Today, President Barack Obama issued two deeply disturbing executive orders as his first big payback to Big Labor.

Flanked by union bosses at a White House ceremony, Obama said “Welcome back to the White House” and announced sweeping measures which give his Secretary of Labor the power to blackball non-union contractors targeted by union organizers.

With federal outlays rising dramatically as part of attempts to “stimulate” the economy, the number of firms with federal contracts are expected to increase dramatically in the coming months. Nearly 93 percent of America’s private-sector workforce has not chosen to unionize, so union officials hope to leverage these federal funds in a full court press to corral millions more workers into forced-dues-paying union ranks.

One of the Obama executive orders hands his Secretary of Labor virtually unchecked power to blacklist those firms which union officials complain are supposedly violating federal labor laws. The Secretary of Labor is expected to leverage DOL’s new powers against companies not agreeing to grease the rails for coercive union organizing drives or companies not ceding to uneconomic or abusive union-boss demands.

This new blacklisting power has enormous implications for the expenditure of taxpayer dollars, to say nothing of individual employee rights.

The other federal executive order effectively bars contractors from sharing truthful, non-coercive information with their employees about the downsides of unionization.

Taken together, the two executive orders go well beyond actions by President Clinton to force employees of federal contractors into union collectives, and they could turn the U.S. Department of Labor into a giant, taxpayer-funded extension of the union organizing wing at AFL-CIO headquarters.

Meanwhile, Labor Secretary-designate Hilda Solis continues to stonewall important questions about freedom in the workplace.

For more about today’s executive orders, read the National Right to Work Foundation’s press release.

On Friday, Freedom@Work scooped the national media in breaking the full story about President Obama’s executive order giveaway to Big Labor. For those of you who missed it, Obama handed the Department of Labor the new power to blacklist nonunion companies targeted by union operatives.

Under the new rules, any unfair labor practice charge leveled against a contractor — perhaps during a union organizing drive — could be used to bar the contractor from competing for taxpayer-funded federal work. Hilda Solis, Obama’s pro-forced unionism pick for Secretary of Labor, is sure to use this requirement to pressure companies into handing their employees over to forced unionism

Taken alone, this blacklist rule is outrageous, but the outrage is compounded by the fact that Obama and his pro-forced unionism allies in Congress are on the verge of passing a massive, pork-filled «stimulus» bill. The 900 billion dollar package promises a dramatic, across-the-board increase in federal outlays, and thanks to President Obama’s generosity, Big Labor is perfectly positioned to leverage those funds to tap into more sources of forced union dues from the 92 percent of American workers who have not chosen to unionize.

Now that union operatives at DOL have the power to blacklist a company from federal contracting simply by lodging a few spurious (even unadjudicated) charges, it’s pretty clear union bosses are in for a massive payday when the «stimulus» bill passes.

National Review’s Byron York has a few pointed questions for Hilda Solis (emphasis added):

Solis had a rough hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee when she declined to answer all sorts of seemingly noncontroversial questions about her positions on basic labor issues. (Washington Post columnist Ruth Marcus wrote a frustrated account of the hearing, asking, "How can senators consent if they have no clue what policies they might be consenting to?") Now, some committee members want to know more about Solis’ relationship with a pro-labor group called American Rights at Work. On the group’s website, Solis is listed as a member of the board of directors, and she also served as Treasurer of the organization from 2004 to 2007. The question is whether Solis, who as a member of Congress is prohibited from lobbying Congress, fully disclosed her relationship with the group.

American Rights at Work is an important part of Big Labor’s push for the Employee Free Choice Act, known more accurately as card check.

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No one is accusing Solis of concealing her connection with the group; it was common knowledge in the labor world, and she listed it in the paperwork she submitted for her confirmation hearing. But she did not list it on the disclosure forms she was required to submit to the House of Representatives. It was an unpaid position, so there is no problem with income. But there are questions about whether Solis, as Treasurer, played a de facto role in the group’s lobbying activity; if you’re a member of Congress, you’re not supposed to simultaneously lobby Congress.

Solis may not have concealed her position at American Rights at Work (ARAW), but her dubious statements made on a Senate questionnaire and disclosure forms raise serious questions about her integrity.

ARAW is a 501(c)(4), which means that influencing legislation is the primary political activity it engages in. (On the group’s website, where Solis is still listed as a board member, appear a number of pro-Card Check television ads and an announcement of a $3 million ad buy.)

Given her fiduciary responsibilities as Treasurer of ARAW, it seems unlikely she wasn’t somehow involved with ARAW’s extensive lobbying efforts. But according to the Wall Street Journal, she responded to a written follow up question submitted by Senator Enzi by claiming "I have never participated in lobbying, or advised anyone on lobbying, either Congress or the Executive Branch on behalf of American Rights at Work."

As for ARAW itself, the organization is simply a Big Labor front group set up to promote the ugly agenda of forcing workers into union collectives. (Union bosses also set it up to "tangle" with National Right to Work and originally planned instead to name ARAW "National Rights at Work" before our trademark lawyers threatened them with a lawsuit.)

A quick search of union disclosure forms reveals ARAW received at least $411,000 for "political activities" from various union outfits in 2007 while she was treasurer of the organization. And this isn’t even counting over $700,000 in generic contributions from unions that the group received in 2007 — funds also likely to have been spent for lobbying while Solis was Treasurer.

It was bad enough when Solis flatly refused to answer a few basic questions about her stance on state Right to Work laws and coercive card check organizing, but now she appears disingenuous about her relationship with this union front group and naked promotion of forced unionism.

In a Federalist Society “SCOTUScast” (podcast) last month, Vice President and Legal Director of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation Ray LaJeunesse discussed the U.S. Supreme Court case 14 Penn Plaza LLC v. Pyett, in which the Foundation filed an amicus brief.

In 14 Penn Plaza, the Supreme Court was asked to consider the question of whether a union-negotiated collective bargaining agreement can waive an employee’s right to a judicial forum for discrimination. Oral arguments for the case were heard by the Court in December.

You can download and listen to the podcast here.  WARNING: This audio involves a highly technical legal discussion that is not suited for all audiences!

Nonmember employees forced to pay fees to Longshoreman union bosses vow appeal to state supreme court

Atlanta, GA (February 4, 2009) – National Right to Work Foundation staff attorneys announced they will appeal last week’s stunning ruling by the Court of Appeals of Georgia that despite Georgia’s longstanding and popular Right to Work law, a local union may force nonmembers to pay for the privilege to work.

Georgia is one of 22 states with Right to Work protections which ensure that no worker can be forced to join or pay dues to a union in order to get or keep a job. The state law unambiguously states that “[n]o individual shall be required as a condition of employment or continuance of employment to pay any fee, assessment, or other sum of money whatsoever to a labor organization.”

Nonetheless, the Georgia Court of Appeals, affirming a lower court ruling, held that the International Longshoreman Association Local 1414 union may legally force nonmembers to pay a referral fee to the union
on jobs obtained at a union hiring hall between June 2005 and September 2006. The controversial contract between the union and the Georgia Stevedores Association requires that all employees be hired through the union hiring hall. The union forces all nonmembers to pay referral fees as a condition of employment.

Click here to read the rest of the Foundation’s press release.

Iowa union bosses and their patsies in the state legislature are again taking aim at Iowa’s longstanding and popular Right to Work law.

Sarah Swisher, Iowa political director for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), recently told the Des Moines Register the real reason why union chiefs want to pass a repeal of Right to Work:

Unions want to be able to charge nonunion workers "reasonable" fees to help cover costs of union representation, such as when workers file grievances, Swisher said. She said the money would also be used to organize more workers, such as nurses.

"It certainly isn’t for union halls or more union staff or higher wages for union staff," she said. "It’s because we have a lot of workers in the state that need to be organized."

So there you go. Union bosses want more money so they can organize even more workers to get more money. While it is illegal for unions to charge nonmembers for any activity which union bosses cannot prove relates to collective bargaining — and courts have found organizing to be unrelated — a strong Right to Work law is the only true protection.

Here on Freedom@Work, we’ve kept a close watch on Hilda Solis, the California Congresswoman nominated by President Obama to serve as Secretary of Labor. 

We’ve told you about Solis’ secret ballot hypocrisy, her admission that she is not "qualified" to discuss Right to Work, her refusal to answer basic questions on key labor issues, and her position as treasurer (which she failed to disclose to Congress) with a Big Labor lobbying group.

Now USA Today reports that Hilda Solis is the fourth major Obama nominee to be faced with a tax scandal:

The husband of President Obama’s Labor secretary nominee paid about $6,400 Wednesday to settle tax liens that had been outstanding for as long as 16 years against his business, the Obama administration told USA TODAY this afternoon…

Personal tax problems have tripped up three of President Obama’s nominees for top administration jobs. Two nominees withdrew on Tuesday over tax issues, including Tom Daschle, Obama’s choice head the Health and Human Services Department. The other withdrawal was chief performance officer nominee Nancy Killefer, who had a $947 tax lien filed against her in Washington four years ago for not paying unemployment compensation taxes for a household employee. She paid the debt less than six months later, District of Columbia records show.

But there’s more.  According to the report, some of the tax liens resulted from "unpaid county health and safety permit fees."  And Solis has the gall to seek a position that enforces health and safety laws against workplaces across America? 

Maybe Solis’ cozy relationship with Big Labor’s high command over the years has given her the false impression shared by so many union bosses that they are above the law.  With all those special privileges such as immunity from federal prosecution for union violence and exemption from anti-monopoly laws, union bosses actually are above the law in many respects.  And with Solis running the Department of Labor, union chiefs would expect Solis — who voted with the AFL-CIO 100% of the time — to cut funding to the agency which investigates union boss corruption.

Solis’ indiscretions are even more disturbing in light of President Obama’s recent executive orders which would give the Secretary of Labor unprecedented authority to fire federal contractors who don’t grease the rails for coervice card check organizing. 

This hypocrite aspiring to be Labor Secretary is poised to receive virtually unchecked power over which contractors get to do work funded by the nearly trillion dollar "stimulus" plan.  Perhaps Hilda Solis should withdraw herself from consideration and get her own house in order.

On the heals of last week’s executive orders that began the process of turning the Department of Labor into an aggressive union organizing outfit, another Executive Order encourages federal agencies to discriminate against nonunion workers and employers by adopting so-called "Project Labor Agreements" on federal construction projects. 

Vice President of the National Right to Work Foundation Stefan Gleason issued the following statement regarding the Executive Order:

"This executive order encouraging all federal agencies to adopt discriminatory, union-only project labor agreements is a shameless giveaway to Big Labor which spent over a billion dollars to get Obama and pro-forced-unionism Democrats elected last year.

"The order ensures that union bosses will collect a huge slice of federal spending in the form of forced union dues paid by workers on federal contracts. With nearly a trillion dollar "stimulus" spending planned, this action not only raises the costs shouldered by the American taxpayers, but it also discriminates against the 92.5 percent of private sector employees who have chosen not to unionize."

Last Friday afternoon, as the Senate prepared to pass the massive, pork-filled “stimulus” bill, President Barack Obama quietly arranged to virtually ensure that every construction project funded by the federal government will result in more forced union dues revenue for Big Labor.

The new executive order signed by Obama on Friday encourages government bureaucrats to adopt discriminatory, union-only project labor agreements for any “large-scale construction project” – defined as any project costing over $25 million – and thus discriminate against the 92.5 percent of private sector workers who have chosen for a wide variety of reasons not to join a union.

With the “stimulus” bill approaching one trillion dollars including many such projects, Big Labor stands to rake in literally hundreds of millions of dollars in new forced-dues revenue seized straight out of workers’ paychecks, whether they support the union or not. (Meanwhile, other "stimulus" funds will go to groups with strong ties to organized labor.)

President Obama’s new executive order comes a week after he issued two other executive orders giving the Secretary of Labor unchecked, unprecedented authority to blacklist non-union employees wanting to work on federal contracts.

Taken together, the new executive orders indicate President Obama is quite eager to repay the union bosses for spending well over one billion dollars (in mostly forced union dues) to elect Obama and other pro-forced unionism candidates.

Moreover, Big Labor’s high command is likely to funnel that money right back into its political machine in expectation of even more forced unionism power grabs – including efforts toward the ultimate goal of eliminating all 22 state Right to Work laws by federal fiat.