More Teachers' Unions Face Federal Disclosure Requirements
Over at the Education Intelligence Agency, union watchdog Mike Antonucci reports on a federal court decision that means more state and local affiliates of the big teachers' unions will have to start complying with U.S. Department of Labor disclosure requirements.
The decision by the U.S. District Court in Washington in Alabama Education Association v. Chao is here. The court ruled that Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao made a reasonable interpretation of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 when she decided that it should now cover public-sector unions.
At the national level, the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association have been subject to the reporting requirements for some time, evidently because they also represent some private-sector employees. (Some state affiliates have also had to file the disclosure statements on that basis, too, my Education Week colleagues on the teachers' union beat tell me.) Ed Week's analysis of the most recent AFT and NEA disclosure statements is here.
