Chris Mosquera of Rockville, MD has filed a lawsuit against U.S. Labor Secretary, Hilda Solis. His complaint: the Obama administration official has overturned a transparency rule that requires unions such as his to disclose critical financial information about their activities.

In his own words from a Washington Examiner article:

Under the proposed guidelines, union officials would have to disclose how much individual compensation they receive in the form of benefits, account for any travel and entertainment expenses, and identify union income streams.

The fact is most workers want more information about how their money is being spent by union officials. Last year, a poll revealed that nearly 90 percent of union members support strong union transparency requirements.

Disclosure is a simple but effective tool for fighting corruption and encouraging accountability. If union officials know their spending habits are part of the public record, they’ll be less interested in expensive getaways and more interested in effectively managing their members’ hard-earned dues.

That’s why I filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court to stop Solis from rolling back these vital union transparency requirements. Union officials shouldn’t be allowed to operate behind closed doors when billions of dollars of employees’ hard-earned money is at stake.

The rule Mosquera speaks of introduces some very common-sense accountability requirements for union leaders. They would show more of what the union leaders are actually doing with their member’s dues money beyond merely recording expenses and revenue: Read More