George W. Bush

Port Security Law Watered Down by Union Bosses, Congress

Submitted by Carl Horowitz on Mon, 10/23/2006 - 00:00

When Congress sent a seaport security bill to President Bush’s desk a few weeks ago, supporters were enthusiastic that our nation was giving top priority to a previously neglected area of national security. Shipping terminals and cargo containers, they noted, are ideal places where terrorists, with some inside help, could place a bomb, possibly of mass destruction. President George W. Bush, at the October 13 signing ceremony of the Security and Accountability for Every Port Act of 2006, also known as the SAFE Port Act, expressed the need for the law this way: “Our seaports are a gateway to commerce, a source of opportunity, and a provider of jobs. Our ports could also be a target of a terrorist attack, and we’re determined to protect them.” The law, however, may be more significant for what it leaves out than for what it includes. And what the bill leaves out, thanks to eleventh-hour deletions by certain union-friendly members of Congress, are safeguards against the hiring of hardened felons. The American people can thank two longshoremen unions, the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), for a major hand in this.

L.A. Transit Authority Accuses Striking Union of Mismanaging Pension Fund

Submitted by David Kendrick on Mon, 10/27/2003 - 01:00

As a transit union strike wreaked havoc on rush hour transportation in Los Angeles, transit officials insisted on increased control over the union's insolvent pension fund. Local 1227 of the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), representing 2,200 Metro. Transportation Auth. Mechanics, began their strike on Oct. 14. The union representing some 6,000 MTA drivers and train operators refused to cross the ATU's picket line, and an estimated half-million commuters have had to find alternative transportation since.

Appeals Court Upholds Bush Order on Forced Union Dues

Submitted by David Kendrick on Mon, 04/28/2003 - 00:00

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on April 23 upheld President George W. Bush's Executive Orderrequiring federal contractors to post notices informing employees that they cannot be compelled to join a union or pay union dues spent for partisan politics or other activities unrelated to collective bargaining.

The 2-1 decision overturns a previous ruling from the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia that invalidated the President's Executive Order. In addition to defending the order as amicus curiae in the case, the National Right to Work Foundation had called upon the Bush Administration to appeal the District Court's original decision and delivered over 100,000 signed grassroots petitions urging President Bush to defend his Executive Order from union attack.

"This ruling is a step toward informing employees they have the right not to be shaken down to pay for union political activities," stated Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. "No employee should be forced to fund a political agenda they abhor as a job condition."

Bush 2004 Budget Adds Funds to "Revitalize" Labor-Mgmt Standards Ofc.

Submitted by David Kendrick on Mon, 02/17/2003 - 01:00

Pres. George W. Bush, on Feb. 3, proposed adding $8.3 million and 75 new staffers to better protect union members rights and promote the financial accountability of union officials.

At a press conference announcing the Dept. of Labors proposed budget for fiscal year 2004, Deputy Secy. of Labor Cameron D. Findlay said that the Ofc. of Labor-Mgmt. Standards (OLMS) would receive an extra $6.1 million, along with the new staff, to improve the OLMS enforcement of the Labor-Mgmt. Reporting & Disclosure Act (LMRDA). Also known as the Landrum-Griffin Act, that 1959 law mandates free and fair local union elections, and requires union officials to annually report the finances of their unions to DOL.

Union Watchdog Ask President to Appeal Ruling Striking Down Beck Executive Order

Submitted by Michael Nelson on Mon, 01/21/2002 - 01:00

As reported in the last UCU issue, U.S. Dist. Judge Henry H. Kennedy, Jr. (D.D.C., Clinton) struck down President Bush's Executive Order 13201 Jan. requiring fed. contractors to post notices informing employees of their rights not to join a union or to pay fees for nonrepresentational purpose, under the Supreme Court's 1988 decision, CWA v. Beck. The Nat'l Legal & Pol'y Ctr. was written President Bush requesting that he and his Administration appeal Kennedy's adverse ruling.

Michael Nelson's blog

Unions Sue to Stop Bush's Beck Order

Submitted by Michael Nelson on Wed, 07/18/2001 - 00:00

Complaining that President Bush's executive order enforcing the U.S. Supreme Court's decision Communications Workers v. Beck imposes "substantial administrative burdens" on businesses, three unions and a federally funded union-established corporation have filed suit against the Bush Administration. The union suit seeks to prevent unionized employees of federal contractors from learning about their rights to be nonmembers and reclaim their forced union dues spent for politics. The United Auto Workers, along with the UAW-Labor Employment & Training Corp. and two affiliates of the Office & Prof'l Employees Int'l Union, filed the suit in May in the U.S. Dist. Court for D.C. against Sec. of Labor Elaine Chao, Sec. of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and several other Administration officials.

Bush, Chao Focus on Fraud and Abuse in DOL Programs

Submitted by Michael Nelson on Mon, 03/19/2001 - 01:00

According to BNA, the FY 2002 budget "blueprint" suggests that attention is being paid early in the Bush administration to longstanding concerns regarding a variety of Dep't of Labor programs that may be subject to fraud and abuse. Issued Feb. 28, the preliminary budget referred to three areas identified in the past by the DOL's inspector general as in need of attention. These include programs that provide benefits to workers, such as the unemployment insurance (UI) program; administration of grant funds; and foreign labor certification programs. DOL IG Gordon Heddell's spokesman said he "looks forward to working with" Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao "and her management team to address these longstanding issues." Heddell, a 28-year veteran of the federal law enforcement system was confirmed IG by the Senate on Dec. 15.

Gore, Unions Hit With FEC Complaint Over Ad

Submitted by Michael Nelson on Mon, 11/06/2000 - 01:00

The Nat'l Legal & Pol'y Ctr., a union corruption watchdog group, filed a complaint with the Fed. Election Comm'n Oct. 30 against Gore/Lieberman, Inc., AFL-CIO and Am. Fed'n of State, County & Mun. Employees for an apparent violation of federal election law. The complaint concerns a full page advertisement that appeared in the Washington Post on Oct. 11, which attacked Tex. Gov. George W. Bush's tax cut plan and listed 300 economists.

The ad stated: "Paid for by the working men and women of [AFSCME] and the AFL-CIO." It also said: "We, the undersigned, oppose the large-scale tax cuts that are the centerpiece of presidential candidate George W. Bush's economic proposals." It states: "Targeting the surplus to these families as proposed by Vice President Gore makes more sense." It said: "To waste that opportunity with this tax scheme would be economically and socially irresponsible."

The ad could be considered express advocacy or a coordinated "issue ad." Either interpretation of the ad results in a violation of the Fed. Election Campaign Act.

Pennsylvania Member Speaks Out Against Union "Bigwigs"

Submitted by Michael Nelson on Mon, 09/11/2000 - 00:00

The following are excerpts of a letter-to-the editor that appeared in the Lancaster (Pa.) New Era on Sept. 4, 2000. It was written by Donald Felty of Lititz, Pa., and titled "Not All Members of Unions Will Vote Democratic."

"The place where I work is a closed union shop, represented by the United Steelworkers of America, of which I am a member. On the union bulletin board are several papers bashing Texas Gov. George W. Bush. One claims that Bush's plan to let people invest a small portion of their Social Security funds in the stock market will result in dire consequences. Another paper claims that Bush is against the minimum wage, against better education, how bad off working families in Texas are, and how Texas dropped from 29th to 48th in state rankings of the best state in which to raise a child.

...So, where were all these poor, working families when Bush won his second term? Did these great masses of poor, working Texans lose their cars and were too weak from near starvation to walk to the polls to vote against Gov. Bush? According to this union propaganda, Bush should have lost big on his second run.

Gore Aides Sought IRS Info for Union

Submitted by Michael Nelson on Mon, 03/27/2000 - 01:00

Two aides to Al Gore improperly called the IRS on the same day in Jan. 1997 seeking information on a tax case of interest to a unnamed union whose president was scheduled to meet with Gore the next day, Congressional investigators reported Mar. 16. The Joint Committee on Taxation's report said that the two "appear to have attempted to obtain taxpayer return information to which they were not entitled." Federal law bars almost any release of IRS information on specific taxpayers.

Lindy L. Paull, JCT's chief, said that she was constrained by taxpayer confidentiality from identifying the union. She said the calls, which the IRS rebuffed, raised questions about whether Gore's office created the "appearance of influence" on the union's behalf.

According to the report and supporting IRS documents, the then-counsel to Gore, Kumiki Gibson, and Gore staffer, Joe Eyer, both called the IRS on Jan. 28, 1997 "and in violation of written White House policies...attempted to secure taxpayer return information." Under White House policy, "no member of the...staff should have any communication of any type with the IRS without prior approval of the [White House] Counsel."