August 29, 2011

Leadership Kudos and Gaffes: Effective leadership in a crisis, and blocking job growth

Leadership Kudos for this week go to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his effective leadership during this weekend’s crisis with Hurricane Irene. Bloomberg was front-and-center and on the air waves urging New Yorkers to take the pending storm seriously and get out of town. Behind the scenes he coordinated effectively with FEMA, New York State and local officials as well as President Obama to minimize loss of human life and damage from the storm.

Leadership Gaffes go to President Obama’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for continuing to block the start-up of Boeing’s $1 billion plant in Charleston, SC that will produce the 787 Dreamliner, America’s most promising export for the next 25 years. Boeing is proposing to hire 6,000 employees in SC – IF the NLRB will let them. There’s no law against plants in right-to-work states, as both German auto makers BMW and Mercedes have shown with their highly successful SC plants. Meanwhile, Boeing is adding 2,000 unionized jobs in Seattle. With 25 million Americans unable to find full-time jobs, why doesn’t the Obama administration step in and get this resolved?