Obomination: Obama’s NLRB Goes Rogue

This Wednesday, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa wrote a letter to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) declaring that the Board’s noncompliance with a subpoena is “a violation of law and a direct act of obstruction” of the Committee’s oversight.  Issa also stated, “This refusal by NLRB to abide by the law further heightens concerns that this is a rogue agency acting improperly.”  (South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley echoed those remarks by also calling the NLRB a “rogue agency” when she appeared on Fox & Friends this week.)

The NLRB came under investigation by the Committee because its acting general counsel issued a complaint seeking that Boeing operate a plant in the unionized state of Washington instead of South Carolina, a right-to-work state. 

On May 12, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee requested all NLRB documents and internal communications relating to Boeing and the International Association of Machinists.   On August 7, a subpoena was issued.    The following Friday, NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon sent a letter to Issa stating that he would not fully comply with the subpoena. 

What has Obama had to say about the actions of the NLRB?  After all, Obama appointed Lafe Solomon who signed the complaint against Boeing and now refuses to comply with the subpoena.  The Wall Street Journal has described the president’s position as “alternat[ing] between silent and incomprehensible.”  For weeks Obama said nothing.  Then, he said that “companies need to have the freedom to relocate.”  Next he backed away from that comment by saying, “It’s an independent agency. It’s going before a judge. So I don’t want to get into the details of the case. I don’t know all the facts.”

On May 4, 19 Senators issued a letter urging President Obama to immediately withdraw Lafe Solomon’s nomination to the NLRB.  The Senators wrote, “The NLRB, at the behest of Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon, has taken unprecedented legal action against The Boeing Company to prevent it from expanding productions into South Carolina.”  They added, “members of the Senate have not been able to vet” Lafe Solomon because “he has not appeared for a Senate confirmation hearing, nor has he been subjected to a full Senate confirmation vote.”  The letter also requested the withdrawal of Craig Becker, Obama’s NLRB recess appointee who had drawn the opposition of every single Republican Senator for his disturbing views on labor law.

Although Obama has made half-hearted attempts to court business interests, he ultimately wants to keep big labor unions happy with Lafe Solomon and Craig Becker at the NLRB.  To appear impartial however, Obama has let others on the left take the offensive on Issa and the Committee.  Representatives Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), George Miller (D-Calif.) and John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) sent a letter requesting that Issa withdraw his subpoena.  The following Monday, the New York Times wrote an error-ridden story criticizing Issa.

While the left has begun to attack Issa, the real question is what is the NLRB trying to hide?