Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-04-07
By SHIRLEY H. sCHEIBLA

a move 10 Clgnten te0eral con-
troll of union finances is gaining
ground in the Senate.
The virtually unanimous opinion
of members of the Senate labor
management rackets committee is
that present laws are not adequate
to protect the billions of dollars in
union welfare funds and the hun
dreds Of millions taken in annually
as union dues. Criminal statutes
prohibit out-and-out stealing from
union treasures. Section'610 of the
Corrupt Practices Act prevents Ia
Dor organizations and corporations
from making direct contributions
to political candidates. Beyond
this there is only Section 9 81 Of
the Taft-Hartley Act which requires
unions to file financial statements
with the Labor Department. Those
who do not file supposedly are
denied the services of the National
Labor Relations Board. Actually
no one ever has been denied board
services ON such grounds.
In accordance with the law the
Labor Department sends out flnan-
cial forms to all unions. About
one-third fill them out and return
them. George Lodge, official spokes-
man for the department, says the
agency never investigates the &C
curacy of the statements that come
back. The department has done its
duty under the law when 1t sees
that all the blanks have been filled
in. he says.
Would Chonge the Low
Senator Mundt, Republican Of
South Dakota, a member Of the
labor investigating committee, says
the trouble is with Section and not
the Labor Department. He believes
the enforcement provided is inef-
fective and doesn't fit the crime"
The entire union should not be
made to suffer for the failure of its
leader to file statement, he MAIN
tainS.
Senator Goldwater, Republican
Of Arizona, another committee
member. declares the Taft-Hartley
Act is full of loopholes" regarding
union finances. He agrees with
Senator Mundt that the require
ment for unions to file financial
statements is inadequate, and he
points out that there is no require
ment at all for reporting on the
welfare funds.
dnRoHn NH NJ To
Hartley Act was passed, the matter
OF union finances didn't seem as
important as 1t does today. For
one thing, welfare funds were just
coming into vogue Nobody knows
for sure how much now is in the
funds set up by collective bargain
ing. but estimates run between So
billion and IS billion. It also is esti-
mated that annual dues run around
5000 million.
Some Other Questions
Here is list of some Of the other
important questions before the leg
islators and current thinking on
them:
l. What is the proper sphere for
the investment Of union funds?
Surely unions are to be allowed to
invest their money. Since they
handle such large sums, 1t would
not be economical to let them lie
Idle.
There is good deal Of sentiment
in favor of controlling union in
vestments like those of insurance
companies. The latter may buy
Government bonds or gilt-edged
bonds but not common stocks.
They may not set up business of
another type. 1t took a special law
to permit investment in housing
projects such as those owned by
the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.
This type of control would be a
blow to the United Mine Workers.
They own a bank and a consider
able amount of real estate in
Washington.
2. Should unions remain tax
free? Most legislators who favor
more freedom for unions than
insurance companies in investments
believe that unions should be taxed
somewhere along the line on any
profit-making venture.
The argument here is that some
unions actually are going into big
business in competition with regu-
lar companies. Labor groups in
such a position should not enjoy a
tax-free status, they contend.
Senator Mcclellan, Democrat OF
Arkasas, chairman of the commit
tee investigating rackets in labor
and management. favors taxing
profits from investments where
they are in competition with pri-
vate business.
Senator Erwin. Democrat of
North Carolina, feels it's risky BUSH
ness to start taxing unions. He
fears 1t may open the door to tax
ing institutions like churches and
schools He points out that George
Washington University, as we'll as
the UNIV, owns a good deal of
Washington real estate.
3. Should labor come under the
ANTITRUST laws! since many unions
now are going into business with
their growing funds, some thought
is being given to withdrawing their
antitrust immunity.
The goal here probably would be
to make it illegal for unions ca
to put pressure on a company not to
sell below a certain price or in a
certain area and (b) to force a
company not to use the products of
another company.
4. Aside from investments, what
should be legitimate union expendi-
lures? Senator Goldwater esti-
mates that unions spend only half
of their dues money for collective
bargaining. Both he and Senator