Unionization Through Regulation: The NLRB’s Holding Pattern on Free Enterprise

Chairman Issa Hearing Preview Statement

Friday’s field hearing in North Charleston, entitled “Unionization through Regulation,” will explore the recent decision of the National Labor Relations Board’s acting general counsel to bring suit against The Boeing Company for alleged unfair labor practices related to the company’s plan to build commercial aircraft in South Carolina. The disastrous consequences that the effort to penalize Boeing will have on the economy of South Carolina, and the collateral damage that this unprecedented action will have on other right-to-work states warrants the Committee’s attentive scrutiny.

Bipartisan concerns have arisen as the facts about NLRB’s suit became public. From the Assistant Democratic Minority Leader to the former NLRB chairman to sixteen attorneys general from states as far as Wyoming and South Dakota recognize that the retaliatory action against Boeing is grounded in an unrestrained interpretation of the law. The NLRB’s acting general counsel, Lafe Solomon, has adopted an unacceptable course of action against Boeing, and the American people have a right to know when federal regulatory agencies have exceeded their statutory authority to pursue a politically-driven agenda.

By listening to local leaders – including South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley – the Committee will examine the legal rationale offered for NLRB’s decision and the real-world effect that those decisions are having on job creation in South Carolina.