New Challenge Looms for Public-Sector Unions

Public-sector unions that are already tightening their belts may now face more economic pressure because of a Labor Department rulemaking receiving little attention.

The DOL plans to extend financial reporting requirements to public-sector mid-level union chapters. The rule, which is on the White House regulatory calendar but has yet to be proposed, would impose new operational hurdles on unions that are reckoning with the financial strain from the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision June 27 to remove their right to collect fees from nonmembers.

The regulatory calendar includes a notice that the DOL will issue a proposed rule covering “intermediate bodies"—such ...