Not to be outdone by the briefing books recently produced by the Alliance for Worker Freedom and the House Republican Leader, the AFL-CIO points to a new report by the Center for American Progress, which criticizes the Office of Labor Management Standards (OMLS).  According to the AFL-CIO: 

"A new report shows how the Bush administration has “shoveled significantly more tax dollars” into the Labor Department office charged with monitoring union finances. At the same time, Bush loaded the office with political extremists who are carrying out a Newt Gingrich/Grover Norquist strategy to destroy unions."

OLMS is responsible for administering the Labor Managment Reporting and Disclosure Act, which includes:

• A Bill of Rights for union members;
• Requirements for reporting and disclosure of financial information and administrative practices by labor unions;
• Requirements for reporting and disclosure by employers, labor relations consultants, union officers and employees, and surety companies, when they engage in certain activities;
• Rules for establishing and maintaining trusteeships;
• Standards for conducting fair elections of union officers; and
• Safeguards for protecting union funds and assets.

Regular readers of WorkplaceHorizons.com will recall that Congressional democrats appear to have been successful in cutting OLMS funding for 2008.

The Senate yesterday rejected a proposed amendment to the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 3043) that would have restored funding previously cut from budget of the Office of Labor Management Standards (OMLS). The amendment, offered by Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), failed by a vote of 46-47, with seven Senators not voting.

Carter Wood of ShopFloor.org has in depth coverage HERE and HERE.

• WATCH LIST: OMLS Budget Bill

In “Let the sun shine on Big Labor,”  the Washington Examiner’s editorial page suggests that the current proposed OLMS budget cuts may be a sign of things to come:

Democrats received $56.7 million in campaign contributions from organized labor in the 2006 midterm elections, compared with $8.2 million for the GOP. Now they want to cut the OLMS budget by 20 percent from what the Bush administration requested. That cut is likely viewed as a mere down payment on the complete gutting Democrats plan for OLMS immediately after one of their own becomes president in 2009.

Additional Reading::

• Labor seeks to reduce oversight budget