The House of Representatives is poised to pass legislation today that prohibits the National Labor Relations Board from interfering in the business decisions of U.S. companies. The bill would effectively end the NLRB’s complaint against Boeing’s expansion plans in South Carolina.
Boeing came under attack from the NLRB in April after constructing a plant in South Carolina to build its 787 Dreamliner. The case is currently before an administrative law judge in Seattle.
South Carolina Rep. Tim Scott wants to put an end to the matter now. The freshman Republican is the chief sponsor the bill that blocks the NLRB from ordering any employer to close, relocate, or transfer employment.
Scott said the Boeing plant would create 11,000 jobs for workers in South Carolina. He warned that the NLRB’s action has sent a chilling message to employers in the United States and abroad.
“This is an issue about government overreach, overregulation and the destruction of American jobs,” Scott said on a conference call. He later added, “We have a major fight on our hands against socialism and the liberals who support it.”
Heritage’s Hans von Spakovsky and James Sherk wrote earlier this year that the government’s actions against Boeing “are outside the legal jurisdiction of an overzealous NLRB.”
The federal government does not have the legal authority to prohibit a company from expanding its business or building a new factory in another state. Regrettably, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is attempting to do just that. In asserting that the Boeing Company is engaging in unfair labor practices by establishing a new aircraft assembly facility in South Carolina, the NLRB is twisting the law to benefit a special interest—unions—at the expense of the rule of law and the nation’s economy.
They recommended Congress amend the National Labor Relations Act to reaffirm that new investment decisions, such as expansion or relocation, are not unfair labor practices.
In addition to curtailing the NLRB’s activity, the bill would also bring an end to the case before the administrative law judge in Seattle, according to Scott. He said the legislation would apply to all cases that have not reached their final adjudication.
“We are going to have a multi-pronged attack on the forces that destroy jobs in America,” Scott promised.