WASHINGTON – Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) issued the following statement in advance of today’s deposition of Lisa Ohta, President of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW Local 2325 (ALAA):
“For months, President Ohta and the ALAA have attempted to evade accountability and use obstructionist tactics to thwart the Committee’s ongoing investigation into potential violations of ALAA member rights. This petulant behavior and deliberate obstruction are unacceptable.
“As the Committee has uncovered, too many union members are unaware of the rights afforded to them under the law. Unions deliberately fail to inform their members of their rights in a callous attempt to exert power and control. The Committee seeks to understand whether ALAA infringed on several statutory rights of its members through actions related to the adoption of the ‘Resolution Calling for a Ceasefire in Gaza, an End to the Israeli Occupation of Palestine, and Support for Workers’ Political Speech.’ Today’s deposition is another step in the Committee’s efforts to combat antisemitism and examine whether current law needs to be updated so that individual union members are protected against a tyranny of the majority.”
Background
January 29, 2024: The Committee sent a letter to ALAA requesting information on the union’s vote and adoption of the “Resolution Calling for a Ceasefire in Gaza, an End to the Israeli Occupation of Palestine, and Support for Workers’ Political Speech” (Resolution) by February 12.
February 8, 2024: ALAA’s attorney contacted the Committee via email requesting additional time to respond to the Committee’s inquiry, which the Committee granted during a call with the attorney by extending the deadline to produce materials to February 19.
February 19, 2024: ALAA’s attorney contacted the Committee via email and stated that ALAA would not be cooperating with the Committee’s inquiry “at this time.”
February 20, 2024: Committee staff replied to ALAA’s attorney offering an additional two days to reconsider and to produce materials by February 26, 2024.
March 11, 2024: Chairwoman Foxx sent a subpoena requiring ALAA to produce documents and communications related to the vote and adoption of the Resolution by March 25, 2024.
March 13, 2024: The Free Press posted leaked internal group chat messages from ALAA showing union members calling their Jewish colleagues “fascist,” “deranged,” and “mentally disturbed” for supporting Israel in the wake of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack.
April 8, 2024: Chairwoman Foxx sent a letter to ALAA President Ohta after the union failed to comply in full with the Committee’s subpoena demands. The letter dismissed ALAA’s meritless objections to the subpoena. The letter also stated that additional enforcement actions would be taken if ALAA failed to produce the remaining subpoenaed documents.
May 14, 2024: Chairwoman Foxx served a subpoena for a deposition to ALAA President Lisa Ohta. The subpoena compelling Ohta to participate in a deposition comes as ALAA continues to obstruct the Committee’s investigation into the contentious vote and subsequent adoption of the Resolution. Concerns of potential retaliation against dissenting union members led the Committee to probe potential violations of ALAA member rights guaranteed by the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.
