Right-wingers block pro-labor nominees

If you want to read what a baby John McCain sounds like, peep this.

The National Labor Relations Board was essentially gutted under Bush. This is one of the reasons enforcement of federal labor laws (especially laws that safeguard the right to join a union) has been almost nonexistent.

Now President Obama has nominated several people to the NLRB who are considered to be pro-labor. But - according to this article in the Nation - the Senate has stalled these nominations for almost a year:

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100201/hill_iglitzin

Among the leaders of the effort to stall the nominations are DLCers as well as Republicans such as John McCain.

Why is this important? Because the Senate blocking these nominations creates vacancies on the NLRB - so it has too few members even to have a quorum. And because it doesn't have a quorum, it can't issue any rulings.

Thus, the NLRB is prevented from overturning Bush's actions. It's also prevented from enacting policies similar to those in the much-needed Employee Free Choice Act - which Congress still refuses to pass.

It's as if we no longer even have an NLRB!