DOL Issues Union Transparency Final Rule
The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) posted at www.olms.dol.gov a final rule that enhances financial reporting and provides union members with more complete information about finances held in union trusts. The final rule, issued under the authority of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA), further implements the LMRDA goal of securing the right of labor union members to have meaningful information about union finances and expenditures.
Union trusts are established and maintained primarily to provide benefits to union members and their beneficiaries, and common examples include credit unions, strike funds, redevelopment or investment groups, training funds, apprenticeship programs, building funds, and educational funds. The Form T-1 will provide information to union members and the public about these types of trusts, for which there is currently little, if any, financial disclosure.