Va. GOP presses Kaine on NLRB Boeing case

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman, and 2012 U.S. Senate candidate, Tim Kaine should weigh in on the National Labor Relations Board's effort to stop airplane manufacturer Boeing from building a new plant in South Carolina, a pair of Virginia Republicans said Wednesday.

The NLRB has filed a legal complaint against the company, arguing that the decision was made in retaliation for strikes by union workers at Boeing's existing plant in Washington state.

Kaine, who served as governor of Virginia from 2005 to 2009, is running to replace retiring Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.). His presumed opponent in what is expected to be one of the most closely watched Senate races next year, former Sen. George Allen (R), has come out strongly against the NLRB lawsuit.

But Kaine has been strangely silent, Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Boiling said Wednesday.

"Every candidate for statewide office should publicly reject the NLRB's anti-business policies and ensure employers and workers alike that they will do everything they can to support our state's Right-to-Work law," Bolling said in a statement released the Republican Party of Virginia on Allen's behalf.

Virginia Attorney Ken Cuccinelli agreed.

"This NLRB assault is a jobs creation program... for China," Cuccinelli said in a statement. "Does Tim Kaine really support this sort of extra-legal, Virginia-job-destroying policy? I think Virginians deserve the right to know before Kaine is given power to affect the NLRB in the U.S. Senate."

Kaine's campaign responded Wednesday that the former Virginia governor "supports the existing law that a company can open, locate or relocate wherever it wants.

"He relied on that law to get many businesses to locate in Virginia during his time as governor, earning Virginia the distinction of the "Best State for Business" all four years of his term," Kaine spokeswoman Brandi Hoffine said in a statement.

But Kaine did not dismiss the NLRB case out of hand.

"Of course, it has long been the law that a company cannot retaliate against employees for bargaining activity," Hoffine continued. "The current NLRB case isn't about the right to locate anywhere, it's about the narrow question of whether Boeing is acting specifically to retaliate against its own employees. That factual question will be decided by the courts."

Hoffine also noted that Allen has declined to take positions on other federal issues, such as Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wisc.) budget plan.