If you thought the union extremists at the National Labor Relations Board were a little…er…extreme, wait until you get a load of this latest example of an agency run amok.
Every week the NLRB publishes a summary of NLRB decisions. In the Board’s latest weekly summary, there was one decision summary that seemed rather unique since it stated:
The Board granted the Acting General Counsel’s Motion for Default Judgment based on the Respondent’s failure to file an answer to the complaint. The Board found that the death of BLSI, LLC’s owner and the insolvency of his estate did not constitute good cause for the Respondent’s failure to answer the complaint.
So, in addition to prosecuting companies for deciding to open new non-union plants, giving union pushers the ability to physically threaten voters, as well as legitimizing sweetheart unions, Obama’s National Labor Relations Board is now prosecuting dead people too.
What’s even more pathetic is the NLRB’s prosecution of said dead person is, in part, based on said dead person’s failing to respond to the NLRB.
In the absence of good cause being shown for the failure to file a timely answer, we deem the allegations in the complaint admitted as true, and we grant the Acting General Counsel’s Motion for Default Judgment.
In other words, being dead is no longer a good enough cause not to respond and, as a result, the dead person is guilty.
According to the NLRB’s decision, BLSI, LLC (whose sole owner Gordon L. Wray Jr. is dead and his estate insolvent) is a labor law violator because, among other things, the company failed to respond to the NLRB. Here it is in their own words:
The Acting General Counsel seeks a default judgment in this case on the ground that the Respondent has failed to file an answer to the complaint. Upon a charge filed by International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 18, AFL-CIO on November 5, 2010, the Acting General Counsel issued a complaint on January 24, 2011, against BLSI, LLC (the Respondent), alleging that it has violated Section 8(a)(1) and (5) of the Act by failing and refusing to bargain with the Union. Although properly served copies of the charge and complaint, the Respondent failed to file an answer.
On February 22, 2011, the Acting General Counsel filed a Motion for Default Judgment with the Board, together with a memorandum in support of the motion. On February 23, 2011, the Respondent, by Thomas W. Kendo Jr., filed a Response to Motion for Default Judgment. Therein, Kendo stated that the Respondent’s owner, Gordon L. Wray Jr., is deceased, and that he (Kendo) is the administrator of Wray’s estate. Kendo further stated that Wray’s estate is insolvent, and that the Respondent will cease to exist when the estate closes. Kendo requests that the Motion for Default Judgment be denied and this case dismissed on the ground that continuation of the case would be a waste of the Board’s time and resources.
As a reminder, the Respondent is dead. Nevertheless, here’s a quick summary:
In August 2010, the International Union of Operating Engineers unionized BLSI. Shortly thereafter, the union requested to begin bargaining with the company. BLSI never responded to the union. As a result, the union filed unfair labor practices with the NLRB, which the NLRB found the company guilty of:
…the Respondent has failed and refused to bargain with the Union as the exclusive collective-bargaining representative of the unit, in violation of Sec-tion 8(a)(1) and (5) of the Act.
CONCLUSION OF LAW
By the conduct described above, the Respondent has been failing and refusing to bargain collectively with the Union as the exclusive collective-bargaining representa-tive of the unit in violation of Section 8(a)(5) and (1) of the Act. The Respondent’s unfair labor practices affect commerce within the meaning of Section 2(6) and (7) of the Act.
As a result of this scofflaw-like behavior, the NLRB has ordered the Respondent to perform specific remedies to correct this egregious violation of the law:
Having found that the Respondent has engaged in certain unfair labor practices, we shall order it to cease and desist and to take certain affirmative action designed to effectuate the policies of the Act. Specifically, having found that the Respondent has violated Section 8(a)(1) and (5) of the Act by failing and refusing to bargain with the Union, we shall order it to cease and desist therefrom and to bargain on request with the Union, and, if an un-derstanding is reached, to embody the understanding in a signed agreement. To ensure that the employees are ac-corded the services of their selected bargaining agent for the period provided by law, we shall construe the initial period of the certification as beginning the date the Respondent begins to bargain in good faith with the Union.
Once again, the Respondent is dead…his estate is insolvent.
Further, it should be noted that Gordon L. Wray, Jr. died on July 28, 2010–before the union was ever certified.
What is unknown at this point is whether the union extremists at the NLRB will be ordering Mr. Wray’s body to be exhumed so he can then be propped at a negotiating table across from the union.
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“I bring reason to your ears, and, in language as plain as ABC, hold up truth to your eyes.” Thomas Paine, December 23, 1776