Leave it to the feds to foul the waters by the Central Park Boathouse.
The union-happy heavies at the National Labor Relations Board are preparing to file a complaint against the Boathouse restaurant, where some employees, in an effort to unionize, went on strike this month.
That’s their right, of course.
But it’s quite extraordinary of the NLRB to seek a court order forcing the restaurant to enter contract negotiations with the Hotel Trades Council: After all, Boathouse employees don’t belong to the union.
It’s just the latest bizarre anti-business rocket from the NLRB:
* In April, the agency filed a complaint against Boeing, preventing it from operating a $1 billion non-union plant in South Carolina — ordering it to construct jets at a unionized plant in Washington state.
* After Congress refused to kill the secret ballot in organizational elections, the NLRB sought to implement so-called “card-check” voting by regulatory fiat — suing four states that passed new laws requiring secret ballots on union votes.
* And just this week, the NLRB issued new requirements forcing businesses to instruct employees in how to unionize — the only time that has been required since the labor-relations act was passed in 1935.
That’s bad enough. But here in the city, the agency is providing muscle for the union in its feud with Boathouse owner Dean Poll — who was licensed to run Tavern on the Green, but couldn’t reach a contract with the Trades Council, which represents the Tavern’s 400 (ex) employees.
So the City Council, and plenty of union-owned city pols, have been going after Poll’s other restaurant — never mind the fact that 70 percent of Boathouse employees signed a petition against joining up.
Reps from the Boathouse, the council and the NLRB reportedly will meet Tuesday, and a settlement of sorts may follow.
If that’s on the merits, fine.
But if it’s a result of NLRB strong-arming, then shame on Washington, where the rule of law is becoming a prime candidate for the endangered species list.