Posts tagged OLMS
Commentary: Federal unions owe workers more transparency. Congress can help.
September 24, 2026 // Congress should also ask why so few have and strengthen union accountability by requiring unions to disclose in their filings the total number of workers they claim to represent versus the number of actual members. They should also be required to report election turnout data at all levels: eligible voters, ballots sent and ballots returned — similar to shareholder-vote disclosures. For example, some unions use “delegate” qualification procedures that can insulate national incumbents from direct member voting. As a matter of fair competition, challengers should have the same access to membership contact lists as incumbents, with sufficient time to mount a campaign, with direct member voting as the preferred standard.
Maryland Union Leader Convicted of Defrauding Union To Enrich Herself
September 3, 2026 // Goodwin served as the president of the AFGE local 2419 union from January 2017 to August 2019. At the time of her service, the union represented approximately 500 federal employees of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). As part of the fraud scheme, under Goodwin’s authority, the union transferred approximately $1 million received from NIH from multiple employee grievance lawsuits into the local 2419 bank account. She then used her power as signatory of the union bank account – which she retained as part of her scheme to defraud the union even after her tenure as president had expired in 2019 – to transfer the money to a sham consulting company that she owned.
Editorial Board: The federal government’s most efficient use of $600 ever?
May 15, 2026 // As part of the Trump administration’s effort to modernize government websites, OLMS has added a new “Visualization” column. All the reports are available the same as before, but now some also have a more user-friendly version. The data are searchable and sortable, and users can view multiyear comparisons, with charts, at a glance. This fix has made it much easier to see, for example, that the Amalgamated Transit Union has 18 vice presidents, and they all make more than $215,000 a year.
IBEW Union Bigwig James Burke Pleads Guilty to Embezzling Union Funds
March 23, 2026 // James Burke, Financial Secretary of IBEW Local 549, has pleaded guilty to embezzling over $40k from union funds.
Vinnie Vernuccio: Trump’s new union transparency tool is a game changer for workers
March 21, 2026 // Less than $600. That’s how much taxpayer money the Trump administration just spent to give American workers more of the transparency they deserve. On March 17, the Department of Labor rolled out an improved system — www.unionreports.gov — that lets workers quickly see how labor unions are spending their members’ dues. This information is essential to helping workers decide if unionization is right for them. The new transparency system is surely one of the most efficient and effective uses of taxpayer dollars in American history.
US Department of Labor launches data visualization tool for union reporting forms, providing valuable insight on union spending
March 19, 2026 // The data visualization tool release follows the department’s launch of a modern open data portal at data.dol.gov that is providing more transparency and efficiency for users to access data related to the American workforce. Both updates help bring the department into alignment with the Federal Data Strategy established during President Trump’s first administration.
Boilermakers members call for federal probe into KC-based union’s elections
February 24, 2026 // Filed by two members of Kansas City’s Local 83, the complaint was sent to the Office of Labor-Management Standards, an agency within the Labor Department. It alleges that the union’s election system locks rank-and-file members out of the process and ensures that those in power will remain in their positions. The action comes as a trial is approaching in a federal corruption case in which several former union executives — among them ousted International President Newton Jones — are charged with allegedly scheming to steal $20 million in union funds. The union’s executive council voted to remove Jones in 2023, accusing him of misusing union funds for personal gain, including funneling large sums of money to his Ukrainian wife for work she never performed.
NAGE IAEP Union Boss Robert Rasulo Sentenced for Crimes
October 21, 2025 // NAGE IAEP Treasurer Robert Rasulo has been sentenced to two years of probation, along with paying nearly $20 in restitution, after pleading guilty to petit larceny and attempted petit larceny.
UMWA President Jerry Kerns II Faces Embezzlement Indictment
October 8, 2025 // Jerry Kerns II, President of UMWA Local 1582, will have to face a courtroom after being indicted on one count of embezzlement.
A ‘Copy And Paste’ Campaign? – Opponents ‘Flood The U.S. Department Of Labor With Identical Comments Against Proposed Union Rule
September 2, 2025 // During the month-long comment period, a total of 299 comments were received and all can be viewed on line. Interestingly, over a quarter of the comments (78) were submitted by “anonymous,” which is problematic for a number of reasons including the inability to verify whether the same commenter submitted multiple comments. Actually, of those who did identify themselves, 20 commenters filed 41 comments. Most disturbing, however, is that there appears to have been a concerted effort to “juice” the number of comments against the rule change.