labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The U.S. Department of Labor just released  a final rule that improves financial reporting, providing union members with more complete information regarding union trusts.

The unstated subtext here is that some union trusts have been mismanaged, allowing unethical union leaders to strip funds, while concealing their actions from rank and file members.

The new union trust reporting rule, which goes into effect on January 1, 2009, requires unions  to annually file Form T-1.  The rule is issued under the authority of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 or LMRDA. One of the goals of the LMRDA is to provide meaningful information about union financias and expenditures.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, not all (more…)

With 2 major hurricanes affecting the Gulf Coast in just 11 days, the US Department of Labor personnel is stretched thin, but responding to demands for assistance, thanks to volunteers from Alabama, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota and Utah.

Initially volunteers from Texas traveled to Louisiana to assist survivors of Hurricane Gustav.  

However, as Hurricane Ike pummeled the Texas coast just days later, most of them returned to their home state to aid in recovery efforts there.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and state and local workforce organizations have (more…)

The federal government recently announced grants totaling $10 million to train workers for the growing energy industry.

High gas prices have prompted an even greater interest in alternative sources of energy, including nuclear energy, wind power, solar energy and ethanol. There has also been renewed interest in offshore oil drilling. This has fueled demand for workers in the field, nationwide.

The Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County in Santa Rose, California (more…)

The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced a $250,000 Regional Innovation Grant to northern Idaho, The funds will be used  to establish a strategic plan to expand the local economy.

The grant will train workers and develop the regional economy in Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Kootenai and Shoshone counties, in Idaho.

This area of Idaho has long depended upon wood, paper and other forest products for its economic security. However, in today’s market, those industries (more…)