We’re not the only ones pointing out the questionable ties between President Obama’s National Labor Relations Board recess appointments and Big Labor. The Washington Examiner recently breaks a story about the case of Mike Quigley, a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers IUOE) Local 150.
Quigley describes himself as a lifelong union member and proud of it. But, he’s been frustrated for years with Local 150’s support of an entrenched union boss machine and what he claims is “the corruption he felt pervaded his local.” So, Quigley ran against longtime Local 150 president and business manager Bill Dugan in 2007 hoping to force reform and built a website along the way.
But, Quigley’s candidacy ended up completely derailed as Local 150 cronies rallied behind Dugan by changing the rules – in the middle of the game:
“But IUOE headquarters stepped in, passing a rule that forced all candidates to password-protect their campaign websites, allowing access only to union members and barring the general public.”
While Quigley lost his campaign, guess what happened to Dugan?
“Three years later, Dugan was indicted for violations of federal labor law and sentenced to three years probation.”
Quigley’s bid to unseat Dugan could have avoided that embarrassing episode at Local 150. But, IUOE General Counsel Richard Griffin was pushing the rule in defense of Dugan all along. Today, Griffin is being rewarded for his hard work on behalf of Big Labor with a recess appointment to the NLRB. Yet, this is the same Griffin who not only helped dismantle an opportunity to root out corruption in Local 150, but also contributed to the larger problem of union cronyism with his actions.
Not only are President Obama’s recess appointments unconstitutional, but one of his nominees has a questionable past worth taking a second look at.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Barack Obama, Corrupt, Dugan, International Union of Operating Engineers, IUOE, Mike Quigley, NLRB, President Obama, recess appointments, Richard Griffin, Sharon Block. Bookmark the permalink.