LABOR LAW REFORM
NLPC Petitions DOL for Rulemaking to Combat Corruption
The Nat'l Legal & Policy Ctr., a union corruption watchdog, filed
a petition with the Dep't of Labor May
20 requesting that DOL initiate a rulemaking to amend and expand its reporting
and disclosure regulations under the Labor-Management
Reporting & Disclosure Act of 1959. The 40-page legal document
makes a strong case that DOL's existing regulations don't do enough to
protect the rights of members and the integrity of union treasuries. As
recently as 2000, for instance, some 34% of unions failed to file or filed
the statutorily required annual financial reports late. Also, NLPC found
union corruption in 40 of the 68 AFL-CIO affiliated unions (59%)
and in 41 of the 50 States and D.C. (80%) within the last two years. Equally
disturbing, NLPC found that some $33.4 million in restitution has
been paid or ordered to be paid as the result of union embezzlements and
closely related crimes over the last ten years in which data was available.
NLPC's petition proposed five reforms to enhance union transparency, increase information available to union members, and better inform union members of their rights. First, it proposed that DOL make more regular use of its statutory right to file civil suits to enjoin violations of LMRDA's reporting requirements. Second, it recommended revising the existing annual report forms (i.e., LM-2s) to include functional reporting and itemized schedules. Third, it recommended that DOL require unions to meet accounting standards in their preparation of their reports. Fourth, the petition suggested efficient procedures for DOL's much anticipated Internet disclosure system. Finally, it proposed that DOL required unions to notify their members when they file their annual reports and how to access the reports.
"These modest reforms are long overdue given the wave of union corruption in America today," said NLPC Chairman Ken Boehm. "As the petition demonstrates, each of these five reforms is well within the Department's grant of authority under the LMRDA. It's a shame the past Labor Deparments have not made full use of this authority from Congress to better protect all who suffer the consequences of union corruption." NLPC's petition is available at http://www.nlpc.org/olap/dol/020520p.htm.
Union Corruption Update is made possible by the generous contributions from readers like you. NLPC, PO Box 6821, Falls Church, VA 22040. Thank you.
In addition to the unions and organizations covered in this Union Corruption Update, readers can look forward to news and information on other corrupt and abusive unions in future editions.
All back issues of the Union Corruption Update can be viewed at NLPC's website (http://www.nlpc.org). Also available is a union-by-union and state-by-state index of all Union Corruption Update articles.
If you have story ideas or suggestions for future editions of Union Corruption Update, please email NLPC at nlpc@nlpc.org. Thank you.
Union Corruption Update is part of NLPC's Organized Labor Accountability Project which is investigating and exposing corruption in the Teamsters, LIUNA, AFL-CIO and many other union organizations. NLPC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation promoting ethics and accountability in government through research, education and legal action.
Union Corruption Update Article Index (by Union)
Union Corruption Update Article Index (by State)
Organized Labor Accountability Project