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About Northwest labor press. (Portland , Ore.) 1987-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 2018)
PAGE 2 | November 2, 2018 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS (International Standard Serial Number 0894-444X) Established in 1900 in Portland, Oregon as a voice of the la- bor movement. Published on a semi-monthly basis on the first and third Fridays of each month by the Oregon Labor Press Publishing Co. Inc., a non-profit mutual benefit corpo- ration owned by 20 unions and councils including the Ore- gon AFL-CIO. Serving more than 120 union organizations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Office location: 4275 NE Halsey St., Portland, Oregon Mailing address: P.O. Box 13150, Portland, OR 97213 Phone: (503) 288-3311 Web address: http://nwlaborpress.org Editor & Manager: Michael Gutwig Associate editor: Don McIntosh Office manager: Cheri Rice Printed on recycled paper, using soy-based inks, by members of Teamsters Local 747-M. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Individual subscriptions are $15 a year for union members, $23 a year for all others. Pay by credit card online at nwlaborpress.org/subscribe, or send a check to our mailing address (above) along with your name, address and union affiliation, if any. Group rates of $10.56 a year per person are available for 25 or more subscriptions; call 503-288-3311 for details. CORRECTIONS: See an error? Please let us know at editor@nwlaborpress.org or by phone at 503-288-3311. PERIODICALS POSTAGE PAID AT PORTLAND, OREGON. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: If you move, let us know at nwlaborpress.org/subscriber-services or by mail at our mailing address (above). Be sure to provide your old and new addresses and the name/number of your local union. Please allow three weeks for the change to take effect. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS P.O. BOX 13150 PORTLAND, OR 97213-0150 ...Trump deletes union-buster disclosure rule From Page 1 The LMRDA itself says that any time an employer hires a consultant to “directly or indi- rectly” persuade employees not to exercise their right to unionize, both the employer and the con- sultant have to disclose that an agreement exists, and how much is being paid for it. The law makes an exception for legal- type “advice” given to the em- ployer. When LMRDA took effect in 1960, reports had to be filed when consultants wrote and fur- nished anti-union speeches to employers. But in 1962, the La- bor Department broadened its interpretation of that “advice” exemption, saying union-bust- ing consultants and employers would only have to file if the consultant met directly with workers to persuade them; everything else would consid- ered “advice.” After that, anti-union consult- ants could for all intents and purposes stage manage every detail of an anti-union campaign and still remain exempt from disclosure, as long as the con- sultants themselves didn’t speak to workers. By the 1980s, it was HOW TO SEE UNION-BUSTER REPORTS ONLINE Most of a union-buster’s work is training managers to be anti-union campaigners – and scripting and managing the campaign behind the scenes. The longstanding loophole the Trump administration restored means they don’t have to report any of that. But unionbusters do have to report when they speak to workers. You can see those reports at https://olms.dol-esa.gov/Disclosure. LM-10s are the employer re- ports, LM-20s disclose that an agreement exists, and LM-21s show what consultants are paid. You can also sign up for regular updates at unionbusteralerts.com standard practice among profes- sional union-busters to avoid disclosure by working behind the scenes to train managers and supervisors to deliver the anti- union message. Bringing professional union- busters back into the light be- came an enduring goal for the la- bor movement. Unfortunately, labor’s “friends” in the White House haven’t been in a hurry to help. Under President Bill Clin- ton, the Labor Department re- turned to the original 1960 un- derstanding of the law … nine days before George W. Bush was sworn into office. The Bush Ad- ministration undid the change three months later, re-imposing the 1962 interpretation. After the election of Barack Obama, union leaders again hoped to win back the full disclo- sure of union-busting agreements that LMRDA had clearly in- tended. On Dec. 5, 2008, lawyers and labor officials from 22 unions and labor federations met with Obama’s transition team and asked the Obama Ad- ministration to reinstate the Clin- ton interpretation within 100 days of taking office. The Administration waited seven years. Its so-called “per- suader rule” — which required union-buster disclosures wheth- er the persuasion was direct to workers or indirect through managers — was announced March 24, 2016. It was to take effect April 25, 2016, and be en- forced as of July 1. Then opponents swung into action. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups howled in the media, saying the rule change would be an intolerable burden on em- ployers. [The “burden” was to be a two-page report that the La- bor Department estimated that 3,414 employers and 2,601 ad- visers would have to file each year.] Republicans in the U.S. House held a hearing entitled, “The Persuader Rule: The Ad- ministration’s Latest Attack on Employer Free Speech and Worker Free Choice.” Fifteen Republican state attorneys gen- eral wrote to the Labor Depart- ment saying the regulation would increase legal costs for employers and undermine “the long-standing and sacred attor- ney-client privilege.” Business groups filed suit in several U.S. District Courts to block the rule. They got their wish. A U.S. District judge in Texas issued an injunction blocking the per- suader rule from taking effect, saying the Labor Department had violated employers’ free speech rights and overstepped its authority. Obama’s attorney gen- eral Eric Holder appealed the in- junction, and the two sides pre- pared for a trial that would resolve the question. But the trial never came. In- stead, Trump was inaugurated. His attorney general, Jeff Ses- sions, dropped the government’s appeal. And the Trump Labor Department announced it would reconsider the rule. The Labor Department officially withdrew the rule July 18, 2018. Low Prices! Coats, etc. Mon-Fri 9-6, Sat 9:30-5:30, Sun 12-6 SHOP LOCAL. AND BUY UNION AND AMERICAN- MADE.
