House rebukes NLRB on Boeing
By SEUNG MIN KIM | 9/15/11 1:38 PM EDT
The GOP-led House on Thursday launched a full-scale assault against the National Labor Relations Board – the first step in their fall goal of rolling back regulations that they say hamper job growth.
The chamber voted 238-186 on a bill that bars the NLRB from forcing businesses to close or relocate jobs — a direct rebuke of a recent decision by the board to block Boeing from moving a plant to South Carolina. The legislation likely doesn’t have much of a future in the Democratic-controlled Senate, although Republicans in the upper chamber have pushed for action on the matter.
“The NLRB has plenty of tools at its disposal to protect workers and hold employers accountable for unlawful labor practices,” said Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who sponsored the bill. “There is simply no reason it should have the power to dictate where a private business can establish its workforce.”
The dispute – which has become a cause célèbre among conservatives — stems from Boeing’s opening of a $1 billion non-union plant in South Carolina, following union strikes that disrupted production of the 787 Dreamliner aircraft in Washington state. The labor board argues that Boeing’s actions were in retaliation against the strikes and a violation of labor laws.
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