OBAMA NLRB silences SC Boeing employees’ voices; Gen. Counsel: employees no ‘direct interest’ in saving own jobs
From the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation:
Obama NLRB to South Carolina Boeing Employees: “You Have No Stake in Your Jobs”
National Right to Work Foundation attorneys continue to help workers save their jobs from union boss power grab
Washington, DC (June 9, 2011) – A National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Administrative Law Judge in San Francisco denied three Charleston-area Boeing employees’ request to intervene in the NLRB’s high-profile case against Boeing Corporation (NYSE: BA). The judge also denied the employees’ request to file an amicus curiae brief in the case.
With free legal assistance from the National Right to Work Foundation, the group of North Charleston Boeing employees whose jobs are in jeopardy sought to have their say in the NLRB’s unprecedented case targeting Boeing for locating production in South Carolina in part due to its popular Right to Work law.
The NLRB’s complaint, if successful, would eliminate over 1,000 existing jobs in South Carolina, not to mention several thousand more jobs that would be created once the Boeing plant reaches full production capacity. Further, the case could set a dangerous precedent that gives union officials a new tool to dictate where job providers locate their facilities.
Mark Mix, President of National Right to Work, issued the following statement in the wake of the judge’s ruling:
“It is unbelievable that the judge bought the General Counsel’s argument that the employees do not have a ‘legitimate direct interest’ in saving their jobs. This is yet another example of a misguided federal labor policy that favors Big Labor and Big Business despite the flowery language about employee rights.
“The Obama NLRB has no concern for the little guy or America’s working families. They are simply and directly focused on expanding the forced unionism power of the union boss elite.
“The NLRB is poised to set a dangerous precedent that would allow union bosses to dictate to job providers where to locate their jobs, of course, with the aim of avoiding states with Right to Work protections for their workers at all costs and forcing more workers into union-dues-paying ranks.
“Foundation staff attorneys plan to appeal this ruling immediately and continue to explore other legal measures to help these Boeing employees save their jobs and to prevent the devastating effects the NLRB’s actions will have on the Charleston community and the American free enterprise system.”
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.