Government Unions Hide Behind Secrecy Protections
According to a recent article by our friend David Denholm, president of the Public Service Research Foundation, published in Budget & Tax News, by The Heartland Institute; he makes the case that public sector unions (i.e. government unions) are increasingly protected thus attributing to their rise in numbers. Increased transparency, as we have seen with private sector unions, allows members to see what their dues are really being used for and to react accordingly. That reaction - well, private sector union membership is at historic lows, around seven percent.
Government Unions Hide Behind Secrecy Protections
Written By: David Denholm
Published In: Budget & Tax News
Publication Date: February 1, 2008
Publisher: The Heartland Institute
There is little doubt that financial transparency is a major deterrent to labor union and political corruption. Yet, where the two meet--unions of government employees--there is virtually no financial transparency.
Unions composed entirely of government employees at the state and local level are not covered by the federal Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), also known as the Landrum-Griffin Act. Among other things, the act requires labor unions to file annual financial reports with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Unions of federal employees are required by the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 to file financial disclosure forms with the U.S. Department of Labor.
Right to KnowPublic-sector labor unions take an active role in the election of candidates for local office--school board, city council, etc.--and transparency of their political expenditures is in the public interest, says Brian M. Johnson, policy director for the Alliance for Worker Freedom.
"As we have seen, unions often act contrary to the best interest of their members," Johnson said. "By mandating public-sector union financial disclosure, union members and the general public will finally get to see where all these coffers of money are going."
A few states have laws requiring public-sector unions to file financial reports or make them available to members on request. Where financial reports are required, however, it does not appear any effort is made to make them generally available--on the Internet, for example...click to continue.
