Emanuel’s ascension gives the board, which governs labor-management relations in the private sector and in some parts of the public sector, a 3-2 GOP majority, at least for now. Board Chairman Philip Miscimarra, a Republican, will leave at the end of the year, but President Trump will certainly choose another conservative to replace him.

The NLRB's tilt to the right excites the right wing and its business backers. They anticipate Miscimarra and the Trump-named duo of Emanuel and Marvin Kaplan – noted in his Capitol Hill service for GOP-run committees for hating unions -- will reverse prior pro-worker NLRB rulings.

And business interests, who welcomed Emanuel to the board, may have even more reason to cheer: Days before the Emanuel OK, Trump nominated former federal management-side labor lawyer Peter Robb to be NLRB’s general counsel, its top enforcement officer. 
Robb wrote the briefs and made the arguments to get GOP President Ronald Reagan to fire the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) members forced to strike on safety grounds in 1981. Trump did not mention PATCO when he nominated Robb. 

If confirmed, Robb, now an attorney in Vermont, would succeed Richard Griffin, whose term expires in November. Before entering the NLRB post during the Obama administration, Griffin was general counsel for the Operating Engineers.

Debate transcripts for the late-afternoon Sept. 25 Senate session confirming Emanuel were unavailable, but Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., aggressively questioned him and challenged his ability to objectively enforce labor law at the July 13 hearing for him and Kaplan.

Warren noted Emanuel’s Los Angeles law firm, Little Mendelson, where is he a senior partner, is notorious for union-busting. She quoted his extensive academic writings against worker rights. Emanuel argued for limiting picketing, for having mandatory arbitration override labor law and against what the GOP derisively calls “micro-unions,” where unions can organize a group of workers in a workplace, rather than the whole plant. 

Emanuel replied he believes federal conflict of interest rules do not apply to issues his academic writings cover. Warren said he’s prejudged those issues and added “I believe the American people deserve better.” 

And Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., quizzed Emanuel on how he would deal with the problem of misclassification of workers as “independent contractors,” stripped of worker rights. Employers also don’t have to pay Social Security and Medicare withholding taxes, unemployment benefits, or workers comp for independent contractors.

Emanuel denied the problem is widespread, even though one of the highest-profile “independent contractor” misclassification cases – with the bosses losing every time – is right in his home, Los Angeles, involving port truckers who want to unionize with the Teamsters. 
General Counsel nominee Robb, even without his past involvement in the PATCO firings, draws support from management and the radical right. No hearing date has been set yet for the Robb nomination.

SHOWING OLD SWITCHGEAR that will be removed as part of major upgrades at the Eastern Michigan University’s Heating Plant are Jack McKenzie and Mark Maston of IBEW Local 252, employed by Shaw Electric. The new co-generation turbine will create 7.8 megawatts of electricity to power the Ypsilanti campus.


A NEW 55 TON co-generation turbine is placed through an opening in the EMU Heating Plant in June.  (EMU photo)

CORING A FLOOR before installing new pipe at the Eastern Michigan University Heating Plant is Kurt Funk of Plumbers and Pipe Fitters Local 190. He’s employed by FMG Concrete Cutting