Compliance June 9, 2003

House Committee Approves Two Union Disclosure Bills

September 18, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The US House Employer-Employee Relations Subcommittee passed two bills designed to ensure that rank-and-file workers receive information from their unions about their legal rights.
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The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, HR 5373, (LMRDA) requires the worker disclosures within 90 days of the worker’s joining the union. The Union Members’ Right to Know Act, HR 5374, (UMRKA) clarifies that unions must disclose to union members certain information about their rights.

Those disclosures are to cover

  • member union dues
  • membership rights
  • member disciplinary procedures
  • the election and removal of union officers
  • the calling of regular and special meetings.

Both bills were authored by Subcommittee Chairman Sam Johnson (R-Texas).

The UMRKA also allows the Department of Labor (DoL) secretary to investigate complaints of a union’s failure to make the required disclosures.   Under current law, the DoL cannot enforce the law on behalf of union members.

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