“The ruling by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia encourages politically motivated behavior by board members with a partisan agenda. A board member has the right to voice disapproval of a rule by voting ‘no,’ but a single member should not be allowed to derail the entire process by refusing to vote at all. The Board had a quorum, and they acted appropriately to protect the rights of working Americans. I hope the board takes steps to ensure the rule is preserved.
“It is encouraging that the court took no issue with the merits of the rule, which was recently upheld by a bipartisan Senate vote. I am confident these merits will be reaffirmed in future court actions.”

“Senate Democrats stood up for the right of working men and women to organize and negotiate their terms of employment through an enforceable contract. This rule gives workers the same rights that CEOs already enjoy – nothing more and nothing less.

“Republicans continue to push measures that squeeze the middle class while protecting the wealthiest Americans. Had Republicans succeeded in their effort today, executives could have continued using lawsuits and intimidation to thwart their employees’ ability to bargain. Democrats will continue to fight for American workers. I hope that my Republican colleagues finally start putting the middle class ahead of the interests of millionaires.”

“In a partisan environment, there is the temptation turn every issue into a political issue.  We certainly live in one of those environments.

“That’s regrettable, but far from unfamiliar.  Politics play a role in our representative government, of course, and they always have.  The Founders created a system of checks and balances – three branches of government, for example, and two chambers of the Congress – precisely because they anticipated these passions.  They wanted to keep us from losing our way.

“Long after that system was created, a new independent federal agency was created in the same spirit of checks and balances.  That agency is the National Labor Relations Board, and it acts as a check on employers and employees alike.  It safeguards employees’ rights to unionize or not to unionize, if they so choose.  It mediates allegations of unfair labor practices.  And it does all this independent of any outside influence.

“The acting general counsel of the NLRB is a man who is as nonpartisan and independent as the agency he works for.  Last month, he issued a complaint against one of America’s largest companies, Boeing.  The complaint alleges that after Boeing workers in some states went on strike, the company retaliated by opening a new production line in a non-union facility.  That kind of retaliation, if that’s what happened, is illegal.

“That’s just the background.  I’m not here to judge the merits of the case.  In fact, I’m here to do the exact opposite: to remind the Senate that prejudging the case is not our job.  That would overstep long-established boundaries and weaken our system of checks and balances.

“Lately, though, some of our Republican colleagues have attacked the NLRB and tried to poison the decision-making process.  They are interfering with case pending before a legal body.

“For example, every Republican Senator on the HELP Committee – the “L” in HELP stands for labor, of course – sent the acting general counsel a letter defending Boeing.  The letter itself, sent six weeks before a hearing even takes place, seems questionable at best.  But these 10 Republicans went further: they went out of their way to link their request to the acting general counsel’s pending nomination.  Sounds like intimidation to me.

“That’s not all.  Eight state attorneys general, all Republicans, also signed a letter to the acting general counsel, calling on him to withdraw the complaint against Boeing – again, long before an administrative judge has the opportunity to review the case.

“I strongly encourage all of them to take a step back.  We all know Republicans dislike organized labor.  We know they disdain unions because unions demand fairness and equality from the big businesses Republicans so often shield at all costs.

“And let’s be honest: Republicans are threatened by unions.  They’re threatened because when a large, organized group is so concerned with workers’ rights, the members of that group vote in large numbers.  And because Republicans and the big businesses they defend so often try to take away workers’ rights, workers don’t often vote Republican.

“But this kind of interference is inappropriate.  It is disgraceful and dangerous.  We wouldn’t allow threats to prosecutors or U.S. Attorneys, trying to stop them from moving forward with charges they see fit to bring to the courts.  And we shouldn’t stand for this.  It may not be illegal, but it’s no better than the retaliation and intimidation that is the fundamental question in this case.  It should stop.

“We need agencies like the NLRB to be able to operate freely and without political pressures.  We need to keep our independent agencies independent.  This case is for them to decide, not us.”

“In a partisan environment, there is the temptation turn every issue into a political issue.  We certainly live in one of those environments.

“That’s regrettable, but far from unfamiliar.  Politics play a role in our representative government, of course, and they always have.  The Founders created a system of checks and balances – three branches of government, for example, and two chambers of the Congress – precisely because they anticipated these passions.  They wanted to keep us from losing our way.

“Long after that system was created, a new independent federal agency was created in the same spirit of checks and balances.  That agency is the National Labor Relations Board, and it acts as a check on employers and employees alike.  It safeguards employees’ rights to unionize or not to unionize, if they so choose.  It mediates allegations of unfair labor practices.  And it does all this independent of any outside influence.

“The acting general counsel of the NLRB is a man who is as nonpartisan and independent as the agency he works for.  Last month, he issued a complaint against one of America’s largest companies, Boeing.  The complaint alleges that after Boeing workers in some states went on strike, the company retaliated by opening a new production line in a non-union facility.  That kind of retaliation, if that’s what happened, is illegal.

“That’s just the background.  I’m not here to judge the merits of the case.  In fact, I’m here to do the exact opposite: to remind the Senate that prejudging the case is not our job.  That would overstep long-established boundaries and weaken our system of checks and balances.

“Lately, though, some of our Republican colleagues have attacked the NLRB and tried to poison the decision-making process.  They are interfering with case pending before a legal body.

“For example, every Republican Senator on the HELP Committee – the “L” in HELP stands for labor, of course – sent the acting general counsel a letter defending Boeing.  The letter itself, sent six weeks before a hearing even takes place, seems questionable at best.  But these 10 Republicans went further: they went out of their way to link their request to the acting general counsel’s pending nomination.  Sounds like intimidation to me.

“That’s not all.  Eight state attorneys general, all Republicans, also signed a letter to the acting general counsel, calling on him to withdraw the complaint against Boeing – again, long before an administrative judge has the opportunity to review the case.

“I strongly encourage all of them to take a step back.  We all know Republicans dislike organized labor.  We know they disdain unions because unions demand fairness and equality from the big businesses Republicans so often shield at all costs.

“And let’s be honest: Republicans are threatened by unions.  They’re threatened because when a large, organized group is so concerned with workers’ rights, the members of that group vote in large numbers.  And because Republicans and the big businesses they defend so often try to take away workers’ rights, workers don’t often vote Republican.

“But this kind of interference is inappropriate.  It is disgraceful and dangerous.  We wouldn’t allow threats to prosecutors or U.S. Attorneys, trying to stop them from moving forward with charges they see fit to bring to the courts.  And we shouldn’t stand for this.  It may not be illegal, but it’s no better than the retaliation and intimidation that is the fundamental question in this case.  It should stop.

“We need agencies like the NLRB to be able to operate freely and without political pressures.  We need to keep our independent agencies independent.  This case is for them to decide, not us.”