The Trump administration plans to place the previous chief of an anti-union advocacy group in command of the Labor Division’s workplace that oversees monetary disclosures by unions and “union-busting” consultants, HuffPost has discovered.
Elisabeth Messenger, who served because the CEO of the Oklahoma-based Individuals for Honest Therapy, or AFFT, is predicted to be the brand new director of the federal authorities’s Workplace of Labor-Administration Requirements, in response to two sources with information of the scenario.
Billed as a member group, AFFT promotes right-to-work legal guidelines and advises public-sector staff like academics on the way to choose out of paying union dues. “Having challenges with your public-sector union? We can help!” the group’s website guarantees.
Though AFFT’s workers web page lists Chip Rogers as its present CEO, a separate web page on the positioning nonetheless lists Messenger as a chief government. It says she beforehand labored within the publicity division of Atlantic Information earlier than becoming a member of the group in 2020.
AFFT didn’t reply to a HuffPost voicemail looking for remark Friday.
As the pinnacle of OLMS, Messenger can be charged with ensuring unions, in addition to anti-union consultants, make lawful disclosures to the federal government about their work. Whereas labor teams should file annual experiences detailing their funds, employers and consultants should additionally report sure cash spent attempting to defeat union organizing campaigns.
Messenger’s background suggests the administration might ramp up oversight of unions whereas shifting away from enforcement in opposition to the so-called “persuaders” who marketing campaign in opposition to unions.
“It’s not just a bureaucrat – they’re putting a real ideologue in there,” stated Bob Funk, director of the watchdog group LaborLab, which tracks anti-union spending by companies.
Funk stated he expects a a lot totally different focus than underneath former President Joe Biden, when OLMS made some extent of attempting to carry employers and anti-union teams into compliance with the legislation. Shifting ahead, he expects a crackdown on the union aspect.
“It seems likely they’ll go after not just public-sector unions but worker centers, too,” he stated, referencing teams that advocate for staff however aren’t thought-about unions underneath the legislation.
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Trump made some extent of currying favor with some unions throughout his most up-to-date presidential run, however his alternative of Messenger to run OLMS gained’t do organized labor any favors. She has been outspoken about what she sees as union bullying and corruption, significantly within the public sector.
In a 2022 podcast interview with the anti-union advisor Peter Checklist, Messenger bemoaned the truth that private-sector staff will be required to pay union dues in the event that they obtain the advantages of a union contract.
“Time and time again, I see when you’re a member of a union, you are giving up your individual voice, you are giving up your power,” she stated. “It just infuriates me. A lot of these workers just did not have a choice.”
