Having spent more than $300-million to help elect Barack Obama to the presidency of the United States, organized labor is beginning to cash in on its investment. President Obama has appointed Wilma Liebman as chairwoman of the NLRB, and organized labor is popping champagne corks or flip-top beer cans. Ms. Liebman is one of the most pro-labor NLRB officials to have been appointed in many years.
Corporate America can expect the NLRB to be decidedly more pro-labor than it has been during the both Bush administrations.
And if the early days of the Obama administration are an indication of things to come, then one should note that union membership has already risen from 12.1 percent to 12.4 percent, reversing a decades old trend. And with the anticipated signing of the Employee Free Choice Act, one can only expect that trend to increase in volume and speed.
Corporate American is facing a difficult four years as a worsening economy and growing demands from unions will place significant burdens on earnings.
