[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 84 (Friday, June 21, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1124]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RE: ONLINE PUBLICATION OF LABOR-MANAGEMENT RECORDS

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                            HON. DAN MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 21, 2002

  Mr. DAN MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao and the Department of Labor for their 
commitment to openness with their plan to use Internet technology to 
increase the accountability of labor groups.
  Beginning on June 13, the Labor Department began posting internal 
financial documents from hundreds of labor unions on its Web site. 
Included in these postings is information on union salaries and net 
assets. Disclosure of these labor-management records has been required 
of labor groups since 1959, when Congress passed the Landrum-Griffin 
Act in an effort to improve financial accountability among unions. Yet 
prior to this measure, those seeking to know more about union finances 
had to visit a Labor Department field office in person in order to 
review the paperwork. Now, Americans have all of this information at 
their disposal with a simple click of the mouse.
  This action will empower individual union members to find out, from 
the comfort of their homes, exactly where their union dues are going. 
For too long, union members had obstacles to this information. Through 
this initiative, the Department of Labor has removed these barriers and 
brought disclosure into the 21st century.
  Because these records were already public, this plan reflects the 
Labor Department's sincere commitment to making more information 
available to the public. I thank Secretary Chao and her department for 
remaining vigilant to ensure that money is not being misused for 
political causes, and I hope that the agency's latest initiative 
improves transparency of unions.

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