Judge appointed by Obama sided with agency whose board member where Recess appointee y Obama at the National Labor Relations Board (Unions)

CNN.com  03/02/12 Bill Mears

“Judge rules of administration over recess appointments power”

http://articles.cnn.com/2012-03-02/politics/politics_judge-recess-appointments_1_recess-appointments-judge-rules-president-obama?_s=PM:POLITICS

A group of businesses challenging the power of the president to make recess appointments suffered a legal setback Friday.

A federal judge has refused to decide whether President Obama's three appointees on the National Labor Relations Board have the authority to enforce a pending workplace rule. That rule would require employers to place a poster notifying employees of their rights

A private business coalition sought clarification over the power of the president to appoint officials while the Senate was in recess, which escalated earlier this year with the recent, separate Obama appointment of Richard Cordray to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

So what is going one?

According the National Assocaition of Manufacturers”

“The NAM filed this suit challenging a regulation issued by the National Labor Relations Board that requires employers to post in their workplaces a notice of the right of employees to organize into unions, bargain collectively, discuss wages, benefits and working conditions, jointly complain, strike and picket, or choose not to do any of these activities. The required notice also lists all the things an employer or a union may not do under the law.

The NAM asked the court to declare the notice posting requirement null and void. Failure to post the notice could result in the Board finding that an employer engaged in an unfair labor practice by interfering with, restraining or coercing employees in the exercise of their rights.”

Who are the People on the National Labor Relation Board?

·          *  Mark G. Pearce - named Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board by President Obama on   August 27, 2011

o   a founding partner of the Buffalo, New York law firm of Creighton, Pearce, Johnsen & Giroux, where he practiced union and plaintiff side labor and employment law

·        *   Brian Hayes - Republican Labor Policy Director for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

·       *    Sharon Block - sworn in as a Board Member on Jaunary 9, 2012, following a recess appointment by the President.

o   Senior Labor and Employment Counsel for the Senate HELP Committee, where she worked for Senator Edward M. Kennedy

·        *   Terence F. Flynn - sworn in as a Board Member on January 9, 2012, following a recess appointment by the President.

o   Counsel in the Labor and Employment Group of Crowell & Moring, LLP, where he handled a wide range of labor and employment issues, including collective bargaining negotiations, litigation of unfair labor practices, defense of ERISA claims, and wage and hour disputes, among other matters.

·         Richard F. Griffin, Jr. - sworn in as a Board Member on January 9, 2012, following a recess appointment by the President.

o   General Counsel for International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE).  He also served on the board of directors for the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee

What Jurisdiction do they hold?

The Board has statutory jurisdiction over private sector employers whose activity in interstate commerce.  Over the years, it has established standards for asserting jurisdiction,   including non-profits, employee-owned businesses, labor organizations, non-union businesses, and businesses in states with “Right to Work” laws.

How is there justice when the Courts are full of judges appointed by Pres. Obama that are supporting Agency with board members appointed by Pres. Obama?