Obama SOL Nomination in Peril

Pro-forced unionism Labor Secretary Hilda Solis defends Obama’s Solicitor of Labor nominee M. Patricia Smith from Sen. Mike Enzi (WY-R) who declared that she was unfit to lead the Labor Department’s legal team.  Enzi and his staff review of Smith’s statements verses the New York record revealed a several cozy relationships with Big Labor that encroached on the freedoms of workers. Sen. Enzi’s labor committee Deputy Communications Director Michael Mahaffey outlined Smith’s inconsistencies: “First, Ms. Smith stated that the Wage and Hour Watch program was developed internally and only then did the New York Department of Labor approach outside groups. However, two of the pilot groups, the Retail Warehouse and Department Store Union (RWDSU) along with Make the Road New York, a public interest entity financed in part by unions, were heavily involved in developing all aspects of the program. They, along with another public interest group, participated in: a) deciding participant eligibility, b) drafting program documents, c) creating training materials and conducting training, d) developing press strategies, etc. The approximately 3000 pages of documents provided by New York in fact show little internal government development of the program. “Second, Ms. Smith characterized Wage and Hour Watch as an educational program. It does not appear, however, that Ms. Smith's subordinates, including the Wage and Hour Administrator nominee, Ms. Lorelie Boylan, or the union organizers and public interest groups who helped design the program concurred. For example, documents describe the program as an “enforcers” program, and email as well as a training document describe participants as community enforcers. There appears no question that those who created the program considered it enforcement.