National Clothesline

I may have to stop reading books and newspapers. I am reading a book now that makes me angrier with each chapter I finish.

The book is called Reckless Endangerment, written by Gretchen Morgenson. The subtitle is How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon.

Reckless Endangerment is about how our elected officials failed to reign in Fannie Mae, the government-backed mortgage company, because the overpaid officials at Fannie Mae gave them campaign contributions, hired their relatives, and otherwise corrupted them. This led to the Great Recession, which we are still in as of this writing.

Adding fuel to my anti-government fire is the current inability of Congress to deal with the debt limit problem. By the time this article is published, either there will be a half-baked resolution or the United States will default on its debts. All of the politicians appear to be concerned about re-election to the exclusion of doing the right thing.

On July 7, Congress held hearings on the recent proposals by the National Labor Relations Board to make it easier for private employers, like drycleaners, to be unionized.

In particular, the NLRB wants to shorten the time between a union petition for an election and the secret ballot election.

If you are pro-union, the argument is that a short election will prevent the employer from using the time to threaten and intimidate employees into voting against the union.

If you are pro-employer (like me), the argument against shortening the time is that unions do not want employers to educate their employees on the true nature of unionization. Unions want employees to vote based on unenforceable promises, usually made in a bar near the workplace, of union paradise.

The current NLRB, by the way, is stacked with people who have spent their lives devoted to the union cause. Many members are recess appointments, which means that the President cannot get enough votes in the Senate to get them confirmed. This particular group has a difficult time hiding its pro-union bias.

At the hearing Congress held, Republicans railed against the proposal for quicker elections and Democrats could not have been any more in favor of it.

The National Labor Relations Act was passed in 1935, and the election rules currently used by the NLRB are almost as old. You would expect at least one Democrat to ask why the change is necessary without an Act of Congress, but you would be wrong. Remember, it is all about campaign contributions. Unfortunately, that is also true for Republicans.

It is difficult enough running a business without wondering from day to day what new regulation will be adopted (by unelected officials, no less) that will cost you money or negatively affect the business. Unions, environmentalists, trial lawyers, banks, and other interest groups do the one thing our elected officials care about — give them money — and as a result, they can do whatever they want. It is appalling.

Because this is a legal column, I probably need to tie this into a discussion of how this affects my practice and my clients.

First, this corruption gives government agencies and employees the green light to harass and bully employers. The Department of Labor, under Hilda Solis, is angry with employers, and it is enforcing OSHA, wage and hour, and other laws in novel ways. Solis is Secretary of Labor and the NLRB is stacked with union zealots because Big Labor, especially the Service Employees Union, was a big factor in helping President Obama win in 2008.

Second, employers need to be aware of changes in interpretation of existing laws that directly affect them. For example, just a few days ago, the Department of Labor issued an interpretation letter concerning the Genetic Information Nondisclosure Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act that will turn many employers into lawbreakers just because they inadvertently obtain medical information concerning their employees.

Third, as a business owner, you need to do what the unions, environmentalists, and other special interests do — buy yourself an elected official. It makes little sense to pretend that elected officials do not respond best to campaign contributions and special favors. You need to become more active in your trade associations, and these trade associations need to support — economically — more pro-employer candidates.

Sorry for the soapbox column this month. Next month, I’ll go back to the more mundane legal topics. Or maybe not, especially if I continue to read the newspaper.