Reilly Stephens
Reilly Stephens is a Senior Counsel at Liberty Justice Center, where he assists in cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property, and other Constitutional rights in courts across the country.
On July 22, the Liberty Justice Center and Senior Fellow Mark Janus submitted a comment letter in support of reforming the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA).
On May 27, members of the U.S. House of Representative’s Committee on Education and Workforce published a letter calling for comments on the LMRDA as part of a “comprehensive review” to increase transparency and oversight, empower “rank and file” union members, and hold union leadership accountable when they make “fiscal and political decisions” at members’ expense.
The Liberty Justice Center’s letter, submitted July 22, encourages Congress to increase free speech protections for union members and to increase public accountability around how members’ dues are spent.
In particular, the letter asks Congress to clarify union members’ First Amendment rights under Title I of the LMRDA and to add specific categories denoting political and lobbying activity to unions’ LM-2 forms and reports. The letter also asks Congress to require unions to publish LM reporters on their public websites and in union publications to enforce accountability around how union leaders spend members’ money.
“We wholeheartedly support the Committee’s goals of protecting union members’ democratic rights and ensuring financial integrity in labor organizations,” concludes the letter. “To achieve these goals and thwart misconduct such as union leadership violating members’ free speech rights and unauthorized political expenditures, we believe the Committee should support clearer rules and easier access to information. By equipping union members with the tools to understand their unions’ expenditures, financial responsibilities, and act upon their rights, we expect members will be able to more fully and knowledgeably participate in union democracy.”
The Liberty Justice Center continues to fight for workers’ rights across the country, at no cost to its clients or taxpayers.
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Reilly Stephens is a Senior Counsel at Liberty Justice Center, where he assists in cases to protect the rights to free speech, economic liberty, private property, and other Constitutional rights in courts across the country.