In Fight Between Labor & Missourians, McCaskill Folds To Union Bosses

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) isn’t going to let a little thing like a federal judge’s ruling get in the way of its radical agenda. After it was decided Monday the group’s ambush rule was invalid, these unchecked and unelected bureaucrats vowed to persevere in spite of judicial and deepening public opposition.

A controversial NLRB rule went into effect late last month that provided for ambush union elections, spurring labor bosses to target non-unionized workplaces with elections taking place in as few as seven to 10 days. But when the Senate weighed action to block the measure, Senator Clair McCaskill turned her back on Missourians, instead acquiescing to Big Labor’s monied agenda.

Employers took solace Monday, though, when a U.S. district court judge found NLRB’s ambush rule unbinding for not having met a quorum — bylaws mandate at least three members must participate in rule-making, while only two officially participated in the formulation of the rule — at its adoption. For McCaskill’s band of bureaucrats, the irony could be no richer: so rushed to throttle business through rushed workplace elections, they failed to heed even their own regulations.

Of course, it’s no secret why union bosses are pushing for the change. Ambush elections rush workers into making an informed decision that is fundamental to their welfare. Simultaneously, employers lack the resources to comply with complex labor laws and are not offered a reasonable opportunity to defend themselves against an orchestrated effort by labor bosses.

On a shortened timeframe, the NLRB ensures that businesses will not have the opportunity to seek outside help. The result is clear: unions win 87 percent of elections held within 15 days, compared with only 58 percent after 36 days.

Thanks to another recent NLRB rule, unions – or micro-unions, in this case – can also be formed with as few as two people. If McCaskill’s NLRB had its druthers, small businesses would have unions crop up across multiple departments with two people in less than 10 days.

It is not surprising that the Obama Administration would side with Big Labor – after all, they are asking for tens of millions in donations for the Democratic National Convention later this year. In Washington, those donations come with fierce expectations. So, too, does $581,250 in donations from labor bosses to Senator McCaskill since 2007.

Unemployment in Missouri is at 7.4 percent, slightly below the national average. Two percent of Missourians have dropped out of the labor force in three year’s time, a pace that exceeds the national average. The NLRB and Senator McCaskill promise to drive those figures further south.

Senator McCaskill’s payback of Big Labor comes at the cost of Missouri small businesses at a particularly vulnerable time. She picked sides and voters must understand she has decided against standing with them.