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Statement Prepared for
Delivery by
U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao
Press Conference on
Bullock Plea Agreement
E. Barret Prettyman U.S. Courthouse
Washington,
D.C.
Tuesday, October 7, 2003
Good afternoon. Today’s developments in the Washington Teachers
Union case evoke a lot of mixed feelings.
We are grateful for the hard work of the U.S. Attorney, Roscoe Howard,
and his excellent team of lawyers. We are proud of the contributions made by
the Department of Labor’s own Office of Labor Management Standards during
the investigation.
There’s a painful sense of loss that we feel today: loss of trust,
lost opportunities for our schools and our schoolchildren, and the lost,
hard-earned dues that teachers here in Washington paid into the union to
protect their rights
Yet as the Washington Post
wrote yesterday, “While union officials were… living large…
teachers in need of the best representation were being exploited.”
Sadly, what we saw in this case was more than just the ethical failures
of a few unscrupulous officials. For abuses
this spectacular to go on for
this long, there also had to be a
failure of accountability, an absence of oversight, and a lack of concern for
the well-being of union members.
It’s also an affront to the vast majority of union leaders—who
are hard-working, decent and dedicated to their members.
The job of the Department of Labor isn’t to represent employers or
unions—it’s to protect workers.
Last Friday, the Department issued final rules that will improve the
financial transparency and accountability of labor unions, including the
Washington Teachers Union.
These rules will make it a lot tougher to embezzle union funds. And they
will make it easier for union members and law enforcement to detect and punish
wrongdoing.
Today’s action demonstrates there are serious consequences for
violating the bond of trust between unions and their members. And the
Department’s new financial transparency rules will ensure that sacred
trust is fully protected.
Thank you.
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