Union busting

The AFL-CIO is saying this is no big deal...

WASHINGTON, May 4 - The Bush administration has warned the nation's biggest labor federation that union-run pension funds may be breaking the law in opposing President Bush's Social Security proposals.

In a letter on Tuesday to the A.F.L.-C.I.O., the Department of Labor said it was "very concerned" that pension plans might be spending workers' money to "advocate a particular result in the current Social Security debate."

The Labor Department also warned the federation that pension plans could be violating their fiduciary responsibilities by suggesting that they might take their investment business away from Wall Street firms that support Mr. Bush's plans.

The department did not cite any specific instances and it stopped short of any formal accusations. But the letter came after a well-orchestrated campaign by the A.F.L.-C.I.O. to criticize investment firms that appeared to be supporting Mr. Bush's proposal for private investment accounts. "A fiduciary may never increase a plan's expenses, sacrifice the security of promised benefits, or reduce the return on plan assets, in order to promote its views on Social Security or any other broad policy issue," the letter said.

Damon Silvers, associate general counsel for the A.F.L.-C.I.O., described the warning as mostly a matter of "tone" rather than substance, and said union officials agreed with the Labor Department's main principles about fiduciary responsibility.

...but clearly, this is just an opening salvo in the latest battle to hamstring the union's ability to defend its workers -- and workers in general -- from GOP plans to blow up Social Security.

[...] House Republicans viewed the warning as a shot over the bow of labor at a time when Mr. Bush's plan has largely stalled in Congress and when Wall Street firms have distanced themselves from it.

"The department confirmed that union leaders may not use their members' pensions for purely political reasons to pressure employers into opposing Social Security reform legislation," said Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, adding that the administration should follow up with an investigation. [emphasis added]

Investigate away, I say. I feel reasonably confidant that the union's pension fund managers wouldn't be so foolish as to divert workers' funds into this effort. The union has plenty of money for just this sort of campaign. Any investigation would just shed more light on Republican's effort to eliminate middle class retirment benefits and disability insurance. Bring it on!

But it does raise the question: When do House Republicans begin investigating the White House's use of taxpayer money to pay for preznit's Bamboozlepalooza?

Oh, never mind.