us-dol-150x150-5311072A proposed rule under consideration by the U.S. Department of Labor would have the unexpected benefit of letting more New York public employees see how their union dues are spent—and negating a major union’s recent move to escape federal oversight.

Federal law requires unions representing private-sector workers to file annual financial reports, and lets members see how the money is spent by their local, statewide and national labor organizations. It also provides safeguards to make sure unions follow their own rules when electing officers, among other things. That’s in stark contrast to New York State’s Taylor Law regulating public-sector collective bargaining, which requires virtually no transparency or accountability on the part of unions for which government employers collect tens of millions of dollars in dues annually.

The potential New York impact comes from the U.S. Labor Department move this week to resurrect a rule, first proposed in 2003, expanding unions subject to federal reporting requirements to include “intermediate bodies” that don’t have private-sector members but are “subordinate” to national unions that do, such as the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). The rationale: so much money moves up and down between the layers of labor unions that a private-sector employee needs to be able to see more of the checkbooks from which his or her money might get spent. 

From the DOL filing:

“Union members concerned about payments to and from public sector intermediate labor organizations subordinate to a covered national or international labor organization do not have access to the quality and quantity of information available to members of unions that have historically filed the Department’s annual disclosure forms. Absent such disclosures, union members know less about the governance of their unions and cannot fully monitor the spending of their dues monies. They cannot fully apprise themselves of the financial commitments and obligations of their union. They are disadvantaged in their ability to make informed decisions when electing their union officers, and they do not have detailed information about the funding decisions made by incumbent officeholders.”

After the rule was first proposed early in the George W. Bush administration, it was challenged and ultimately upheld in federal court, only to be reversed under President Barack Obama before it could be enforced. 

If finalized, it will affect at least three New York-based unions representing 70,000 members, the largest of which is the 51,000-member Public Employees Federation (PEF).

PEF is affiliated with both the AFT and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), each of which have affiliates representing some private-sector employees. That makes PEF an “intermediate body” subject to added disclosure under the federal rule. PEF recently stopped representing private-sector workers specifically so it could dodge that very federal oversight. 

While DOL’s rules were crafted with private-sector SEIU and AFT members in mind, PEF members also would benefit from having the federal government keep an eye on union affairs, which have seen a string of disputed elections and embezzlement cases. PEF certainly isn’t alone in that regard: absent a state oversight regime, the past nine years has seen at least 43 publicized instances of New York public-sector union officers or employees stealing funds totaling no less than $3.5 million.

Two other New York government unions apparently covered by the Labor Department’s “intermediate bodies” definition would be AFSCME District Council 35, which represents Buffalo-area public employees, and the United Public Service Employees Union, which represents local government and school district employees in eastern New York and Long Island. All told, the move would affect about 70,000 New Yorkers.

You may also like

The False Claim Behind Albany’s Gray Scare

Public employee unions — and Governor Hochul — are pressuring state lawmakers to increase hiring at state agencies because, they say, more than a quarter of the state workforce is poised to retire. Read More

Trailing most states, New York remains below pre-pandemic jobs peak

Three full years after the initial COVID-19 outbreak, New York’s post-pandemic jobs recovery remains among the weakest in the country. Read More

Blocking regs, court highlights role of parents 

A state Supreme Court judge yesterday voided the bulk of New York’s “substantial equivalence” regulations aimed at religious and other non-public schools Read More

Albany Makes Another Bad Big Bet

A Finger Lakes meal-kit company closed its doors suddenly this month after New York state government had sunk upwards of $14 million into the operation. Read More

Hochul not leading on transparency 

In her own transparency plan, Hochul committed to expanding public participation in government, strengthening public integrity compliance, and changing the way the Executive Chamber handles its records and records requests.  Read More

The Looming Collapse of a Long-Term Care Insurer Raises Questions for DFS

As the Hochul administration presses for the creation of a "guaranty fund" to bail out failed health insurers, the state is quietly moving to seize a small company that could be the fund's first target. Read More

In Buffalo, One of Many Failing Schools is Held Accountable

The looming closure of a Buffalo school that failed to meet student achievement standards is a timely reminder of the high level of accountability New York demands from its charter schools. Read More

The Build Public Renewables Act Could Cut the Power 

The Build Public Renewables Act would require the New York Power Authority to shut down all fossil fuel energy production as of 2030. Read More

Empire Center Logo Enjoying our work? Sign up for email alerts on our latest news and research.
Together, we can make New York a better place to live and work!