights to engage in pro-union speech or associational activities, the court found.

 

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Posted in: Big Labor Payback, Boeing, Economic Development in RTW States, Economics, Forced-Dues for Politics, Intimidation Tactics, Legislation, NLRB, Obama Administration, Right to Work, Right To Work States, South Carolina, State RTW
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Fred Barnes “Is there anything Obama won’t do for unions?”

On June 26, 2011, By NRTW Committee Staff

 

Former murdered Mineworkers International presidential candidate “Jock” Yoblonski’s campaign manager and Weekly Standard Executive Editor Fred Barnes reminds us that Obama has created more Big Labor Boss paybacks than just the NLRB v. Boeing case.

Besides the Obama National Labor Relations Board’s assault on Boeing’s South Carolina employees and workers in Right To Work states in general, Barnes mentions the recent new regulations proposed by DOL to hamper employees getting to hear both sides of the story during union organizing campaigns.

But, the main focus of the article is the Obama Administration’s repeated attempts to overturn multiple defeats of unions to organize DELTA airlines. If you want to get more outraged at the Obama administration for its continuous assaults on free enterprise and individual employee choices, then read Barnes’ America’s Labor Party, Is there anything Obama won’t do for unions? Here are a few quotes to whet your appetite:

How far will President Obama go to advance the interests of organized labor? Awfully far. We know this not only from the effort to keep Boeing from building a plane in a right-to-work state, South Carolina, but also from the way Delta Airlines is being railroaded into recognizing unions its employees have repeatedly rejected. (more…)

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Posted in: Bailouts to Unions, Big Labor Payback, DOL, Government Grants to Unions, Intimidation Tactics, National Mediation Board (NMB), NLRB, Obama Administration, Organizing, Political Activity, Right to Work, Right To Work States, State Right To Work
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Who Likes the Secret Ballot Now?

On June 6, 2011, By NRTW Committee Staff

After trying to eliminate the secret ballot election in the workplace, Big Labor is now demanding a secret ballot election. From the Heritage Foundation:

Secret ballots protect voters from intimidation. As long as a vote remains private, no one can retaliate against individuals for voting the “wrong” way. The leadership of the union movement wants to replace secret ballot union elections with “card-check”—a system where workers would unionize by signing union cards in the presence of union organizers.

Publicly, union leaders insist that union organizers would never intimidate workers if they knew how they voted. But it turns out union bosses know full well that without secret ballots, union organizers would intimidate workers.

Two unions, the International Association of Machinists (IAM) and the Association of Flight Attendants–Communications Workers of America (AFA–CWA) are vying to represent workers at the newly merged United–Continental airlines. (more…)

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Posted in: Elections, Forced Dues, Government Grants to Unions, Intimidation Tactics, RLA
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NRTW Files FOIA Regarding NLRB Boeing Case – Seeking Info On White House & Other Political Involvement

On May 16, 2011, By NRTW Committee Staff

Below is the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s Press Release:

Worker Advocate Files FOIA Request to Disclose Political Motives Behind NLRB’s Attack on Boeing

Foundation offers free legal aid to current and prospective Boeing employees in South Carolina who would lose their jobs if IAM union bosses have their way

Washington, DC (May 16, 2011) – The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosure request with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on the heels of the agency’s recent announcement that it will prosecute airline manufacturer Boeing Corp.

If International Association of Machinists (IAM) union officials and the NLRB are successful, over 1,000 Boeing employees in South Carolina would be out of work as Boeing will be forced to relocate the aircraft assembly jobs to Washington State which lacks Right to Work protections for employees.

The NLRB’s acting general counsel, Lafe Solomon, issued the complaint against Boeing late last month at the behest of IAM union bosses.  In 2009, Boeing opened the new plant to produce 787 Dreamliner airplanes in South Carolina, largely because South Carolina is a Right to Work state that protects workers from being required to join or pay dues to a union just to get or keep a job. 

Foundation President Mark Mix submitted the FOIA inquiry on Monday.

In the request, Mix asks that the agency produce all the documentation regarding communications between NLRB officials and third parties, including communications with Obama administration officials; officials from the offices of the Governors of Washington and Oregon; and any other federal, state, or local government agency personnel regarding Boeing or the IAM union, the opening of the company’s facility in South Carolina, and about the NLRB’s complaint against Boeing itself.

“Once again the Obama Labor Board is putting union boss priorities ahead of the rights and well-being of individual employees,” said Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work.  “If the NLRB succeeds in its prosecution of Boeing and Boeing is forced to move its production at the whim of IAM union bosses, over 1,000 jobs in South Carolina would be eliminated and a troubling precedent would be set.”

“In addition, the National Right to Work Foundation has ramped up its legal program to assist all current or prospective Boeing employees who could lose their jobs as a result of the NLRB’s aggressive posture toward independent-minded workers.”

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The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses.  The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, is assisting thousands of employees in nearly 200 cases nationwide. Its web address is www.nrtw.org.
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Posted in: Economic Development in RTW States, Economic Impact of Unionization, Exclusive Representation, Forced Dues, Forced-Dues for Politics, Government Grants to Unions, Intimidation Tactics, NLRB, NRTWLDF, Political Activity, Right To Work States, South Carolina, State Right To Work, Washington
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South Carolina’s Governor Nikki Haley: Where’s Barack?

On May 6, 2011, By NRTW Committee Staff

South Carolina’s Governor Nikki Haley is not taking the attack on her state’s Right to Work law lightly. In an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal Haley challenges the President to either denounce the NLRB or explain his position. His silence is unacceptable, according to the governor:

In October 2009, Boeing, long one of the best corporations in America, made an announcement that changed the economic outlook of South Carolina forever: The company’s second line of 787 Dreamliners would be produced in North Charleston.

In choosing to manufacture in my state, Boeing was exercising its right as a free enterprise in a free nation to conduct business wherever it believed would best serve both the bottom line and the employees of its company. This is not a novel or complicated idea. It’s called capitalism.

Boeing has since poured billions of dollars into a new, state-of-the art facility in South Carolina’s picturesque Low Country along the Atlantic coast. It has created thousands of good jobs and joined the long tradition of distinguished and employee-friendly corporations that have found a home, and a partner, in the Palmetto State.

This a win-win for South Carolina, for Boeing, and for the global clients who will see Dreamliners rolling off the North Charleston line at the rate of 10 a month, starting with the first one next year. But, as is often the case, a win for people and businesses is a loss for the labor unions, which rely on coercion, bullying and undue political influence to stay afloat.

South Carolina is a right-to-work state, and we’re proud that within our borders workers cannot be required to join a labor union as a condition of employment. We don’t need unions playing middlemen between our companies and our employees. We don’t want them forcefully inserted into our promising business climate. And we will not stand for them intimidating South Carolinians.

That is apparently too much for President Obama and his union-beholden appointees at the National Labor Relations Board, who have asked the courts to intervene and force Boeing to stop production in South Carolina. The NLRB wants Boeing to produce the planes only in Washington state, where its workers must belong to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. (more…)

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Posted in: Economic Development in RTW States, Economic Impact of Unionization, Economics, Forced-Dues for Politics, Government Grants to Unions, Intimidation Tactics, NLRB, Right to Work, Right To Work States, South Carolina, Washington
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South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley Wants Obama’s NLRB to Part of Presidential Election

On April 29, 2011, By NRTW Committee Staff

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) war on states’ rights will not go unchallenged; from the Associated Press:

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said Wednesday she wants Republican presidential hopefuls, who will be debating in her state shortly, to address how they would deal with unions and a complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board.

The first presidential primary debate is scheduled next week in Greenville. The state Republican Party expects at least four participants: former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.

Haley said candidates should give their opinion on the labor board’s lawsuit against Boeing Co., which is building a $750 million aircraft assembly plant in North Charleston, expected to open this summer.

The lawsuit filed last week accuses Boeing of choosing the right-to-work state in 2009 to retaliate against union workers in Washington state who went on strike in 2008. Most 787s are being assembled in Washington state by members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The labor board requests a court order forcing the aerospace company to build the line in the Pacific Northwest.

Haley, who faces a lawsuit from the machinists union for saying South Carolina would try to keep unions out of Boeing, has said she will not stand for the federal board bullying South Carolina businesses.

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Posted in: Big Labor Payback, Economic Development in RTW States, Economics, Forced-Dues for Politics, Government Grants to Unions, Intimidation Tactics, Obama Administration, Personnel Alert, South Carolina
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