 The Obligations of Union Leadership
When it comes to listing the numerous obligations of leadership,
the completion of paperwork in a timely manner no doubt does not
appear at the top of many lists. However, for officers of local unions,
not completing some types of paperwork in a timely manner can lead
to both civil and criminal consequences.
I am referring of course to filings required by the Office of Labor-Management
Standards (OLMS) within the U.S. Department of Labor, specifically the
Form LM-2, LM-3 or LM-4 and the LM-30.
The OLMS is the Federal agency that is responsible for administering and
enforcing most provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure
Act of 1959, as amended (LMRDA). Congress enacted the LMRDA for the stated
purpose of ensuring that standards of democracy and fiscal responsibility
were maintained by labor organizations representing individuals working in
private industry. The LMRDA has a number of major provisions to it, but for
the purpose of this message I will focus on two: 1) requirements for reporting
and disclosure of financial information and 2) requirements for reporting and
disclosure by union officers and employees.
The filing of the Form LM-2, LM-3 or LM-4 satisfies the first of these provisions.
Essentially all three of these reports serve the same purpose; it is only
the complexity and detail of information that must be provided that is different.
Local unions with total annual receipts of $250,000 or more must file the
Form LM-2. Those with lower total annual receipts may file a Form LM-3 or a
Form LM-4. All of these Forms are due no later than ninety days of the end of
the local union’s fiscal year and must be signed by the President and the Treasurer.
The Form LM-3 and Form-LM-4 can be submitted in paper form, but
the Form LM-2 must be filed electronically and requires electronic signatures.
The second provision has, as it’s original purpose to highlight any conflict
or potential conflict of interest that may exist for a union officer. This is the
Form LM-30, which must be filed within ninety days after the end of the individual’s
fiscal year, which for almost everyone is the calendar year. Recent
changes have greatly expanded the scope of union officers to now include
union volunteers, such as shop stewards, if they perform union-related tasks,
such as meeting on grievances, during their normal workday without having
their pay reduced by the amount of missed hours. Depending on your individual
situation, the Form LM-30 can have some potentially complicated legal
aspects to it and individuals completing it may at times require some legal
advice.
The DOL has stated its intention to vigorously enforce the timely filings of
various reports and local union officers are advised to pay strict attention to
their obligations. Additional information can be found in the “Local Union
Secretary and Treasurer Handbook” and the OLMS Web site at
www.dol.gov/esa/olms_org.htm.
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