Republicans Vote to Keep Workers in the Dark During Union Organizing Campaigns
Democrats applaud DOL’s final Persuader Rule as an effort to restore congressional intent by pulling back the curtain on union avoidance consultants
WASHINGTON – Today, the Committee on Education and Workforce Republicans voted to keep workers in the dark by approving a Congressional Review Act to overturn the Department of Labor’s (DOL) final persuader rule. The rule requires employers and “union avoidance consultants” to report their persuader arrangements to DOL, pursuant to the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) of 1959.
“This resolution of disapproval harms workers’ free choice in deciding whether to be represented by a union,” said Rep. Bobby Scott (VA-03), Ranking Member of the full committee. “When workers are better informed about their employer’s message on union representation, the integrity of the election process is stronger. Consistent with federal law, the DOL has provided long overdue transparency to the activities of union-avoidance consultants that have been shrouded for over fifty years. I strongly believe in workplace democracy, and this rule is a way to make that better.”
When workers seek to organize and bargain collectively, employers often enlist the assistance of outside labor relations consultants – known as “persuaders”– to orchestrate and roll out professionally managed anti-union campaigns. Under the DOL’s persuader rule, consultants and attorneys who engage in these persuader activities – and the employers who hire them – must disclose their agreements and a description of the services to be performed, including the amount employers paid for these services. This rule closes a longstanding loophole that allowed employers and consultants to evade reporting.
Committee Democrats unanimously rejected the Majority’s effort to allow union-busting consultants to continue to lurk in the shadows, shielded by a massive reporting loophole in the DOL’s persuader reporting regime.
“Employees should be able to know who is behind the propaganda given to them during union organizing efforts,” said Rep. Jared Polis (CO-02), Ranking Member of the HELP Subcommittee. “Under the final persuader rule, the curtain will be pulled back, and workers will be able to learn how much money their employer is spending on outside union-avoidance consultants, just as employers can already examine the expenditures of unions and their consultants in their organizing efforts.”
Studies show that the union avoidance industry has grown since the LMRDA’s implementation in 1959. In 1990 it was estimated to produce revenues of $200 million a year, and employers hire union-avoidance persuaders in as many as 87 percent of union organizing campaigns.
While the ABA argues that the DOL’s rule is “inconsistent with” the attorney’s ethical duty to keep client information confidential, the ABA’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct contemplates disclosure of the attorney-client relationship if required by statute. The principle is no different than requiring an attorney to disclose lobbying activity for a client under the Lobbying Disclosure Act. A letter from 26 law professors from across the country affirms this view. They wrote: “We believe that the reporting regime contemplated by the LMRDA as amended, can coexist comfortably within the lawyer’s obligations under the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct”. Law Professors Letter to Committee on Attorney-Client Confidentiality
A recent report by Committee Democrats shows that restoring unions’ strength is critical to helping working people receive a fair share of the wealth they create. On average, unionized workers earn $207 more per week than non-unionized workers. Unionized workers also have more access to paid holidays, paid sick leave, life insurance, medical and retirement benefits than those workers who are not unionized.
To view a letter from over 500 attorneys on the Persuader Rule click here.
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