Institute Makes Information Pertaining to Record of Obama Labor Department Nominee Available to the Public

On December 10 the National Institute for Labor Relations Research received, as a donation, documents partially fulfilling a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request that had been made by the National Right To Work Legal Defense Foundation to the New York State Department of Labor. The documents concern a controversial program initiated by New York State Labor Commissioner Patricia Smith, President Obama’s nominee for solicitor of the U.S. Labor Department. The program effectively deputizes officers of labor unions and labor union front organizations to enforce state laws governing hours and wages. The potential for conflicts of interest and other abuses in such a program is, of course, enormous.

The Institute now has the FOIL documents on file at its headquarters in Springfield, Va., and will make them available upon request to anyone who wishes to review them. The Institute may be contacted by phone at 703-321-9606 or through the mail at the following address:

National Institute for Labor Relations Research
5211 Port Royal Road, Suite 510
Springfield, Va. 22151