PAGE 2 | November 2, 2018 | NORTHWEST LABOR PRESS
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...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.
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