We have known for quite a while that President Obama is pro-labor and that he intends to sign into law the Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA).
We now have further evidence of the president’s support of organized labor. He recently signed three executive orders that favor unions.
One: President Obama signed an executive order that requires government contractors to offer jobs to employees when contracts change.
Two: President Obama eliminated an executive order signed by his processor, which had required employers to put up signs letting workers know of their rights to limit financial support of unions that served as their collective bargaining representatives.
Three: President Obama signed an executive order that prohibits government contractors from being reimbursed for expenses incurred while attempting to influence workers about union organizing campaigns and collective bargaining.
President Obama affirmed his support of organized labor by stating: “I don’t view the labor movement as part of the problem. To me, it’s part of the solution.”
The newly signed executive orders indicate the direction that the Obama administration has embarked upon, and it portends a difficult labor relations climate for Corporate America.
One can expect President Obama to alter the composition of the National Labor Relations Board so that its decisions are supportive of unions, to expand family leave, and to enact various forms of legislation that will diminish the prerogatives of management, while increasing the power of unions, especially their power to organize and to dominate the collective bargaining process.
