LUBBOCK, Texas (PAI) — A Reagan-appointed federal judge in rural Texas has made permanent an injunction against an Obama administration regulation that would have required transparency from consultants hired by employers to fight unionization.
The anti-union consultancy business rakes in millions of dollars annually. The corporations call themselves “persuaders.”
The Department of Labor (DOL) rule said that these outfits must disclose how much they spend and what they’re spending it for.
The judge, Sam Cummings of the Northern District of Texas, said the rule violated union-busters’ “freedom of speech” rights, even though it did nothing to limit their activities.
Judge Cummings had issued a temporary injunction against the transparency requirement back in June. Now he has ruled to block it nationwide and permanently.
Cummings’ ruling is based on the opinion of the right wing National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which is based in Nashville and is one of the largest dark-money business lobbying groups in the U.S. Several GOP-run states, including Texas and Michigan, entered the case on the side of the NFIB.
Selection of rural Texas as the area to challenge an Obama administration regulation is no accident. The judges there are deeply conservative and cater to the business right wing and its allies. Judges in the area have blocked several rules promulgated by the Obama Administration.
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