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QUICK LINKS: HOME | NEWS | OPINION | RIGHTPAGES | CHAT | WHAT'S NEW townhall.comWalter Williams (back to story)January 8, 2003Washington's education establishment "Fiddling Whilst Rome Burns" was my column several weeks ago. It looked at the disastrous state of education in the nation's capitol, where at only one of the city's 19 high schools do as many as 50 percent of its students test as proficient in reading. At no school are 50 percent of the students proficient in math. At 12 of 19 high schools, more than 50 percent of the students test below basic in reading,...

<p>Last month the Labor Department proposed new rules that will require the largest labor unions to more thoroughly disclose how members' dues are spent. The reporting changes thus far have gone virtually unremarked upon, but the proposal promises to be one of the biggest shake-ups to organized labor since the governing legislation, the Landrum-Griffin Act, was first passed in 1959.</p>

<p>The Teamsters, National Education Association and other unions often are criticized for misusing their tax-exempt status and their members' union dues to lobby federal and state authorities. There also is the occasional union embezzlement story. Nothing, though, has hit as close to home as the fraud and embezzlement charges that have engulfed the Washington Teachers' Union (WTU).</p>

<p>Several months ago, auditors with the Washington Teachers' Union (WTU) and its parent organization, the American Federation of Teachers, made startling discoveries: The WTU was overcharging its members, and some of its officers were apparently lavishing themselves with furs, Tiffany silver and expensive goods from Saks and other upscale shops. Teachers and city officials are shocked and appalled at the allegations, the scope of which goes beyond the initial suspicions reported this fall.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration is trying to pry open the books of labor unions to get much more detailed financial information in the annual reports they have to file with the government.</p> <p>Labor Department officials said Friday they are revamping reporting requirements for the first time in more than 40 years to force the largest unions to specify how much they spend on contract negotiations and administration, organization, strike benefits, general overhead, political activities and lobbying, and to identify those expenses.</p>

Transit Talks Continue Past Midnight Deadline DECEMBER 16TH, 2002 There will be no transit strike - at least not yet. With the morning plans of millions of commuters hanging in the balance, the MTA and New York City's transit workers are negotiating past the midnight hour in a last-ditch effort to avert a mass transit strike that could cripple the city at the height of the holiday season. Ed Watt, the secretary/treasurer of Transit Workers Union Local 100, announced at midnight that negotiators had made sufficient progess to continue their efforts past the midnight deadline. The progress, said Watt, had...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 9, 2002 PR 323-02 www.nyc.gov MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ANNOUNCES CONTINGENCY PLAN FOR ILLEGAL STRIKE BY TRANSPORT WORKERS UNION Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg joined by Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Commissioner John T. Odermatt, New York Police Commissioner (NYPD) Raymond W. Kelly, Department of Transportation (DOT) Commissioner Iris Weinshall, New York Fire Department (FDNY) Chief of Department Frank Cruthers, Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) Chair Matthew Daus and Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor Joel Klein outlined the City strike contingency plan in response to a potential illegal work stoppage by the Transport Workers Union (TWU)."A...

December 3, 2002 Union Head Cites Secret Report in Quitting InsurerBy STEVEN GREENHOUSE he A.F.L.-C.I.O.'s president, John J. Sweeney, resigned yesterday from the board of Ullico, an embattled union-owned insurer, because of concerns that an outside counsel's report into accusations of insider trading at the insurer might never be made public. Mr. Sweeney resigned on the day that Ullico's board met in Washington to consider an investigative report by James R. Thompson, a former governor of Illinois, into highly profitable stock trades by members of Ullico's board, which is made up primarily of former and current union presidents. Mr. Thompson...

<p>From the latest budget hearing/ forum we hear that some of the 40 people in attendance may be unable to afford the 20 cents or so per day that the proposed tax rate increase will cost.</p> <p>I wonder if those same people stopped and thought about what, if anything, they purchase each day that costs as little as 20 cents. Cigarettes, beer, candy, soda, milk and cell phones on average cost more that 20 cents a day. However, for this 20 cents a day Tompkins County resident will continue to get roads repaired and plowed, bridges maintained, children and families protected from neglect and abuse and 911 services maintained.</p>

<p>WASHINGTON — A little known and privately-held firm that handles investment portfolios for union pensions is at the center of a federal investigation that even labor unions concede could generate some of the most scandalous charges to hit the labor movement in years.</p>

Union Leaders Accused of Profiting From Insider TradingJeff Johnson, CNSNews.comThursday, Aug. 15, 2002 WASHINGTON – A non-profit group that fights forced unionization and illegal political uses of union dues filed an unfair-labor-practices complaint this week against a company that provides life and health insurance products to union members. National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (NRTW) alleges that Union Labor Life Insurance Co. Inc. (ULLICO) allowed top union leaders to profit from insider information through a "scheme" NRTW compared to the questionable accounting practices recently exposed at a number of U.S. corporations. The complaint was filed with the National...

At the same time that AFL-CIO president John Sweeney is telling the public that unions are the best protector of workers amidst the "corporate crime wave sweeping the country," "big labor" may well have a similar problem in-house to cope with.Today National Right to Work Legal Defense Fund (NRWLDF) attorneys are filing an administrative complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) against ULLICO, a financial-services company run by union bosses that primarily invests money from union pension funds.The suit claims that ULLICO lined the pockets of some of the members of its board of directors — all current...

Aug. 9, 2002, 9:42PM No label on this hall Non-union construction workers used to cut costs on new Teamsters building By L.M. SIXEL Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle Teamsters Union 988 is holding the grand opening this weekend for its new union hall, which is expected to feature Teamster President James P. Hoffa. But it has become a sour moment for other labor leaders because the Teamsters didn't use union construction workers. They were told by the Teamsters that union contractors cost too much. "No one is happy about it," said Paul Dunnam, organizer of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers...

<p>We have all heard of the corporate misdeeds at Enron, Global Crossing, Arthur Anderson and Citigroup. It's hard to miss. Screaming headlines in daily papers and breathless coverage by network and cable news programs have made sure everyone knows about these unethical and potentially criminal acts.</p>

<p>House Republicans are trying to expand questions about corporate malfeasance to cover labor unions, traditionally Democratic allies, through a bill designed to make sure unions report to members how their dues are spent.</p> <p>The bill, which passed the employee-employer relations subcommittee of the House Education and the Workforce Committee yesterday, would allow the Department of Labor to assess fines against unions who fail to report, or who report late. There are currently no sanctions in law for late- or non-filers. Of the 5,515 unions with annual revenue of $200,000 — the ones required to report to the Labor Department — 83 have not filed the most recent report, while an additional 2,447 filed late.</p>

If you're in a labor union, and the head of your union sits on the board of a little-known insurance company, you may want to check and see if there is any money left in your pension. It may be seriously depleted as a result of some shady stock deals - deals in which many union leaders made out like bandits. A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., is looking into whether union leaders profited by pulling their money out of deals in which pension money was also invested. Heavy Hitters The company being investigated is a union-owned insurer called...

<p>The bosses of Big Labor are once again snatching members' dues to subsidize their political organ: the Democratic Party. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney and the presidents of virtually all of the AFL-CIO's 66 member unions recently voted to assess their organizations additional political fees totaling nearly $20 million over three years.</p>

The actions and internal documents of teachers unions reveal their intent to undermine charter schools.by Lynn Vincent "We’ve seen time and time again where school employees’ interests conflict with the interests of children," Mr. Riley said. "And it seems like the kids always lose." -- Kevin Riley Torri Hurst’s face is buried in a book. A 6th-grader at Robert Mueller Charter School in Chula Vista, Calif., Torri sports eye-glasses, a short afro, and a tall I.Q. At intervals, he raises his head to chat quietly with tablemates Carlos and Reuben. The book Torri holds inches from his nose is Lois...

When Kathleen Klamut started her job as a psychologist in the Ravenna City, Ohio, school system last fall, she requested that her union dues go to charity. Ohio is a closed-shop state, and Klamut's union, the National Education Association, is pro-abortion. "My faith prevents me from financially supporting the union and its affiliates," she told the House Workforce Protections subcommittee. "It does not matter which pocket the union puts the money in."The local chapter of the National Education Association, the nation's largest union, had other plans. Although the Civil Rights Act of 1964 allows members who object to a...

Union Prosecuted For Threatening to “Kill” Workers if They Oppose the Union Federal Labor Board to conduct trial of theatrical union operating in Orlando area FOR RELEASE: June 4, 2002 Orlando, Fla. (June 4, 2002) — Responding to federal charges brought by two Orlando area workers, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced it will prosecute the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 835 for threatening to kill or harm workers who participated in efforts to decertify the union. Local 835 officials operate an exclusive union hiring hall that provides workers in the trade show, convention, and...