For years, the Pelican Institute has maintained its position as an outspoken advocate for transparency in government. Whether it has been education spending or spending on construction projects, the Pelican Institute believes you should know where your hard-earned tax dollars are going.

It was with this principle in mind that the Pelican Institute recently submitted comments to the Department of Labor over a proposed rule change regarding the transparency of union spending.

The rule change specifically deals with local unions and their reporting requirements under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) of 1959.

Currently, hundreds of unions don’t have to disclose their spending even though they are part of a larger national union with private employees. The proposed rule change would make sure that more local unions would also be required disclose where their union dues are going.

This would provide more accountability to union members who are often unaware about how and where their union dues are being spent. As seen in the recent Supreme Court decision, Janus v AFSCME, many of these dues actually go to support causes that the members don’t believe in. In addition to showing members how their money is being used, this transparency would also help to ensure unions are spending funds in ways that meet the demands of their members.

The Pelican Institute was proud to support this change to provide more transparency for hard-working union members.

You can read the Pelican Institute’s full comments to the Department of Labor here.