Elaine Chao on Labor Rights

Elaine Chao, the 24th U.S. Secretary of Labor, wrote "Two Steps Back on Labor Rights," for the Wall Street Journal. In various posts, I have expressed concern that the Employee Free Choice Act would strengthen unions through a mechanism that will allow intimidation (The Employee Free Choice Act). Chao has similar concerns. She begins by describing several steps the Obama administration has taken to support unions, including possible budget cuts to the agency that oversees union conduct.
Efforts are also underway to cut the budget of the lone federal agency charged with protecting union members' rights and ensuring union integrity. In January, the Department of Labor's Office of Labor-Management Standards implemented a rule requiring that relevant information on union finances be provided to rank-and-file union members to better ensure transparency and accountability, as required by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959. In the rush of actions after the inauguration, the Obama administration delayed the effective date of this rule. It remains to be seen if other union transparency and accountability rules will be gutted or revoked.

She expresses a second concern--that traditional U.S. support for free trade will be compromised in order to strengthen unions.

Americans should also be concerned about the protectionist impulses -- as evidenced by the "Buy American" provision of the stimulus package -- of those now in charge, which run counter to one of the painful lessons of the Great Depression. Impeding international trade will ignite retaliation by America's trading partners, deepening and prolonging the economic downturn. Policy makers should also resist closing America's doors to skilled workers from overseas, many of whom are educated in our universities and whose talent can help make our economy stronger. Yet provisions like the "Employ American Workers Act" in the stimulus package limits banks that receive government funding from employing skilled foreign workers.