Solomon Concedes He'll Never Be Confirmed After Battle

March will mark the one-year anniversary of the filing of the complaint by union machinists who said Boeing was building a new plant in South Carolina as retaliation for past strikes by the union in Washington state. Despite the subsequent settlement of the issue with a contract extension, the National Labor Relations Board's taking up of the union fight is proving to have long-lasting political impact.

Lafe Solomon (pictured), appointed by President Obama to be acting general counsel at the NLRB, was responsible for making the call on whether to back the complaint, with the implication that it could lead to the government ordering the idling of Boeing's new plant in right-to-work South Carolina, and force the company to build a second assembly line for the 787 Dreamliner in Washington. Despite the fact that no union jobs in Puget Sound would be lost to the new plant, and significant constitutional issues, Solomon sided with the union. He says he never could have anticipated the political backlash.

As might be expected, South Carolina took the attack very personally. Senator Lindsey Graham promised he'd come out "full guns a blazing," as noted at the time by Solomon. Congressional hearings and subpoenas have dogged the NLRB ever since, Solomon has been indirectly threatened with disbarment for refusing to turn over documents, and Mitt Romney used the case as campaign fodder, calling the NLRB a "rogue agency."

Even after the case was dropped, the political firestorm continues. California Republican Darrell Issa, who subpoenaed NLRB records as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is continuing to press his investigation. The case has the potential to remain an issue in the upcoming presidential election, and affect future NLRB funding.

As for Solomon personally, he tells the Seattle Times he's resigned to the fact that his confirmation in the Senate to have his interim status at NLRB made permanent is now impossible. He claims, "I never could have imagined the fallout." But he still believes the attempt to stop hiring in South Carolina to favor unions in Washington was fair, adding, "Companies can make rational economic decisions that can be in violation of the National Labor Relations Act."

FMI: https://www.nlrb.gov/