Obama’s Controversial NLRB ‘Recess’ Appointments Challenged in Federal Appeals Court

Worker advocate argues Labor Board does not have legitimate quorum to hear pending cases since Congress was not in actual recess

Washington, DC (April 26, 2012) – National Right to Work Foundation attorneys filed two appeals with the U.S. Appeals Court for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago to challenge President Barack Obama’s recent purported recess appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The appeals stem from two cases, Richards, Yost, & Echegaray v. Steelworkers and Lugo v. International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, in which union bosses illegally forced workers to annually renew their objections to paying full union dues. Such schemes, designed to force workers into full-dues-paying union membership, are a clear violation of federal law and the NLRB found that to be the case here.

However, the NLRB – filled with President Barack Obama’s legally-suspect appointments – only applied their ruling to the workers involved in the cases and not retroactively to all workers who have objected in the past to paying full union dues to the respective unions.

As Foundation attorneys appeal to have the Board rulings applied retroactively, Foundation attorneys will again challenge Obama’s move to install three members to the NLRB as “recess appointees” in January despite the fact that the U.S. Senate was not in recess.

Read the entire release here.

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, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.