I wish I could write this under different circumstances.
As Election Day neared, and the polls were still tight, I told my staff to prepare for two possibilities.
If Mitt Romney, who answered his Right to Work survey 100%, defeated Barack Obama, we could dedicate ourselves to undoing the damage the Obama Administration unleashed on workers over the last four years.
If Obama won, the fight to stop sweetheart deals and hidden payoffs to Big Labor would continue and likely expand for four more years.
Now that Obama will be returning to the White House, I’m afraid Big Labor’s drive to expand forced unionism will hit us like an earthquake.
The good news is, there’s one imminent battle that could deal Obama a major setback in his attempt to completely remake U.S. labor law -- and your National Right to Work Foundation is in the thick of it.
In fact, thanks to support from concerned citizens like you, Foundation attorneys were able to act immediately when President Obama made perhaps his most egregious move yet: to flagrantly violate the U.S. Constitution.
And now one of our cases is the first of its kind to be argued in a federal appeals court.
Foundation staff attorneys faced off against the Obama Administration at the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago on November 30.
Let me tell you more about the case.
As you may remember, last January President Obama named three “recess” appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).
At the time, Obama’s spin doctors claimed that the Senate had long stalled on the Obama nominations, forcing the President’s hand.
But that’s simply not true.
The White House never even submitted background checks and other required paperwork to enable the Senate Labor Committee to hold hearings and to let the Committee members interview two of the nominees.
Obviously, Obama had planned to circumvent the Senate all along.
You see, his appointees are flagrant forced-dues advocates and pro-Right to Work Senators could have stymied their appointments.
But Obama was determined to fill the NLRB with handpicked forced-dues allies, the United States Constitution be damned, candidly proclaiming, “I refuse to take no for an answer.”
You see, Article II of the Constitution requires the President to obtain the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate for appointments to most critical positions in the executive branch.
The Advice and Consent Clause allows the Senate to ensure that Presidential appointments are qualified and not beholden to special interests like Big Labor.
But when Congress is “recessed” -- not in session -- the President may fill vacancies to ensure the continued functioning of government.
There is just one problem with President Obama’s NLRB appointments: Congress was still in session!
That’s right! There was NO recess.
This cynical move is an unprecedented defiance of Congress and the Constitution.
The appointments even run afoul of a rule cited to the U.S. Supreme Court by the Obama Administration’s top lawyer in 2010 -- the recess has to be longer than 3 days.
Previous Presidents -- whether Democrat or Republican -- have followed this rule for decades.
In fact, forced-unionism proponent Harry Reid kept the Senate in “pro-forma sessions” to prevent then-President George W. Bush from making recess appointments throughout his second term.
Four years later, only the occupant of the White House has changed -- and where President Bush deferred to the U.S. Senate’s rules, President Obama has brazenly defied them.
Foundation attorneys challenged the invalid “recess” appointments; and the outcome of this case will have lasting ramifications.
You see, if the courts find that Obama’s “recess” appointments are unconstitutional, the NLRB would only have had two legitimate members since January 3, 2012.
And the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that the NLRB needs a three-member “quorum” to implement rules and decide cases.
That means, with one fell swoop, EVERY power grab rammed through the Obama Labor Board for the last year would be null and void, such as the Board’s decision to allow “micro organizing” within workplaces.
Long sought by Big Labor, that ruling allows union organizers to target small units of employees if they know most employees at a workplace don’t want to join a union.
But if Obama’s “recess” appointments are held unconstitutional, the President would be forced to once again go through the proper procedures to make appointments.
That would bring a measure of justice to workers like Kyle Chilton, a mechanic Foundation attorneys represent whose case prompted another challenge to the “recess” appointments.
The Obama NLRB dismissed the petition Chilton and his co-workers signed asking for a vote to remove the International Association of Machinists (IAM) union hierarchy from their workplace.
If Obama’s move stands, Chilton and his coworkers will have to wait at least another three years before having the opportunity to kick out a union they don’t want.
And now that President Obama has been re-elected, the Foundation’s cases have taken on a new significance.
We can expect more of the same in the second term -- and worse, now that Obama is no longer accountable to the voters.
The Obama Labor Board had already signaled that it wants to ram through more rule changes designed to empower union bosses at the expense of rank-and-file workers.
A victory in the Seventh Circuit case could stop those rule changes dead in their tracks.
But because Obama’s power grab was so unprecedented, so too is this legal challenge. I’m afraid our recent hearing in Chicago is just the start of what will be a long-term battle.
That’s why your support is so critical.
And why I hope you’ll chip in with a tax-deductible contribution of $10 or more TODAY by clicking here.
You and I can’t stand by and let the President’s flagrant disregard of the Constitution force more workers under union boss control.
It’s vital you act at once.
Sincerely,
Mark Mix
P.S. On November 30, the Seventh Circuit in Chicago heard Foundation attorneys argue their legal challenge to President Obama’s unconstitutional “recess” appointments to the National Labor Relations Board, the first such challenge heard by a U.S. Court of Appeals. It’s vital you act at once in support of this pivotal case.
Please help by chipping in with a tax-deductible contribution of $10 or more to help defend the Constitution and worker freedom from the out-of-control Obama White House.
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