Labor/Employment

The NLRB is obligated to get the documents to the Oversight Committee no later than noon Aug. 12.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) should not issue subpoenas for documents related to the National Labor Relations Board's legal complaint against airplane manufacturer Boeing, a group of legal experts said Friday.

Thirty-four law professors signed a letter to Issa, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, saying he should let the case proceed with requesting documents from the NLRB.

The labor oversight panel has alleged that Boeing decided to build a plant in South Carolina to retaliate for labor strikes at its existing facilities in Washington state. Issa has launched an investigation into the case, saying it appears to be politically motivated.

The National Labor Relations Board said this week that a Seattle judge's ruling that its case against airplane manufacturer Boeing should go forward supported its contention that documents about the issue should be made available to a congressional oversight committee only as they come out in the case.

Administrative Law Judge Clifford Anderson rejected a motion from Boeing last month to dismiss the NLRB case, which alleges that the company decided to build a plant in South Carolina to retaliate for labor strikes at its existing facilities in Washington state.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) has launched an investigation into the case, saying it appears to be politically motivated. Issa has threatened to subpoena documents about the case, but the NLRB has said it would provide only "discoverable" information.

In a letter to Issa that was obtained by The Hill, NLRB Acting General Counsel Lafe Solomon said Anderson's ruling showed the panel's stance was correct.

"It remains my belief that premature disclosure of the Boeing case file would severely impact the parties' due process rights and the Agency's legal process," he wrote to Issa in a letter dated Tuesday. 

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee said Wednesday that Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) should hold a vote before he subpoenas documents from the National Labor Relations Board's case against airplane manufacturer Boeing.

Issa has threatened to use his committee's subpoena power to get more documents from the NLRB about its legal complaint against Boeing. In the complaint, the NLRB alleges that Boeing decided to build a plant that would produce 787 airplanes in South Carolina in retaliation for labor strikes by workers at its Puget Sound plant near Seattle.

In a letter to Issa Tuesday, Democrats on the Oversight Committee acknowledged Issa had the power to unilaterally issue subpoenas, but said he shouldn't do so without taking the temperature of his committee members first.

"There is no dispute that you have authority under the House Rules to issue a unilateral subpoena to further legitimate oversight efforts by the Committee,” the Democrats wrote in their letter. “But you also have an obligation to use this power responsibly and not to exercise it to affect the outcome of an ongoing legal proceeding.”

Rep. John Kline said the board's complaint against Boeing could make companies think twice about investing in the United States.

With its legal complaint against airplane manufacturer Boeing under intense scrutiny from Republicans, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will hold hearings this week on changes it is proposing to its oversight of union election rules.

The NLRB, which has drawn criticism from the GOP for alleging that Boeing decided to build a plant in South Carolina to retaliate for strikes by workers in Washington state, is proposing several changes it says will streamline labor votes.

The proposed changes include allowing for electronic filings for petitions and other court documents and requiring parties to more quickly identify issues and provide evidence when they file complaints.

"One of the most important duties of the National Labor Relations Board is conducting secret-ballot elections to determine whether employees want to be represented by a labor union," NLRB Chairwoman Wilma Liebman said in a statement about the proposed changes. "Resolving representation questions quickly, fairly, and accurately has been an overriding goal of American labor law for more than 75 years."

Rep. Darrell Issa said the NLRB has not provided all the documents requested in regard to the Boeing complaint.

The House has planned a few key hearings during next week's abbreviated schedule, including one that will explore what Republicans say is an anti-business proposal from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

The House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a hearing July 7 titled "Rushing Union Elections: Protecting the Interests of Big Labor at the Expense of Workers' Free Choice." That hearing will examine NLRB's proposal to change union election rules.

Boeing aruged the NLRB claim was unprecedented, should be dismissed; but judge ruled the case will move forward.

President Obama broke his silence Wednesday on the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) controversial complaint against Boeing.