CLEVELAND, July 8 — The U.S. Department of Labor has extended the filing date for 2004 LM-30 reports from July 15 to August 15, 2005.
Section 202 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA) applies to “every officer of a labor organization and every employee of a labor organization.” In BLET, that means all national officers, as well as all officers of general committees of adjustment, divisions, and state legislative boards are covered. It also means all staff except clerical and custodial employees.
The purpose of the law is to require disclosure of any relationships that have the potential for conflicts of interest in the representation of membership.
Therefore, those individuals described above are required to report annually to the DOL:
1. Interests they (which includes spouse and minor children) have in, or income over $25 that they receive from:
1a. Employers whose employees the union represents or seeks to represent, or;
1b. Providers of goods or services to the union, and
2. Any payment of money or other thing of value (including reimbursed expenses) that you receive from any employer or any person who acts as a labor relations consultant or employer. This includes designated FELA counsel.
These annual reports are done on what are known as LM-30 Forms. Once filed, they are posted and available for public inspection on the DOL’s website.
For most of the 45 years Section 202 has been in place, it has received little attention and raised few concerns. The Bush Administration, however, has let it be known that it will begin enforcing Section 202. You can read about the new approach on DOL’s website and download a copy of the Form LM-30 and the Instructions for filing it out:
BLET officers with questions may contact the office of National Secretary-Treasurer William C. Walpert for more information.