House Committee Chair Investigates 12 Unions for Recent Fraud, Corruption
The letters highlight specific examples of recent corruption, and requests information about the union’s efforts to protect members from fraud, corruption, and improper accounting.
On Friday, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) sent letters to the presidents of 12 different unions (a sample of which is below) that, together, represent an estimated 7.8 million workers, to express concern about “fraud, embezzlement, and corruption perpetrated by union officials.”
According to the letters sent, the Committee “is concerned by reports from the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Inspector General and Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) highlighting significant fraud, embezzlement, and corrupt behavior by union officials.”
“The Committee is particularly concerned that over the past decade OLMS has reported 725 federal indictments and 693 convictions of union officials and other union associates,” the letters state. “The Committee’s oversight efforts on just a dozen private-sector unions involve more than $3.2 million in embezzlement and $220,000 in bribery.”
Related: 2023 Union Corruption Report
In all, according to a Committee press release, the 12 unions receiving the letters include: Service Employees International Union; International Brotherhood of Teamsters; United Steelworkers; International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; Communications Workers of America; International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers; Laborers’ International Union of North America; United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America; United Association; International Longshoremen’s Association; and United Mine Workers of America.
Letter sent to Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Claude Cummings:
Read the full Committee press release here.