The Honorable Elaine L. Chao
Secretary of Labor
United States Department of Labor
200 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20210

Dear Secretary Chao:

We are writing to respectfully request that you withdraw the Labor Department’s proposed revisions to union reporting and disclosure requirements under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA).

The current proposal would expand both the content and the detail of LM reports that labor organizations are required to file under the LMRDA, and we are concerned that such costly requirements would be unduly burdensome. We believe that Union resources are best utilized when representing members during negotiations or grievance handling, not adapting and complying with an unprecedented level of detailed financial information and government forms.

While we share your concern over the burden of government regulation on small businesses, we believe the same standard should apply to labor organizations as well. We are also concerned that any rulemaking that increases the burden of LM reporting at this time would lead to delays in the filing of LM reports. We urge you to find better ways to help rank and file members obtain useful information about their unions and to ensure the integrity of that information. We look forward to working with you on this issue in the future.

Sincerely,

Rob Simmons; Jack Quinn; Chris Smith; James Walsh; Frank LoBiondo; Timothy Johnson; Peter King: James Saxton; Don Young; Sherwood Boehlert; Curt Weldon; John McHugh; Sue Kelly; Jerry Lewis; Spencer Bachus; Phil English; John Shimkus; Lincoln Diaz-Balart; Mike Ferguson; Ray LaHood; Mark Green; Jo Ann Emerson; Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; Dennis Rehberg; Amo Houghton; Steven LaTourette; Tim Murphy; John E. Sweeney