On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced legislation to improve transparency in union elections.
Cassidy, the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, introduced the legislation to prevent unions from misleading workers about the state of the union’s pension benefits during recruitment efforts. Cassidy said he supports workers’ ability to decide to join a union, but hopes to ensure workers’ get more information about the benefits unions tout.
“Workers shouldn’t be misled when it comes to their retirement savings. If unions are promoting a pension fund to drive up membership dues, workers should know if that fund is financially stable,” Cassidy said. “This bill ensures workers have the proper information when making crucial decisions that affect their ability to retire.”
According to Cassidy, unions will often use potential pension plans as benefits to joining a union. However, he said, the unions do not have to tell potential members if the pension fund is financially sustainable and capable of delivering the promised benefits. Single-employer pension funds are required to provide annual reports to participants about their financial state. The Defined Benefit systems used by labor unions have faced financial challenges and multi-billion dollar bailouts due to union mismanagement, Cassidy said.
Under his bill, if a union has a pension fund, it would be required to provide detailed financial information about the fund to the potential members, including information about whether the fund is able to pay out full benefits as promised.