Today President Obama appointed three new members to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and in doing so took a strong stand for workers around the country.
By filling the vacancies on the NLRB, President Obama's appointments bypass the predictable Republican filibusters and other obstructionist measures GOP lawmakers frequently employ. There is no doubt that if given the shot, the GOP would have done away with the Board entirely, which would have been the very last thing working families need right now.
Some Background
The Board needs a three-member quorum to make decisions and issue regulations. Had the President not made this important decision, the Board would have been powerless to protect workers' rights.
As though working people in this day and age need yet another kick in the face, the Republican politicians on the Hill have tirelessly pursued ways to block NLRB appointments because either they don't believe workers' rights are important, or ... because they need to use working people as pawns to move around in their seemingly endless game of charades.
For example, in June of 2011 the Board issued a proposed rule change for how unions elections are conducted. It was a commonsense proposal and eventually was held up in the voting process, not so ironically, in the same gray matter many NLRB union elections end up in for years on end.
Later in the year the Board finalized another rule requiring certain employers to hang a poster that explains a worker's rights to organize on the job. The fierce opposition to hanging this poster was in part hysterical, in part pathetic. The disrespect working people are served from the Republican Party on a day-to-day basis can only go so far. Today President Obama took a stand and drew that much needed line in the sand.
