Ralph Dennis

What union lawyers say to their clients in private is off the record.  But how much they bill them, and for what services, is a different story.  That was the view conveyed on May 5 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in a case that grew out of the convictions nearly a half-decade ago of several key members of the United Transportation Union (UTU).  In the new case, Warshauer v. Chao, the court ruled that the union’s designated legal counsel must file an “LM-10” employer financial report with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL).  As an employer, the counsel provides money or other things of value to the union, and thus is subject to the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959, also known as LMRDA or the Landrum-Griffin Act.  In addition to filing an LM-10, this lawyer has other rules to play by.