One doesn’t usually associate the cause of worker freedom with organizations headed by Ralph Nader. But then, unions have a long track record of avoiding transparency. And promoting transparency is Nader’s specialty. On March 29, the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group, Public Citizen, filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on behalf of dissenting members of the International Union of Operating Engineers. The complaint alleges that the union, through a new rule, is infringing upon its members’ right to communicate with each other via the Web. The hidden purpose, argues Public Citizen, is to suppress debate over union elections.
