Federal employees can help enforce members' right to know

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As we reported, in response to a petition submitted by Arthur Fox for the Association for Union Democracy, the U. S. Labor Department issued a new regulation fulfilling its responsibility under the Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA). The CSRA requires unions to notify members of their rights inside their unions to fair officer elections, free speech, impartial disciplinary trials, responsible administration of union moneys, limitations on abusive trusteeships over locals, and other fair procedures.

The new DOL regulation requires more than token compliance. Here is what unions must do:

1. By October 2, unions must notify all current members.
2. All new members must be notified within 90 days of their joining.
3. The notice can be delivered by hand, U.S. mail, email or any combination that will guarantee that it reaches every individual member. It can be published conspicuously in a union publication that reaches every member. Posting in a union hall is not adequate.
4. If a union maintains its own website, it must post the notice there permanently and conspicuously. If the international and the local both have websites, the notice must appear on both.
5. Notice must be given at least once every three years.
6. The Labor Department will provide the suggested text for the announcement. If the union uses its own version, the adequacy of its announcement will be subject to review by the department.

A fine regulation - will it be enforced? It will surely be an overwhelming task for the department, with its limited resources and personnel, to review the actions of all internationals and of the thousands of locals which maintain their own Web sites. Your initiative as a federal unionist can be decisive in inducing prompt enforcement. If you keep Union Democracy Review informed, we will help.

Has your union met the October 2 deadline? If you, yourself, have not personally received a copy of the notice, let us know. Moreover, you can contact the Office of Labor Management Standards of the Labor Department at 200 Constitution Avenue, Washington D.C. 20210 or complain to your local OLMS office. If you have received a notice, please send us a copy to review for its adequacy. You must be vigilant because many unions have tried to evade real compliance with token measures.

Examine your union websites, local and international. It is not permissible to bury the notice somewhere hard to find. The site "must contain a conspicuous link to" the notice. If your site posts the notice, send us a link to the page. If not, let us know.

Note: The new regulation does not apply to postal unions which are covered by the LMRDA. Their rights under Section 105 are enforced by private suit.

Text of LMRDA Section 105