E&W Blog

In Case You Missed It, this week House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans introduced five bills to update a decades-old law that governs how unions operate. The current law—the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA)—has been the standard for democratic union governance. But over the years, unions have largely become political machines more focused on activism than member representation. This is unacceptable. 
 
Workers pay thousands of dollars to be represented by their union, so they deserve to know how their union operates and to have a real say in major decisions. These bills will give workers more information, more control, and more protection when dealing with their union. 
 
Here is what each bill would do:

• Union Members Right to Know Act – Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) 

Requires unions to share key documents (like collective bargaining agreements and union constitutions and bylaws) with all union members. Unions must send these documents to members annually or post them online.

• Ask the Union Members Act – Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC) 

Requires unions to hold a secret ballot vote before approving a new contract or authorizing a strike.

• Protecting Union Representation and Elections (PURE) Act – Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) 

Ensures union officers are elected via secret ballot by union members, instead of allowing delegates to do so.

• Fair Access to Justice for Union Members Act – Rep. Mark Harris (R-NC)  

Allows union members to defend their rights and go straight to court instead of having to exhaust the union’s lengthy internal grievance processes first.

• Endorsement Transparency Act – Rep. Robert Onder (R-MO) 

Requires unions to poll its membership, and share the results with the union members, before endorsing a presidential candidate.
 
Each of these common-sense bills promotes transparency, empowers workers, and holds union leaders accountable—especially when they prioritize political agendas over their own workers’ interests. 
 
Bottom line, these reforms will ensure unions serve the workers they represent, not political causes that don’t reflect workers’ values.