GOP candidates applaud NLRB complaint withdrawal

Republican candidates applauded the decision of the National Labor Relations Board to drop its lawsuit against Boeing Friday, with front-runner Newt Gingrich calling the move "a victory for South Carolina and all right-to-work states." But the GOP leaders continued to deride the inital decision by the NLRB to sue Boeing as wrong for the economy in statements Friday.

The NLRB had challenged Boeing's decision to open a non-union plant in South Carolina, arguing that the airplane manufacturer had made the decision to gain leverage in negotiations with the Machinists union. The union approved a 4-year contract with Boeing earlier this week; Boeing promised to build its new 737 jetliner in Washington state in exchange for the union agreeing as part of the deal to withdraw its complaint of unfair labor practices.

The dispute had gained a high profile as Republicans — especially presidential candidates eager to impress in South Carolina — railed against the NLRB case as government intervention on the private sector.

Mitt Romney said that while the move to dismiss the suit was a "welcome step," that the NLRB had become a "rogue agency that tramples on the rights of American workers and businesses."

"The fact that the Board acted at the request of the union bosses tells us all we need to know about who is calling the shots," Romney said in a statement. "While it is good news for the people of South Carolina, it does little for workers and businesses around the country who depend on a fair and impartial U.S. government. Thanks to President Obama’s appointees, the NLRB has become a rogue agency that tramples on the rights of American workers and businesses, injecting job-killing uncertainty into the economic climate.”

Ron Paul, interviewed on Fox News, said that he thought the move by the NLRB was likely unconstitutional and would applaud "anything that would discourage a president from arbitrarily using the interstate commerce clause from stopping the interstate commerce clause."

The NLRB's governing board is appointed by the president.

"I hope they weren't forced to accept a deal they shouldn't have," Paul continued.

Gingrich also blasted President Obama for backing the action against Boeing, saying it was a payback for donations from unions.

“The NLRB’s suit was a politically motivated assault on the rule of law by President Obama and his big labor allies," Gingrich said in a statement. "The founding fathers warned that when government grows too big the law would be usurped for political purposes. This case was an example of that."

That theme was picked up by Rick Perry, who called the action "a political payoff for the Obama Administration's liberal big labor organizers."

"The Obama Administration's dangerous and inappropriate action against Boeing and the right to work state of South Carolina remains a frightening reminder of Washington excess even with the NLRB dropping the case. Unaccountable federal political appointees should never have the authority to tell a private company where it may or must build factories," Perry said.

---