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OPA News Release: [01/23/2002]

Electronic Forms Now Ready for Unions
Unions to Receive Software for Required Annual Reports

WASHINGTON -- Unions are now able to submit required annual financial reports quickly and easily by using computer software to be supplied at no cost by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Approximately 30,000 unions nationwide, representing private sector and federal employees, must file annual Labor Organization Reports, called LM forms, with the Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.

“The software will bring required union reporting into the 21^st century and should save unions valuable time and enhance the accuracy of their financial reports,” according to Don Todd, deputy assistant secretary of the Office of Labor-Management Standards. The CDs will be sent to unions along with traditional paper forms at the end of each union’s fiscal year, Todd said.

Through the Internet, unions can now download information from their latest report to the electronic form. In addition, existing electronic officer and employee information can be transferred directly onto the forms. The system will perform calculations and check for errors or discrepancies, reducing the possibility that unions may have to file amended reports.

Once the forms have been completed on a computer, unions can submit printed, signed paper copies to the Office of Labor-Management Standards. Union officers will soon be able to secure digital signatures so reports can be submitted electronically over the Internet with automatic receipt confirmation. Information on digital signatures is available on the Internet at: http://www.dol.gov/esa/olms_org.htm.

The software installs from the CD in just minutes on computers running Windows 95 or above. User guides with detailed instructions for using the forms are included with the software, but the electronic forms’ look and feel is almost identical to the paper forms.

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