Today, Education and Labor Committee Republican Leader Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Republican Leader Rick Allen (R-GA) sent a letter to U.S. Comptroller General Gene L. Dodaro requesting the Government Accountability Office (GAO) examine the Office of Labor-Management Standards’ (OLMS) enforcement of worker protection laws as the Biden administration pushes to unionize the entire American workforce.
In the letter, Foxx and Allen write: “On April 26, 2021, President Biden signed an executive order establishing a Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment (Task Force). This Task Force and its subsequently published report shows that the Biden administration has abandoned the longstanding neutrality of the federal government in labor-management matters and demonstrates a bias in favor of unions."
The Members continue: “OLMS helps ensure that the roughly 8 million private sector workers represented by unions have a voice in the workplace by administering and enforcing standards under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA). The LMRDA was enacted to protect union members by ensuring the transparency, democracy, and financial integrity they need to make informed decisions about their membership in a union and to understand their union’s operations."
The Members conclude: “Currently, very little information is publicly available regarding OLMS’s enforcement of the LMRDA. Lawmakers and the public need a better understanding of OLMS and its operations-including unions’ compliance with statutorily required reports, the sufficiency of the agency’s enforcement efforts and tools, and its utilization of scarce resources. … Your work will assist us in identifying any ongoing gaps or weaknesses in OLMS’s enforcement of the LMDRA and in ensuring that workers are protected."
Background: Historically, OLMS is an agency that Democrat administrations attempt to stymie by failing to request adequate resources and walking back union transparency requirements. Information on OLMS and its audit and enforcement programs is important to understand the extent which the Biden administration is meeting its obligation to oversee unions and their finances. The GAO has not issued a comprehensive report on OLMS in 22 years.
Read the full letter here.
