Obama's Union Favors : The latest rule change slams the airlines

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Two weeks ago, the AFL-CIO took down the huge banner calling for passage of "card check" legislation from the side of its Washington headquarters. Looks like the union federation knows its top priority—to eliminate the secret ballot in workplace elections—won't pass the Senate anytime soon. But don't worry, the Obama Administration is quietly giving Big Labor what it wants through the back door.

On Monday, the National Mediation Board changed a 75-year-old labor rule to make it easier for workers at U.S. airlines and railroad companies to unionize. The oversight body last considered this in 2008, upholding the long-standing interpretation of the Railway Labor Act that aviation and railway workers who don't vote in elections on whether to form a union count as "no." The new rule will let workers form a union with a simple majority of those voting.

What changed? President Obama appointed a union stalwart to the board. The 2-1 vote prompted a withering dissent from mediation board chair Elizabeth Dougherty.

The easier organizing rules are aimed in particular at Delta, which recently merged with more unionized Northwest. They also arrive in time to undermine the recent recovery of U.S. airlines after years of heavy losses and bankruptcies. The airline industry will now turn to the courts, saying the board lacks the statutory authority to make this decision.

Are you ready for a Chicago Mob style union movement? Well, are you?