Union Lobbyist Has Acosta’s Ear, to Employers’ Dismay

Labor secretary nominee Alexander Acosta is receiving informal counsel from a lobbyist friend with union connections, creating unease in the business community, sources tell Bloomberg BNA.

Andrew Siff, who has lobbied Congress on behalf of both management and labor, is advising Acosta as he awaits confirmation, multiple sources with knowledge of the relationship confirmed.

“I have heard from a number of people who are concerned with his connections with the unions,” said a former Labor Department colleague of Siff’s under President George W. Bush. “Whether or not those concerns are backed by facts or are legit, they do have them.” ...