The Anti-Labor ‘Labor’ Department

Beyond Justice," a report released last month by the Center for American Progress, describes how the Bush Labor Department — and one appointee in particular — has abused its authority over labor unions by imposing costly and confusing new reporting requirements, attempting to charge more union leaders with alleged misconduct and misleading the public about labor unions through a variety of false analyses.

"The underlying purpose, of course, is to undermine the reputation of the labor union movement through a classic political information campaign — all under the supervision of a lifelong partisan political operative whose career has been dedicated to the destruction of political opponents," report author Scott Lilly writes in the introduction.

Lilly specifically cites Don Todd, chosen early in the administration to run the Office of Labor-Management Standards. Todd is not a lawyer nor does he have much experience in labor issues, Lilly said. Rather he is a Republican operative who was named "RNC Man of the Year."

The report challenges the many burdensome and unnecessary regulatory and enforcement actions that Todd has brought to bear on unions. "It would be difficult to concoct a less effective means of rooting out corruption and wrongdoing," Lilly wrote. "The vast majority of unions will continue to seek out and report wrongdoers simply because it is in their interest to do so."

The unjust crackdown on unions underscores what Lilly said is a broader problem. "Any society that allows partisan allegiance to trump commitment to the fundamental values of democracy is on a relatively quick path to losing those values," he concluded. "The current mess at the Labor Department is yet one more indicator that this country is on that path."

The full report is on the Center for American Progress website at: www.americanprogress.org/issues/ 2007/12/beyond_justice.html