Obama Nominates Boeing Board Member To Cabinet While His Labor Board Sues Boeing For Creating Jobs In South Carolina

President Barack Obama today nominated John Bryson, a Boeing Board Member, to serve as his Secretary of Commerce.  Mr. Bryson has been a board member of Boeing since 1995.

This comes several weeks after President Obama’s labor board filed an unprecedented complaint against Boeing for building a manufacturing plant in South Carolina, citing it was retaliation for past work stoppages. South Carolina is a right-to-work state, which prevents workers from being forced into unions. The National Labor Relations Board claims that locating a manufacturing plant in South Carolina to meet the demand for their 787 Dreamliner aircraft would harm unionized workers at their Washington-based plant. This despite the fact that Boeing has increased the number of jobs there.

The White House said Mr. Bryson “will play a key role” as a member of the President’s economic team. Boeing promised to create 2,000 jobs in the Palmetto state. Now those jobs are in jeopardy as the NLRB is focused on dictating to private businesses how they should run their company.

But the fundamental question remains: does President Obama agree with his labor board’s complaint against Boeing?  If the President believes Boeing broke the law by building a plant in South Carolina, how can he credibly nominate a board member from that company to serves as a member of his cabinet?

It was also recently disclosed that William Daley resigned from Boeing’s Board of Directors to become President Obama’s chief of staff.

WFI’s Fred Wszolek said, “President Obama has a choice to make, either stop hiring individuals from a company his regulatory agency believes violated Federal labor law or tell Lafe Solomon to cease action against Boeing. Either way, President Obama must choose one as he can’t have it both ways”

Mr. Bryson must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming his position. We hope Senators ask tough questions about the President’s economic agenda, specifically the Boeing complaint. In the worst economy since the Great Depression, it’s unclear why the President’s labor board would put 2,000 jobs at risk.