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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 3, 2007)
Republicans, Big Business in uproar over cuts to union oversight agency WASHINGTON, D.C. — Repub- licans and Big Business leaders are in an uproar over a vote by U.S. House Democrats not to restore a small cut in funding to the Office of Labor-Man- agement Standards. OLMS is a division of the U.S. De- partment of Labor. It was set up under the 1959 Landrum-Griffin Act and is charged with monitoring financial dis- closures by unions. Under the anti- union Bush Administration, OLMS has seen its funding increased by 33 percent and its staffing increased from 290 full time employees to 406 — while other agencies within the De- partment of Labor have had their budgets and staffing slashed. Since 2001, OLMS has adopted new reporting rules that have required unions to spend millions of dollars in new software. The national AFL-CIO says union officials also have been forced to spend time plowing through reporting requirements that track the smallest of expenditures (including the purchase of paperclips), leaving them less time to serve current members and to assist prospective new members in organizing. In his appropriations budget for the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education departments, Bush pro- posed a 14.6 percent increase — to $56.9 million in 2008. The House bill version reduced OLMS funding to $45.7 million from $47.8 million. An attempt by Republicans to re- store $2 million to OLMS’ budget was defeated 186-237 on a mostly party- line vote, touching off the uproar. In Vancouver, Wash., the Colum- bian newspaper on July 24 attacked Third District Congressman Brian Baird for his vote not to restore the funding. (All of Oregon’s congres- sional Democrats voted the same as Baird.) Following the talking points of Re- publicans, Big Business and the Na- tional Right-to-Work Committee, the newspaper derided Baird and the De- Broadway Floral mocrats for targeting OLMS and “pro- tecting unions.” “If fiscal concern is crucial, why was OLMS targeted by House De- mocrats as the sole division in the De- partment of Labor that will face fund- ing cuts?” the newspaper asked. The Columbian made no mention that Democratic lawmakers approved increases in funding for all the other investigative offices within the Depart- ment of Labor . During debate on the amendment on July 17, House Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey (D- Wis.) said “(OLMS) has been doing very well while other portions of the Labor Department that are supposed to focus on protecting workers have, in fact, been starved.” Obey said the Wage and Hour Divi- sion, which is supposed to enforce protection for workers on minimum wage, overtime and child labor laws, will have seen its staffing drop by over 12 percent since 2001, and the staff level at the Office of Federal Contract Compliance, which protects workers from unfair employment practices by federal contractors, will have dropped by 23 percent. In his defense, Baird told the Columbian newspaper: “I’m 100 per- cent for investigating union corruption, but it would be a more balanced ap- proach if the Bush Administration had shown this strong a commitment to in- vestigating abuse of workers and pro- tecting workers’ rights here and abroad.” Later, in a second attempt to restore funding to OLMS, U.S. Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) offered an amend- ment to cut $3 million from the U.S. contribution (via the Department of Labor) to the International Labour Or- ganization for its campaigns against child labor and workers’ rights abuses. That move died, too. John Edwards will speak at Oregon AFL-CIO convention Democratic presidential candi- date John Edwards will be the keynote speaker at this year’s Ore- gon AFL-CIO convention. The convention will be held in Seaside Oct. 7-10. Edwards has been confirmed to speak on Tuesday, July 9, Oregon AFL-CIO President Tom Chamber- lain told the NW Labor Press. Vancouver non-profit that helps homeless seeks union sponsors for upcoming event VANCOUVER — Share House, an organization that serves the homeless and hungry in Clark County, is looking for union locals to sponsor a benefit basketball tournament this summer. Hoops on the River is a 3-on-3 bas- ketball tournament slated Aug. 18-19 at Vancouver Landing, located down- town along the Columbia River. Reg- istration is expected to reach 200 teams and drawing over 1,500 spectators. Share, founded in 1977, operates four shelters for single men, single women and families. It provides meals for the homeless and low-income in the greater Vancouver area, and pro- vides street outreach and case manage- ment programs for the homeless. The basketball tournament sponsor- ships start at $200. For more information, call Pam Tower-Penrose, development director, 360-695-7658 or go to www.sharevan- couver.org. 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