HOUSE Republican Leader John Boehner

Transparency Should Apply to Union Bosses Too

In a memo to the heads of executive departments and agencies earlier this year, President Obama declared, “My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government.”  A noble sentiment - but it apparently doesn’t apply to the Department of Labor or the union bosses it’s charged with overseeing.

As the House Education and Labor Committee Republicans noted today, the U.S. Department of Labor has formally rescinded a series of reporting changes designed to enhance union disclosure.

The aim of these rule changes is to weaken union oversight requirements - a trend this Administration started with its FY 2010 budget, which cut $4.4 million from the Office of Labor Management Standards, more than a 10 percent reduction in its overall budget.  Judging by the profligate spending this Administration has applied to nearly every other department - giving the federal budget a nearly 10 percent boost in spending, cutting union oversight seems an odd place to “save money” - unless reducing transparency, and not saving money, were their aims. 

Part of the transparency roll back for union bosses includes the following items that the Labor Department will no longer require of unions:

• Disclose the total value of benefits received by union officers and employees;
• Disclose the names of parties buying and selling union assets; or
• Itemize union receipts

This isn’t the transparency the American people were promised.

House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) and House Republicans are committed to giving rank-and-file union members the necessary tools to hold union leaders accountable for their actions - and to ensure that they know how their dues are being spent.  After all, it is their money.

From 2001-2005, Leader Boehner served as the chairman of the House Education & the Workforce Committee (the precursor to the current Education & Labor Committee), and was a tireless promoter of increased union transparency.  As hearings by the Committee revealed when Leader Boehner was chairman, many labor unions fail to notify their members of their democratic rights guaranteed them under the 1959 Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), undermining accountability and leaving rank-and-file union members in the dark about their rights under the law. 

Federal labor law is intended to ensure that rank-and-file union members have a full, equal, and democratic voice in union affairs.  Armed with knowledge, union members will have better tools to elect leaders who work in their best interest — and to hold accountable union officials who serve their own interests. 

Unfortunately, the Obama Administration is walking back on its promises of “openness” and “transparency” - and it’s rank-and-file union members who’ll pay the price.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 at 6:56 pm and is filed under Transparency in Government. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 Responses to “Transparency Should Apply to Union Bosses Too”

1. Why No Union Pay Czar? It Helps To be a Friend of Obama! Says:
   October 24th, 2009 at 1:33 pm

   […] move which got no publicity at all, not even on Fox News, the Obama Administration quietly moved to reduce transparency and accountability requirements for ALL labor unions: The U.S. Department of Labor has […]

2. The Baltimore Reporter Says:
   October 25th, 2009 at 11:55 pm

   […] move which got no publicity at all, not even on Fox News, the Obama Administration quietly moved to reduce transparency and accountability requirements for ALL labor unions: The U.S. Department of Labor has […]

3. Pete Cotter Says:
   October 29th, 2009 at 9:17 am

   It’s past time for Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leaders in Congress to be replaced by responsible Conservative Leadership.

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