"The Association for Union Democracy is a rare organization run by people who truly believe in protecting the rights of federal employees to participate in their labor union freely, openly, and fairly.
Our
unions are vital to our rights in the workplace and AUD is vital to insuring
that labor unions are democratic and just. Please pledge a contribution
to AUD in the CFC this year."
John Riordan
First Vice President AFGE Council 220, Employee of the SSA
Support
AUD:
CFC Code 11741
Federal Employees Right to Know
See AUDLinks for Federal Employees' websites
Ways to support AUD
Give a gift subscription or send a sample copy of UDR.
Federal
Employees,
give to AUD with the CFC!
Give in memory of a family member, friend, or coworker, or Remember AUD in your will.
Special requests and in-kind contributions.
Volunteer to be a part of AUD's work.
AUDHome-->Combined Federal Campaign Appeal
AFGE, APWU, NAATS, NAGE,
NALC, NFFE, NLRBU,NPMHU, NRLC, NTEU
Federal Employees can give to AUD through the combined federal campaign.
Attention Federal Employees:
It's now time for federal unionists to select the organization(s) that they would like to donate a portion of their paycheck to in the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC). If this includes you, of course, you should absolutely check off the Association for Union Democracy, CFC Code 11741. Why AUD? We just won a major victory for federal employees, as the Dept of Labor has published a new rule requiring federal unions (excluding postal unions, which are covered by the LMRDA) to inform their members of their democratic rights. Continue to support us and we'll be able to continue our battle to make all unions more democratic and therefore, stronger. If you know federal employees who may be unfamiliar with AUD's work, feel free to pass along this information to them. Note: the CFC raises over $5,000 per year for AUD.
Association for Union Democracy CFC Code 11741
Note: please
tell us when you give
Several
federal employees who have authorized donations to AUD under the salary
deduction plan of the Combined Federal Campaign have complained that they
have received no acknowledgement from us. We want to acknowledge and thank
you, but unless federal employees authorize the CFC to release their
names to us, we never know who gives through this program, and we never
know how much the donor gives even if the name is released. We receive
CFC payments in a lump sum amount, and no names are associated with the
amount. For those that have authorized it, names are made available to
us through a website, but we know that the names released to us are less
than the total. If any of your colleagues complain to you, please explain
and ask them to contact us directly.
Why support union democracy?
All employees, in government and private industry benefit when represented by good strong unions. This principle is so well widely understood that its basis is embodied in federal laws, like the National Labor Relations Act for private employees and the Civil Service Reform Act which protects the right of federal employees to collective bargaining.
But that's not the whole story. Unions are needed for protection against arrogant and arbitrary management. And union democracy is needed for protection against arrogant and arbitrary union officials. If unions are to serve members effectively, they must be controlled by their own members. Federal law established not only the right to form unions but the right of union members to free speech, fair elections, and due process in their unions.
Why support AUD?
In these days of lean and mean, of privatization, of layoffs and "reinventing government", management everywhere wants to do more and more with less and less. To make sure that the process is not arrantly arbitrary but at least minimally fair, you should be able to rely on the support of a good collective bargaining agent. Federal employee unions are willing to cooperate, no question about that. But they must be at least equally ready to protect the rights of their members to fair play.
If you want to be sure that your union fulfills that responsibility, you must be sure that it remains democratic and responsive to your needs, that it protects your local autonomy, your right to fair elections and free speech. That's where our AUD comes in.
AUD maintains a national network of union activists
and attorneys to assist those with union democracy problems. We publish
literature to keep unionists informed and to advise them of their rights.
We bring people together in conferences. In landmark union democracy cases,
some in the US Supreme Court, AUD and its cooperating attorneys have strengthened
the law on union democracy. For federal employees, we have issued a special
report, "Democratic Rights in Federal Employee Unions."
If all this sounds worthwhile, why not put
the Association for Union Democracy (Code No. 11741) on your CFC
list? In any event, you are welcome to a free
copy of our special report.
You can also contribute online via our secure credit card service. If you want to contribute offline, give us a call at 718-564-1114 , or write us at AUD, 104 Montgomery Street, Brooklyn, New York, 11225; USA.
AUD Wins Campaign for Federal Employees Right to Know
Section 105 of the LMRDA requires unions in the private sector to inform members of the provisions of federal law protecting their rights. But it is enforceable only by private suit. A bill is pending in Congress that would authorize the Labor Department to enforce Section 105. Meanwhile, however, the Civil Service Reform Act gives exclusive authority to the Labor Department over democratic rights for Federal employee unionists. The following letter was submitted to Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao by AUD attorney Arthur Fox.
Dear Secretary Chao:
By letter dated April 5, several legal scholars and I submitted on behalf of AUD a rule making petition to close a loophole in the Department's regulations implementing the Civil Service Reform Act .... More specifically, we requested you promptly to require unions representing Federal employees to inform members about their democratic right within their unions, just as all other union operating in the private sector are required to do by Section 105 of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act ....
While the petition can hardly be said to be controversial, nonetheless it seems to be languishing somewhere within the Department .... To date our rule making petition has neither been granted nor denied; rather, it hangs in limbo. Needless to say, while we hope you will grant the petition, we would at least appreciate your taking action on it, in one way or the other.
Sincerely,
Arthur Fox
for the Association for Union Democracy
How did we do? See the latest articles on Section 105 and Federal Employees
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