In early December, the Department of Labor issued a request for information regarding Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Associations (VEBAs). VEBAs are health and welfare trust funds set up by employers and union officials using "voluntary" contributions from workers.

Unfortunately, lack of oversight and an influx of money frequently encourages union corruption, so the National Right to Work Foundation submitted comments (.pdf) warning the DoL about the dangers of giving union bosses a blank check.

As the Foundation’s comments point out, VEBAs should not be surpervised solely by the union hierarchy, but rather should involve employer oversight. Not only would handing over a massive trust fund to union bosses violate the Labor Management Relations Act, which prohibits employers from giving union bosses "any money or other thing of value," it also further encourages union corruption and mismanagement.

In one notable Foundation case, union bosses had the gall to finance a new luxurious union headquarters building with funds diverted from employees’ VEBA. This expenditure was euphemistically termed an "investment" by the the VEBA’s trustees, who were evidently more concerned with helping the union bosses than bringing workers a good return on their money.

The Foundation’s experience with worker-funded VEBAs makes one thing clear: corrupt union bosses should not exercise sole control.

A local Detroit news station followed two union bosses around for the better part of a year, recording their work-related activities. Some of the "benefits" of union representation include union bosses getting paid to drink on the job, collecting massive overtime checks when they’re off work, and running personal errands on the rank-and-file workers’ dime. Unfortunately, these perks are only available to union bosses, but we’re sure workers are incredibly grateful for such top-notch "representation."

Union officials’ bad habits are subsidized by employees’ forced union dues, which fund their position within the union’s bloated hierarchy. When union bosses claim overtime when they’re really off work, their co-workers are also forced to pick up the slack.

Adding insult to injury, states (like Michigan) that lack Right to Work laws force all workers – even those who object to union "representation" – to pay for union activities.

If two corrupt union bosses can rack up hundreds of hours of phony overtime pay per year, imagine how many jobs could have been saved at the collapsing Big Three automotive companies if America eliminated compulsory unionism. We need our workers to be free and our industries competitive.

Speaking of the Wall Street Journal, its editorial on Pennsylvania teacher union bosses’ pathetic and disgaceful practice of ordering teachers to abandon schoolchildren during frequent strikes is also quite informative:

Teachers unions routinely claim that the interests of students are their top priority. So we would be interested to hear how the Pennsylvania affiliate of the National Education Association explains the proliferation of teacher walkouts in the middle of the school year.

According to a recent study by the Allegheny Institute, Pennsylvania is once again the worst state in the country for teacher strikes. No less than 42% of all teacher walkouts nationwide occur in the Keystone State, leaving kids sidelined and parents scrambling to juggle work and family, potentially on as little as 48 hours notice required by state
law.

The strikes take place despite the state’s ranking in the top 20% nationwide for teacher salaries in 2006-2007 — the most recent data available — with an average of $54,970. Those paychecks go even further when adjusted for the state’s cost of living compared to top-spending school districts in places like California.

Unsurprisingly, the status quo is perpetuated by the unions’ corrupt relationship with local politicians:

Pennsylvania taxpayers aren’t pleased. Last year, a bill to prohibit teacher strikes was introduced in the state legislature by Todd Rock and 28 co-sponsors, only to be sidelined thanks to union opposition. According to a group called Stop Teacher Strikes, 75% of state legislators between 2004 and 2006 received teacher union money. The office of Governor Ed Rendell, who received more than $500,000 in teachers union political action committee cash for his 2006 re-election bid, called the strike ban a "radical response" to the problem.

Simon Campbell, president of Stop Teacher Strikes, explained the connection between compulsory unionism and failing schools at this year’s Concerned Educators Against Forced Unionism (CEAFU) conference:

The Wall Street Journal has a good editorial up on the incoming Secretary of Labor’s skewed enforcement priorities. Key quote (emphasis mine):

From day one of the Obama era, union leaders (sic) want the lights dimmed on how they spend their mandatory member dues. The AFL-CIO’s representative on the Obama transition team for Labor is Deborah Greenfield, and we’re told her first inspection stop was the Office of Labor-Management Standards, or OLMS, which monitors union compliance with federal law.

Ms. Greenfield declined to comment, citing Obama transition rules, but her mission is clear enough. The AFL-CIO’s formal "recommendations" to the Obama team call for the realignment of "the allocation of budgetary resources" from OLMS to other Labor agencies. The Secretary should "temporarily stay all financial reporting regulations that have not gone into effect," and "revise or rescind the onerous and unreasonable new requirements," such as the LM-2 and T-1 reporting forms. The explicit goal is to "restore the Department of Labor to its mission and role of advocating for, protecting and advancing the interests of workers." In other words, while transparency is fine for business, unions are demanding a pass for themselves.

Thank goodness we’ll finally get some budget cuts at DOL! After all, union corruption is such a "minor" problem…

The Foundation’s latest Right to Work video report features two outstanding and principled nurses from Houston, Texas. When California Nurses Association union bosses and the Tenet Medical Corporation cut a backroom deal to unionize several Houston-area health care facilities, they set up sham election procedures and imposed a gag rule to block any discussion by nurses of the downsides of unionization. Several nurses turned to the National Right to Work Foundation for help:

The Foundation’s previous coverage of the case is available here and here.

As Freedom @ Work readers are aware, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union wants its very own federal bailout. On Friday, UAW president Ron Gettelfinger, expressing frustration that his union doesn’t own everybody in Congress, indirectly blamed the mess in Detroit on the fact that the National Right to Work Foundation fights for voluntary unionism while protecting its donors’ from being harassed by union goons.

But rather than worrying about the Foundation’s funding sources and demanding the American taxpayers to bail out his pension scheme, perhaps Gettelfinger should examine his union’s financial mismanagement. The DC Examiner has more:

What do UAW executives and workers do to relax? They play golf at the union’s highly touted championship caliber Black Lake Golf Club, designed by Rees Jones. The UAW golf club is in secluded Onaway, MI, as part of the union’s Walter and Mary Reuther Family Education Center. Also part of Black Lake are a learning center, a practice facility with practice bunkers, chipping and putting greens, and a small, nine-hole par-three Little Course.

Golf Digest named Black Lake as one of top “upscale public courses.” And Michigan Golf described the course as a “classic” that includes “wide, well-groomed fairways [that] provide ample room for big hitters.” But some big hitters get special privileges at Black Lake. Tee times can be reserved up to two weeks in advance by UAW execs, compared to only three days for non-UAW duffers. Cost to play Black Lake is $95 per round.

Remember all the much-deserved bad press Detroit’s high-paid Big Three executives received last month when they flew in their corporate jets to beg Washington for a tax-paid bailout? Has anybody in Congress or the media bothered to ask UAW head Ron Gettelfinger about his union’s assets and perks like Black Lake Golf Club?

Michelle Malkin points out that the UAW union’s golf course and education center have managed to lose $23 million over the last five years, even though both are supposedly run as for-profit businesses, according to an independent audit.

Today, President-elect Barack Obama named his pick for Labor Secretary, California Congresswoman Hilda Solis. Unsurprisingly, union bosses are rallying behind the pick.

Solis is a prominent supporter of the so-called Employee Free Choice Act (a.k.a. the Card Check Forced Unionism Bill), which would replace the secret ballot with intimidating "card check" campaigns in which union goons repeatedly harass workers at work and at home to sign union authorization cards. Once the union collects a simple majority of these public "votes," every worker in the bargaining unit loses the right to negotiate directly with the employer.

But in January 2007, Solis joined other members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to protest the lack of a secret ballot in the election for CHC officials. The San Diego Union-Tribune has a good summary of their complaint (emphasis added):

On Wednesday, Sanchez did not elaborate on the claim of election rules violation. However, in a letter to Baca earlier this month, she, her sister, Solis and Velazquez contended the vote did not follow procedure because secret ballot votes were not taken.

The letter requested a new vote, by secret ballot.

“While this request is not likely to change the results, and while it may seem like a mere formality, it is important that the integrity of the CHC be unquestioned and above reproach,” it said.

There you have it — incoming Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is on the record favoring the secret ballot as "unquestioned and above reproach." But only when it protects her from intimidation.

For more on the selection of union-label Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor, click here to read the statement issued by National Right to Work Committee President Mark Mix.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation!

Year round we distribute and give away hundreds of books so that employees know their legal rights, and so that Americans understand why the fight for employee free choice is so vital. But with the holiday season upon us, a reminder about the FREE books you can receive from the National Right to Work Foundation seems in order.

If you act now, you can order two free books Stranglehold – How union bosses have hijacked our government by Reed Larson and Union Dues and Religious Do Nots by Foundation attorney Bruce N. Cameron, and they should arrive in time for Christmas.

In Stranglehold, Reed Larson reveals the astonishing story of how organized labor has acquired incredible, hidden power over local, state, and national government in America.

Union Dues and Religious Do Nots is a guide for employees who find their forced full-dues-paying union membership in conflict with their sincere religious beliefs and want to explore ways to save their conscience.

Order these books today – they would make the ultimate stocking stuffer for the Right to Work supporter in your family!

A Fox affiliate in Chicago investigated Blagojevich’s corrupt relationship with the powerful Service Employees International Union (SEIU). We’ve got the video, which includes a clip from Foundation VP Stefan Gleason:

For more on Blagojevich’s connection to the SEIU, be sure to check out the Foundation’s latest podcast.