State of the Union

Who is protecting the non-union workers? The workers who receive their paychecks late, who are short-changed what's due them, who suffer from employers' bounced checks and those who are responsible for medical bills because mandatory Workers' Compensation Insurance was ignored?

What about company "401K savings plans" that accept paycheck deductions that cannot be withdrawn later because of "special rules" adopted by the company's owner? Who is verifying there aren't illegal deductions on employee paychecks for company expenses like gas, materials and safety equipment?

No one, that's who! Many times workers will be unaware of the creative accounting techniques developed by cheating employers, or the workers may know they are getting screwed but won't complain fearing reprisal or termination.

Believe me, especially in construction, it happens, and it happens often!

There is nothing new here. History has proven, though, that the best defenses against cheating employers are labor unions, if workers can get them. Unions monitor their employers and ensure they follow the rules and create level playing fields. For the most part, employers who are cost cutting, cheating and securing job contracts won't do it on the backs of the union workers.

But under the Bush administration, two recent legislative developments send contradictory messages to working families.

The 2008 budget proposal sent to Congress includes provisions to cut $1.25 billion from Department of Labor job training, funding for programs to assist disabled workers and services for international labor programs.

These cuts were offset by increasing much-needed funding for Occupational Safety and Health Administration mine safety and educational programs. However, that the motive for increasing funding by $11.2 million is to oversee and investigate union activity is evident.

Attack labor unions, put them on the defensive, create more administrative work and continue draining them of their finances so they will soon be paralyzed.

While ignoring law violations by non-union employers, this administration promotes the stereotype that unions are corrupt and influenced by the mob. However, Congress corrected the matter by implementing into law strict financial reporting requirements, election rules and member rights after the McClellan Hearings in 1957.

The Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 mandates oversight and in-depth reporting requirements for unions and created the most highly regulated and monitored sector in the country. As a result, acts of corruption and dishonesty are far and few between and are far less than incidents in corporate America. When something does go wrong, it is the members, local unions or international bodies that usually bring in the Feds to clear up the mess.

Wow, big surprise that union members are the eyes and ears for keeping others in line and using existing legal tools to protect their own organizations.

Depaprtment of Labor Secretary Elaine Chaos, a Bush appointee and a transplant from the corporate world, claims "it is important to protect union members and their money," incorrectly implying nothing is being done now. What about protecting workers' pensions, non-union workers' rights and good jobs? Even as union membership continues dropping, Bush continues to focus on the inane issues while ignoring the important ones.

This leads to the second piece of workers' legislation. The Employee Free Choice Act of 2007 is making its way through the halls of Congress and will amend current labor law. The bipartisan bill will fix the broken organizing and election process that favors and even encourages employers to use delay tactics, intimidation and harassment and fire workers during union drives.

The bill would also permit punitive damages for willfully violating the law, mandate arbitration for first contracts and utilize "card-check" for union recognition.

So, here is a proposed new law that will help workers gain protections on the job, protect their money and protect their rights. But what did Vice President Dick Cheney say about the bill as he spoke to a meeting of the notorious anti-union, business-friendly group, the National Association of Manufacturers?

He said, President George W. Bush "will veto the bill" if it is sent to him.

So which is it? Are we going to help workers and their families or not?

Tom Szymanski can be reached at toms@ibew725.org.