Submitted by Scott Lilly, Dec 19, 2007 10:02

Diana Furchgott-Roth's column, "Keeping Unions Accountable", entirely misses the central issue facing the current leadership of the Department of Labor. There is no question that law abiding, transparent and democratic unions are more effective in representing their members. Insuring that the entire labor movement is made up of such unions should be applauded on a bi-partisan basis. It is a goal that is supposed to be the mission of the Labor Department's Office of Labor Management Services.

Unfortunately, OLMS has not been used for that purpose. Instead placing it under the management of an experienced labor attorney, a skilled labor economist such as Ms. Furchgott-Roth or a career civil servant who had spent their career monitoring union compliance with the requirements of the Landrum-Griffin Act, the current administration chose an individual who had no background in law, economics or government. The current head of that is a life long political campaign operative (the opposition researcher who came up with the idea for the 1988 Willie Horton ads) who has made it quite clear throughout his tenure at the Department that his goal is not transparency or accountability but settling old scores with organizations he views as political opponents.

If the Labor Department and Bush administration want more money to insure compliance with the Landrum-Griffin Act they need to place those regulatory authorities in the hands of someone who will exercise them in a fair and impartial manner. Until then, Congress is likely to use scarce dollars to try to improve mine safety or insure that child labor laws and minimum wage requirements are adequately enforced.

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