Worker Advocate Asks Attorney General Holder to Investigate Apparent Violations of Obama Ethics Pledge by Labor Board Member

Washington, DC (August 9, 2010) – The National Right to Work Foundation, a charitable organization that provides free legal aid to employees, today asked United States Attorney General Eric Holder to conduct an investigation into National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recess appointee Craig Becker’s participation in cases involving his former employer, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). Earlier this summer, Right to Work attorneys filed more than a dozen recusal motions against Becker, who served as associate general counsel for the SEIU and AFL-CIO before he was appointed to the NLRB during a Congressional recess. As the SEIU’s in-house lawyer, Becker litigated against Right to Work Foundation clients and developed legal strategies for SEIU local affiliates across the country. His published writings also indicate a strong level of hostility to the Foundation’s employee-oriented legal aid program.

Right to Work Foundation Calls on NLRB Inspector General to Expand Investigation into Board Member’s Conflicts of Interest

Washington, DC (July 8, 2010) – The National Right to Work Foundation, a charitable organization that provides free legal aid to employees, has asked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Inspector General to expand the scope of his announced investigation into Craig Becker, Obama’s recess appointee to the Board. Prompted by a letter from Rep. Darrell Issa (R, CA.) and other members of the House Oversight Committee, the Inspector General has indicated he will investigate Becker’s involvement in St. Barnabas v. SEIU Local 1957 for possible conflicts of interest.

National Labor Relations Board Inspector General to Investigate Board Member for Possible Conflicts of Interest

Washington, DC (July 1, 2010) – Prompted by a letter from Rep. Darrell Issa (R, CA.) and other members of the House Oversight Committee, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Inspector General has announced he will investigate NLRB recess appointee Craig Becker’s involvement in St. Barnabas v. SEIU Local 1957. The investigation bolsters several motions for recusal filed by National Right to Work Foundation attorneys, who contend that Becker’s evident conflicts of interest should have disqualified him from ruling on their cases.

Legal Aid Foundation Files Comments Opposing NLRB “Electronic Voting” Scheme for Union Organizing Drives

Washington, DC (June 23, 2010) – The National Right to Work Foundation, a charitable organization that provides free legal aid to employees across the country, has submitted comments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) opposing any attempt to implement “electronic voting” in union organizing drives. The Foundation’s comments detail how electronic voting poses major risks to the integrity of unionization elections and threatens to reproduce the problems of coercive “card check” organizing drives. In early June, the National Labor Relations Board requested information on the feasibility of electronic voting during unionization drives. Drawing on National Right to Work attorneys’ experience representing thousands of employees, Foundation Legal Director Ray LaJeunesse, Jr., responded by citing numerous concerns about the reliability of electronic ballots and the potential for intimidation or harassment of employees who submit ballots remotely.

Obama Recess Appointee Refuses to Recuse Himself in Twelve of Thirteen Cases Despite Clear Bias, Conflicts of Interest

Washington, DC (June 9, 2010) – Craig Becker, President Barack Obama’s controversial recess appointee to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), responded this week to 13 motions for his recusal filed by National Right to Work Foundation attorneys in cases pending before the Board. After President Obama installed Becker on the NLRB in late March, Foundation attorneys quickly filed recusal motions in all Foundation-supported cases due to Becker’s extreme level of hostility against the Foundation and its legal arguments for workers’ rights, even when the NLRB or United States Supreme Court have agreed and ruled against unions for their abusive practices. Additionally, some of the cases directly involve affiliates of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Becker’s employer up to the date of his recess appointment.

Health Care Bill Handouts to Big Labor Have Already Begun… Don’t Say We Didn’t Warn You

Last week, Joseph Rago noted in the Wall Street Journal the latest union boss payoff by the Obama Administration (emphasis added): White House payoffs to big labor are by now routine, though rarely are they this transparent: This week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius rolled out a new program that, scrubbed down, amounts to a slush fund for union health plans. When Democrats realized that ObamaCare's approval numbers were sagging, they loaded the bill up with "early deliverables"—programs that would go into effect immediately, rather than the five or more years of delay used to hide the bill's true costs. One of those early deliverables was $5 billion in subsidies to early retirees aged 55 to 64 who incur annual health costs over $15,000.

Editorial Boards: Obama’s Discriminatory Union-Only Construction Policy Hurts Workers, Job Providers, and Taxpayers

On Tuesday, the Obama Administration implemented a new policy -- initiated by an early executive order signed by President Obama -- encouraging federal agencies to adopt so-called "project labor agreements" (PLAs) on large-scale federal construction projects. Some of the typical conditions demanded by unions in PLAs include monopoly bargaining, forced dues and fees for all “represented” workers, exclusive union hiring halls, and inflexible union work rules which strictly separate job functions into exclusive union jurisdictions based on craft. The Wall Street Journal strongly criticized the new policy, which effectively discriminates against the 85 percent of all construction workers who are not under union monopoly control. Moreover,

New Obama Administration Contracting Policy “Nothing More Than Payback” to Big Labor

New Obama Administration Contracting Policy "Nothing More Than Payback" to Big Labor So-called "project labor agreements" discriminate against the 85 percent of construction workers who have opted against unionization

Craig Becker Watch: Right to Work Exposes Becker Threat in National Media

After the Senate rejected an attempt to confirm President Barack Obama's nomination of pro-compulsory unionism radical Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Obama appointed Becker via a recess appointment. On the heals of the appointment, National Right to Work Foundation attorneys sprang into action and filed 12 recusal motions asking Becker to step aside in any pending case involving the Foundation, citing Becker's bias against independent-minded workers and the Foundation (download two of the motions in .pdf format here and here). The Wall Street Journal reports:

Is Obama Planning an Easter Recess Appointment of Radical SEIU Lawyer Craig Becker to the NLRB?

Last month, the Senate rejected an attempt to confirm President Barack Obama's nomination of pro-compulsory unionism radical Craig Becker to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The Wall Street Journal reports that with the Senate now taking it's Easter recess, Becker could be appointed via a recess appointment "as early as today." As the Journal notes, a Craig Becker NLRB appointment resurrection would be disastrous to employee rights: