Obama’s Recess “Dilemma”

Should President Obama use this brief end-of-the-year recess period to squeeze in as many recess appointments as humanly possible?  Does the Pope shit in the woods?

This article — Obama’s Recess Dilemma — warns of the political risks involved if Obama takes advantage of this recess period.

Risks?  Oh my God, now that I think about it, Congressional Republicans might not be nice to him any more.  Bitch McConnell and Jim DeMented might come right out and say that their top priority is to make Obama a one-term president.  The U.S. Chamber of Commerce might say mean things about him and start raising money for his opponents.  The Koch Brothers might call him a “hardcore socialist.”

We certainly wouldn’t want this sort of thing to happen now, would we?

The Republicans have done everything they possibly could to derail Obama’s every move.  When there’s a roadblock — or in this case a huge mountain of shit in the middle of the road — you have to go around.  Take a detour.  Make those recess appointments!

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been basically unable to function since the agency was created — much to the joy of Wall Street lobbyists and their Republican prostitutes.  First, Republicans blocked Elizabeth Warren, who basically designed this agency, from heading it.  And they’ve also blocked Richard Cordray — Obama’s second choice — from heading the agency.  The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was designed to PREVENT another repeat of the 2008 Wall Street meltdown, and there’s been nobody in charge of this agency since its creation.  This is entirely because of Republicans’ continued obstruction.  For God’s sake, use this recess period to appoint Richard Cordray.

The National Labor Relations Board is just about to lose its ability to function; again because of Republicans blocking every appointment.  The Board has five positions, but only three of these positions are filled.  And that third position, which was filled via recess appointment last year, is about to expire.  With only two people and three vacant positions, the Board will not have quorum.  Republicans think this is great; people who work for a living might think otherwise.  Again:  Recess Appointment.

I have no idea how many dozens, scores of high-ranking federal positions remain unfilled after years of Republicans blocking, holding and filibustering every appointment Obama tries to make.

That phrase again:  recess appointment.  Do it!

Brian Hayes — the Quitter

Move over Sarah Palin.  There’s a new Quitter in town — Brian Hayes.

Brian Hayes is the only Republican member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).  Hayes disagrees with the other two members of the NLRB — both Democrats — over an NLRB ruling on labor unions.

Most grownups are able to withstand the heartbreak of having their co-workers disagree with them.  But Brian Hayes is threatening to resign his position on the NLRB.  This would deny the Board a quorum, thereby bringing the National Labor Relations Board to a grinding halt.

The NLRB is supposed to have five members, but thanks to a giant shit pile in the middle of the road — i.e. Congressional Republicans obstructing and blocking Obama’s every nominee to every position — the NLRB has two longstanding unfilled vacancies.  So now if one member quits, the entire Board grinds to a halt.

Brian Hayes hasn’t quit his position yet, as of this writing.  Hopefully this won’t become a trend:  quit your job and bring an entire government board screeching to a halt.  If Hayes does quit, what will he put on his next job application under “reason for leaving your prior employer.”

A spokesperson for the Service Employees International Union said:

“We are shocked by the idea that a partisan difference would shut down the workings of a federal agency.”

Brian Hayes wrote a letter to his family, discussing the agonizing decision he’s facing.  A portion of the letter was leaked to the press:

“Mommy:  I can’t take this any more.  It’s too haaard.  It’s tough out here in the cold cruel world.  People are mean to me.  Can I come home?  I want to move back into my old room again, just like old times, and just be me again.  Pleeeease?  I‘m sorry about that time when you walked in on me while I was xxxx xxx xxx xxxxxxxxxx xxxx xxxxxxxx and I promise I won’t do it again.”

Republicans 1, Americans 0

Americans who work for a living, that is. The National Labor Relations Board consists of five people. In theory. In reality, the Board has had only two people for the past two years. Corporate prostitutes (i.e. Republicans) have been blocking every new nominee to the Board.

And now, to complete the circle, the Supreme Court has thrown out more than five hundred cases that were decided by this two-person board. After all, if a board is supposed to have five members, then a case that was decided by only two members doesn’t have the proper legal authority.

How’s that for circular reasoning? Kind of like stealing somebody’s wallet and then arresting him for vagrancy.

The Board has four members now. Obama used the recess appointment to fill two of its vacancies. So its most recent rulings are still valid.

A newspaper editorial blasted Republican obstructionism in general, saying that it scores points with the Republican base, but harms the country.

There you go. “The Republican base” and “the country” — two separate things.

And the five hundred working people whose cases — you know, livelihoods, ability to pay the rent/mortgage, doctor bills — were sent back to Square One would like to tell their Republican Overlords: “Fuck You Very Much you C$%#S&%!in’ M#!%&$F!#$in’ Sons of #$%&!#$&!%!!”

Fifteen — FIFTEEN!! — Recess Appointments

A president’s gotta do what a president’s gotta do. The Party of “Cross Your Arms, Thrust Out Your Lower Lip and Stamp Your Feet” has left Obama with no other choice.

Obama is making fifteen recess appointments. Finally he can fill some of these positions that have been vacant for eons, thanks to the ongoing Republican Poutfest.

Republicans — unable to make the simplest cognitive connection that most 5-year-olds could make — are throwing a hissyfit. Non-Republicans, however, shouldn’t have any trouble making the connection.

If a highway is closed because of roadwork and there’s a detour sign — if any Republicans are reading this, try to keep up here — drivers who need to get from Point A to Point B are going to follow the detour. Pretty simple, no?

Republicans spent eight years blocking so many of President Clinton’s judicial nominees that when Dumbya took over — Presto! — Wow, look at all these judicial vacancies we can fill.

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has been functioning for the past two years with only two board members. There are supposed to be FIVE. Obama will appoint Craig Becker and Mark Pearce to the NLRB. The Oligarchs and their Republican prostitutes have had a special hard-on for Craig Becker. He’s a pro-labor lawyer who’s worked for the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union.

A pro-labor lawyer serving on the National Labor Relations Board?!?!?!? The henhouse is supposed to be guarded by a FOX, Goddamn it!

Obama has a total of 217 nominees who are still pending. Thirty-four of them have been pending for more than six months. I think Obama should appoint all 34 of them — or all 217 of them for that matter — during this recess period.

If the Republicans want to keep pushing themselves further and further out to the margins, let ‘em. Apparently they’d rather be forty-one pitiful little waifs standing outside, looking in, with their noses pressed up against the window pane. (Name that tune.)

Works for me.

“Grateful to Have a Job”

Ellen Goodman uses that expression in her September 10th column. When you Google that phrase you’ll get 3.7 million hits. Talk about a sign of the times.

Every time an employee gets downsized or outsourced, he/she leaves behind a coworker who’s carrying twice the workload — with no corresponding increase in pay or benefits. And the person’s supervisor is probably more stressed, more harried and even more of an asshole to work for.

As Ellen Goodman says:

“But there are, after all, just as many cases to be managed by fewer social workers. There are just as many floors to be cleaned by fewer janitors…The government doesn't track how many are doing the labor of their former co-workers. Nor does it quantify economic anxiety. The closest we get to numbering the grateful worker is in the figures showing that job-leavers — those who voluntarily quit — are at an all-time low. Trust me, they aren't all staying because they suddenly love their bosses.”

Economist Heather Boushey calls it the “gloves-off economy.” Employees are scared shitless of getting laid off or fired, with or without a valid reason. And they’ll do anything — anything! — to avoid any perception of giving less than 200%. Working long hours without putting in for overtime; coming to work even when they’re sick (or a loved one is sick) — OK, OK, I’ll do it! Don’t rock the boat! Don’t ask for anything or call attention to yourself in any way, and never never ever say no.

Goodman also says: “The talk of work-life balance has fallen as fast as a 401(k)…Indeed, if fear is more contagious than the swine flu, what's going to happen when workers choose between putting their health on the line or their jobs?”

In a related story: the National Labor Relations Board is still paralyzed after years of being sabotaged by Republicans. Believe it or not, this agency — as the name implies — at one time actually protected workers from unfair labor practices.

Dozens of disputes are still pending. The final decisions will have a huge effect on American workers for decades to come.

When a Republican president takes office, every agency that protects workers’ safety, education, consumers, the environment — instantly gets emptied out and stacked with Republicans who want to abolish the agency because they hate everything it stands for. But eight months after Obama has taken office, the National Labor Relations Board is still full of rightwing oligarchs who have nothing but contempt for anybody who works for a living.

The agency is still constipated with holdovers from the Dumbya administration; the fox guarding the henhouse, as it were. It’s time to deliver a massive dose of Ex-Lax and get that shit out of there.

Do You Send Personal E-mails From Work? You're Fired!

Several weeks ago, the National Labor Relations Board ruled that employers could prohibit members of labor unions from using the company e-mail system for anything union-related.

This story barely made a blip on the news radar, since most people aren’t members of a labor union or planning to join one. This ruling only applies to those blue-collar shlubs who work with their hands. Who cares about them?

But now — uh oh! It seems this NLRB ruling might be expanded; it could be used against ALL employees. Some legal experts are saying that if an employer forbids use of company e-mail for labor unions, they’ll also have to forbid ALL non-work-related e-mails on company computers. You know, discrimination laws and all that. And now tens of millions of office workers are simultaneously thinking “Oh my God, this affects ME!”

Or to paraphrase that famous German quote: “When they came for the janitors I did nothing because I have a desk and a fancy job title…then when they came for me…”

As the name indicates, the National Labor Relations Board at one time actually defended workers against unfair labor practices. But that was then. Like every other agency in the Bush Administration, the NLRB is now stacked from top to bottom with incompetent cronies who hate everything the agency stands for.

In the same way that FEMA “helps” people whose homes have been devastated by a hurricane, the National Labor Relations Board “defends” workers who are being trampled by a powercrazed boss.

Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, said:

“The Bush labor board has consistently demonstrated hostility toward workers who want to unite for a voice in the workplace, so this latest brand of discrimination unfortunately comes as no surprise. We need a labor board that truly has an interest in the needs of working people, not one eager to assist those corporate interests bent on trying to intimidate or censor workers who want to form a union to improve their jobs and the services they provide. This ruling is another sad example of how the deck is stacked against workers in America.”

Some managers are using the tired argument that since they own the computer equipment, they can restrict how it’s used. Riiight. They also own the bathrooms, the cafeteria and vending machines and all of the chairs and desks. Oh, and the parking lot. They could have a field day.

cross-posted at Bring It On!

Bush Trying to Redefine Labor Unions out of Existence

Attention all working Americans. Here is a test: see if you can tie your shoe and say “Ugg!” at the same time. You passed! Congrats! You are now a supervisor. No, you aren't getting a pay raise or any additional authority or job responsibilities. But your new promotion means that you are no longer eligible to join a union. Cool, huh?

Under cover of darkness (Bush’s standard M.O.), the Bush Administration has been pulling the rug out from under millions of workers. The National Labor Relations Board, like every other government agency, has been stocked with Bush cronies. Last year the NLRB quietly redefined millions of job positions as “supervisory.” These millions of new “supervisors” don’t have hiring or firing authority or any of the other powers you associate with the word “supervisor.” But since they're now “supervisors” these employees are now ineligible for union membership.

There's a bill working its way through Congress, the RESPECT Act (H.R. 1644 and S. 969). This law will clearly define the term “supervisor” and make the National Labor Relations Board unable to sabotage millions of working people through these slippery stealth tactics (or at least this particular stealth tactic).

Please click here to ask your Senators and Congressperson to co-sponsor the RESPECT Act. It’s already hard enough to make ends meet without having to be constantly fending off one sleight-of-hand Dumbya maneuver after another.