Having won reelection last week, U.S. Francis Rooney, R-Fla., continued his efforts on labor issues, urging the U.S. Labor Department to reform how it views worker centers.
At the end of last week, Rooney wrote U.S. Labor Sec. Alexander Acosta, calling on him to to classify worker centers as labor organizations. Rooney asked Acosta about the matter a year ago and was told the Labor Department would look into it.
“Currently, worker centers operate outside the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) to avoid transparency and accountability rules that apply to labor unions,” Rooney’s office noted.
“It is imperative for the Department of Labor to protect union workers,” Rooney said on Friday. “Worker centers across the United States are currently operating as labor unions and should fall under the LMRDA rules. They conveniently avoid transparency and accountability rules that unions must follow; worker centers collect funds from unions to partake in prohibited activities such as secondary boycotts and in many cases even negotiate with employers on behalf of the workers. This disingenuous union tactic must be stopped, and worker centers must be classified as labor organizations to protect hard-working employees from abuse by corrupt unions.”
Back in April, Rooney introduced the “Accountability for Represented Workers Act” to offer more transparency and close the worker center loophole which some critics insist organized labor uses to avoid disclosing finances and keep current leadership in place. The bill, which also has the support of retiring U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., has been before the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee since April.
While much of the focus in his first term has been on international issues--which led to his becoming vice chairman of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee despite being a freshman--Rooney has paid a great deal attention of labor issues as well.
Last month, Rooney introduced the “Union Integrity Act” which, he insists, will protect whistle blowers and crack down on corruption. Earlier in the year, Rooney introduced the House version of the “Union Transparency and Accountability Act,” a proposal championed by U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-SD, in recent years which would add more transparency in unions’ finances by bringing back rules ended by the Obama administration.
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