Why the Senate filibuster fight matters

UPDATE: By sticking to their guns, Senate Democrats have managed to win a key victory for the labor movement and working people. As part of a deal struck by a bipartisan group of senators, President Obama has announced two new nominees to the National Labor Relations Board who have the backing of the national AFL-CIO and are expected to receive confirmation votes next week.

The deal ensures that American workers will benefit from having a fully-functional NLRB throughout the rest of President Obama’s term.

Also as part of the deal, on Tuesday the Senate confirmed Richard Cordray as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, finally giving the agency the full power it needs to rein in the big banks and Wall Street. Several other key nominations by President Obama are expected to receive votes in the coming weeks as well.

Republicans agreed to allow the votes in exchange for Democrats promising to keep existing Senate rules in place. However, the deal is expected to significantly reduce the number of key nominations held up by the Republican minority.

ORIGINAL POST: The escalating fight in the U.S. Senate over filibuster rules isn’t just a matter of sparring over parliamentary procedure – it’s also a fight over the future of collective bargaining rights, especially for private-sector workers.

For weeks, Democrats have been threatening to change Senate rules to prevent filibusters on President Obama’s nominations for key positions. Republicans have repeatedly abused Senate rules to all-but-require the president’s nominees to have the support of 60 senators.

Among the positions Republicans have refused to allow a vote on are Obama’s nominees to the National Labor Relations Board, which addresses issues relating to private-sector workplaces and employees, including unionization and collective bargaining rights.

Even though these nominees would clearly win confirmation in an up-or-down vote, Republicans have prevented them from happening. As a result, in August the board could no longer have a quorum, allowing anti-union and anti-worker actions by big business to go unchecked.

In a column for The Huffington Post, Democratic strategist Bob Creamer argues the filibuster fight isn’t just about stopping President Obama’s agenda – it’s part of a broader attack on collective bargaining rights by corporate America and its allies in the Republican Party.

For the last several years, Senate Republicans have unleashed an insidious new plan to eliminate our right to collective bargaining. The GOP has abused Senate "filibuster" rules to prevent up or down votes on the President's appointments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that enforces the labor laws that allow ordinary people to organize and engage in collective bargaining.

Without these appointments, the NLRB does not have a quorum and cannot make rulings – effectively ending the enforcement of labor laws in the United States. And that is exactly the GOP's goal.

Creamer notes that Republicans – following marching orders from Wall Street – have also prevented the appointment of a permanent director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which was established by law to crack down on abuses by big banks.

The GOP has used every trick in the book to prevent the approval of a permanent director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). That's because the law requires that in order for the CFBP to use its full powers to crack down on the abuses of big Wall Street banks, that a permanent director must be appointed by the President and approved by a majority of the Senate. The President appointed an outstanding director, Richard Cordray – the former Attorney General of Ohio – and a majority of the Senate has been prepared to approve his appointment for months.

But the minority Republicans have prevented an up or down vote on his appointment as well. They are holding his nomination hostage at the behest of Wall Street, and demanding that the law be changed to weaken the agency's power to prevent precisely the kinds of abuses that lead to the financial collapse and precipitated the Great Recession.

Republicans have accused Democrats of planning a “power grab” by changing the rules, but as Creamer notes, the real power grab is coming from big business.

The real power grab has been the way that big Wall Street bankers and high-flying corporate CEO's have stolen the economic security of most Americans. In fact, a tiny minority of very wealthy Americans has seized economic power in America and is doing everything they can to prevent the majority from reclaiming their economic rights.

There is good news as of this morning – it appears Republicans may relent and allow the president’s nominations to the NLRB to receive a vote. However, it’s unlikely they’ll give up in their efforts to attack workers’ rights – and that’s why it’s important we continue to put pressure on senators to stand up to GOP obstruction.