Union corruption

The Australian Labor Party is well behind its Democratic Party counterpart in the United States when it comes to rooting out corruption in the Union movement. More than fifty years ago Jack and Bobby Kennedy were seeking to attack union corruption. See for example Robert Dallek’s An Unfinished Life: John F. Kennedy (2003):

But he [JFK] saw the unions as fiercely self-serving and no more ready than corporate America to put the needs of the country above their own interests. (p. 145)

He [JFK] acknowledged that the unions “in their irresponsibility have been guilty of excesses that have caused this country great discomfort and concern”. (p. 145)

No small part of his [RFK] commitment [to investigate rampant corruption in unions] was to the rank and file being cheated and abused by crooked and violent labor bosses. (p.218)

When [Dave] Beck was convicted of stealing almost $500,000 from union coffers, including money taken “from a trust fund set up for a friend’s widow”, the Kennedys were in turn identified with union honesty. (p. 219)

In March 1958, after months of hearings by the McClellan Committee and extensive consultations with leading university experts on labor relations [Senator] Jack [Kennedy] introduced a bill to prevent the expenditure of union dues for improper purposes or private gains; to forbid loans from union funds for illicit transactions; and to compel audits of unions which would ensure against false financial reports. (p. 219)