Thursday, June 23, 2011

U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA)
Floor Statement on the National Mediation Board
Remarks as Delivered on the Senate Floor

Mr. President, I come to the floor to talk about jobs, and also to talk about an admonition I got from my father when I was growing up: Judge a man by his actions, not his words.

I intend to apply that, as well. We should all be judged by our actions, not just our words.

I am very disappointed in what this administration is doing now. On the one hand, they are talking about jobs being the most important thing America needs. Yet every single action of the agencies is a job killer. Here is an example: The most recent nominee to be the new Commerce Secretary of the United States is a former director of the Boeing Aircraft Company. That aircraft corporation is now under a suit from the interim general counsel of the NLRB to stop them from opening a new plant that will employ 1,000 people in the State of South Carolina, alleging they built the plant there to strike back at the unions in Washington State, when in fact the Dreamliner, their main airliner, which they have tremendous orders for, is being built in Washington, but they had to expand another plant to meet the demand for orders. They decided, in the interest of the company, to have one on the east coast and one on the west coast. They weren't retaliating. They were trying to create jobs for a great American product. The NLRB wants to stop 1,000 jobs from being created on an allegation that it is some type of retribution. That is dead wrong.

The NLRB this week came out with a new admonition. That is, they are going to change election rules so new elections, instead of being required to take 38 to 42 days, can have quickie union elections in 10 to 12 days, making it much more difficult for management to react to a union vote or a union movement.

All these things are job creators. I am not here to demagogue unions or to demagogue this President for that matter. I just think fair is fair. If you say you want to create jobs, don't stop job creation. If you say you want the economy to recover, do those things necessary to empower business.

Let me take another example; that is, the National Mediation Board. The National Mediation Board is the agency that regulates employment from the standpoint of airlines and railroads and transportation entities. The NMB is 75 years old. For 75 years, their rule on a union election in a covered company is that 51 percent of the number of people employed who would be unionized had to vote in order for a union to become established.

Summarily, 11 days after their appointment under the new administration, that 75-year-old rule was struck to become only a simple majority of the number of people who vote, regardless of how many people are going to be covered in employment. Now, that was specifically targeted at Delta Airlines--an Atlanta company that became the largest airline in the world after buying Northwest and merging the two.
Northwest had union flight attendants, Delta did not. Delta's flight attendants had twice in the last decade rejected unionization in a vote of 50 percent plus 1 of all employees covered. The change in this rule was specifically targeted to try to force Delta to go from a nonunion shop in their flight attendants to a union shop. But even after an aggressive change in law and by the unions, the flight attendants still voted--under the new rule, which is much easier--not to unionize.

Still not satisfied, the National Mediation Board has now filed an action against Delta alleging improper activities. I find this very ironic since in the FAA conference committee, which I am a part of today, we are trying to get a chance for airlines and those covered to be able to have a legal action against a ruling of the NMB if they suspect the NMB ruled unfairly. The NMB has rejected that entirely, the leadership of this body has rejected it entirely, and that conference report languishes--all over an issue that would create jobs, but instead they want to retard jobs.

My message in coming to the floor is very simple. Actions count, words don't matter, simply talking about creating jobs don't mean a thing if we are taking actions that stymie business or punish people from making investments that bring about employment.

It is time for this President, it is time for each of us in the Senate, it is time for this administration, and it is time for the Congress to do what the American people have done: put our shoulder to the grindstone and do those things that bring American business back, our economy back, and bring jobs back to the greatest country on the face of this Earth--the United States of America.