His "O-ness" sings

Is it just me, or does it seem like President Obama, after shouting out to his "great friends in organized labor," disses them  singing Aretha Franklin?

Rumor has it

President Obama will make recess appointments to the NLRB. As a preemptive comment on the political fall out of this decision, we note that the President's Republican predecessor made 7 recess appointments to the NLRB.

Recess NLRB appointments

The Hill has a good post on the potential of recess appointments to the NLRB. Unless the Senate acts to confirm the three pending nominations (it wont), the NLEB will only have 2 members at the end of the year. All 47 Republican Senators have sent a letter to the President asking him to reject recess appointments. Randy Johnson, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s senior vice president of labor, immigration and employee benefits notes, "I doubt the president would go forward because it would poison the well in the Senate.”

On jobs

"I reject the idea we have to strip away collective bargaining rights to compete in a global economy."

                                                                                          President Obama  9/8/11

Red meat for organized labor, but a little short on specifics.

YIKES!

James Hoffa, President of the Teamsters had some fighting words for the Right when he warmed up a labor crowd for President Obama in Michigan. There is a bit of a misquote involved.

Lame Duck vote on Paycheck Fairness Act

A cloture vote on the Paycheck Fairness Act, S. 3772 is scheduled for tomorrow. The Paycheck Fairness Act would amend the Equal Pay Act. The EPA was designed to require equal pay for equal work, but has been judicially interpreted to permit employers to defend pay disparities provided the differential in pay is based on a factor other than sex. The PFA requires any differential to be based on “bona fide factors” such as education, training or experience. Such bona fide factors must also be consistent with “business necessity.” SInce the bill has already passed the house, Senate passage would send the bill to President Obama who favors the legislation and is expected to sign it.

Tax cuts for business

President Obama has signed into law the Small Business Jobs Act which, among other things, will allow all businesses to write-off 50 percent of the cost of depreciable property purchased and placed in service anytime during 2010.

Obama on EFCA

The Hill notes that President Obama conceded yesterday that the chances of passing EFCA are "not real high" although the legislation retains the administration's support. But passing a law is not the only path to change. The President also noted that many of the changes to the rules of union organizing sought by labor could be enacted administratively without need for congressional action.

Dead Horse beaten

Michael Whitney at Firedoglake has some decidely unkind things to say about President Obama's speech to the AFL-CIO's executive counsel. The Hill has more on the speech, but Whitney is right.

Retirement

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens ended speculation about his continuing on the Court today by formally announcing his retirement at the end of the Court's term this summer.

2010 and HCR

We've stayed away from posting about healthcare, because until now, there was little definite about anything in the package. Now there is. This political football surely will affect employers and employees for years to come. We're not sure that the final product will be nearly as unpopular as the sausage making appeared to be. For one, there are some immediate and concrete benefits to a wide range of employees. Being able to carry your college graduate, but unemployed child on a parents' plan to age 27 for one. We suspect there will be many people realizing concrete, immediate unexpected benefits from the plan. CNN's poll showing only 39% favoring the bill and 59% against, is misleading. When broken down as to why people opposed the bill only 43% opposed it because it was too liberal, and 13% said they opposed it because it was not liberal enough. Now, while substantial confusion remains concerning the substantive provisions, 52% polled either out right favored the bill or thought it did not go far enough. Remember President Obama received less than 53% of the vote in 2008. There is a very real prospect that HCR will grow in popularity as its provisions become known, and the hysterical posturing by opponents does not come to pass. Even conservatives are pessimistic about riding healthcare to electoral wins. For those of us who believe in limited government, and personal responsibility, its easy to be concerned for the future. By abdicating responsibility and demonizing reform rather than participating in it, Republicans inherit responsibility for many aspects of this bill, which could have been made better by reasonable attempts to compromise. The party of Lincoln, T. Roosevelt and Reagan has been overrun by what David Frum calls the Republican entertainment industry. Long term, the opinions of that industry, of Beck, Limbaugh, Savage, and their ilk will continue to weaken the Republican brand and diminish the broad appeal necessary to be a national party.

No union in State of the Union

President Obama made no reference to organized labor in his hour and ten minute State of the Union address, despite a major emphasis on job creation.

SCOTUS sets 2 member NLRB argument

The Supreme Court set oral argument in New Process Steel for March 23. The case involves the validity of 2 member decisions by the NLRB. If as reported by the New York Times, President Obama intends to renominate Craig Becker to the NLRB, ensuring further delay in filling the 3 Board vacancies, the case before SCOTUS may affect an increasing number of decisions that will be decided by a two member NLRB.

Political suicide

Drawing on history, one former union organizer and Obama campaign staffer claims Democrats who fail to champion workers rights are doomed to electoral failure. Claiming abandonment of EFCA is political suicide for President Obama, Mike Elk supports the claim by citing Truman's 1948 election and claiming Truman's opposition to Taft-Hartley rallied workers to support him over Dewey. The piece further claims Regan's victory over Carter and the 1994 Republican revolution were permitted as a result of sitting Democratic presidents rejecting workers' rights. I don't buy this over simplistic logic. First, union density was a whole lot higher in 1948. Second, blue collar workers were significantly more likely to vote for democrats in 1948 than in 1994, or 2010. That said, if there is no passage of significant labor legislation assisting unions in their organizing efforts, labor might take a hike on the 2010 mid-terms, and that could make 2010 a lot more like 1994.

What's next?

Got to think that the absence of any labor topics from this "What's Next" link is telling about the Administration's plans for 2010.

COBRA subsidy extended

Congress has passed an extension to the COBRA benefits subsidy from nine to 15 months. It also extended the termination date eligibility requirement to February 28, 2010. President Obama is expected to sign the extension.

Resurgent economy?

U. S. gross domestic product rose at a 3.5 percent annual rate for the third quarter (July-September). This is the strongest rate of growth since the third quarter of 2007, and the first growth since the second quarter of 2008. According to the Washington Post (free subscription required), the surge is related to one time programs like the cash for clunkers auto program and the first time home buyers incentive program, both part of the stimulus package. The Wall Street Journal Reports the White House will claim today the stimulus created or saved 650,000 jobs. The Hill reports Steelworker's union President Leo Gerard urges President Obama to seek a second stimulus focused on infrastructure. But this AP article says the stimulus job creation math is funny, yielding overestimation of jobs creation in the thousands.

What is a majority?

The Hill reports (scroll down on the link) on labor activity anticipated as President Obama's team takes charge of the government. One of the interesting changes discussed is a change in election procedures under the Railway Labor Act which governs labor relations for railroads and airlines. In representation elections eligible voters who do not vote are counted as votes against unionization. To win an election a union must get a majority of the eligible voters to affirmatively vote for it. This makes some sense because a union's majority status is  the basis for permitting it to become the representative of the entire bargaining unit including those who object to representation. The interesting thing is elections under the NLRA are determined by the majority of the actual votes cast. It is fair to say the latter method seems to be the one embraced in most political contests and private majority rule contexts. More here.

First PLA project announced

The Washington Times reports the announcement of a $35M New Hampshire federal construction project, the first under a PLA since the Clinton Administration.

PLA's fail stated goal

While campaigning last year, President Obama stated “we need to make sure the government uses project labor agreements to encourage completion of projects on time and on budget." Suffolk University economics professor David G. Tuerck penned an opinion piece in the Boston Globe which characterizes Project Labor Agreements [PLA's] as an Obama administration reward to labor. Key points: 1) PLA's have added 12 to 18 percent to school construction costs in Massachusetts and Connecticut, 2) during the PLA-free Bush administration no delays or cost overruns were reported to have occurred due to the absence of PLA's, 3) its "easy to find" delays or cost overruns on PLA projects. While this is not an apples to apples comparison it does make a point that PLA's don't assist the timely, on-budget completion of public construction projects.