Republicans invoke UAW scandal in opposing legislation

WASHINGTON — Legislation that would dramatically change U.S. labor laws is on a fast track for a vote in the House later this week.

During a Monday hearing on the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, Democrats argued the bill is a long-overdue update that would even the scales in collective bargaining, which they say is currently tilted in favor of employers.

Congressional Republicans argued it would enable corruption and diminish worker freedom, frequently citing the embezzlement, bribery, money laundering and other charges against former United Auto Workers leaders as a caution against giving unions more power.

"Since the Democrats last introduced this bill, a federal probe uncovered almost a decade of rampant corruption among the senior ranks of the United Auto Workers Union," said Rep. Virginia Foxx, RNorth Carolina. "The bill before us makes union bosses more powerful but less accountable to workers, increasing the risk of union corruption and wrongdoing."

The bill — which is co-sponsored by all of Michigan's Democratic representatives and has been opposed in the past by all of the state's Republican members — would eliminate state right-to-work laws, set a "joint employer" standard that would allow franchisee workers to organize with their parent company, give the National Labor Relations Board the ability to levy fines up to $50,000 against businesses who break labor laws and more.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, argued the problems that have plagued the UAW's top brass can be compared with corporate corruption as an exception to the rule.

"The (UAW leaders) who have gotten in trouble have been corrupted by the company" and stopped representing the interests of workers, Raskin argued. "That doesn't translate into a condemnation of all unions."

The UAW is moving towards a settlement in the ongoing federal investigation that has led to more than a dozen convictions and uncovered a wide range of illegal conduct by auto industry leaders, including union leaders taking bribes from automakers, stealing union funds and spending the money on luxuries such as golf trips, vacation homes and expensive cigars. Brian Rothenberg, spokesman for the UAW, told The Detroit News via email Monday that “there have been members of Congress indicted for wrongdoing and members of Corporations indicted for wrongdoing — and rightfully so."