148. For a classic discussion of the legal obstacles facing labor union representation under the National Labor Relations Act, see Weiler, 1983.
149. Unions representing U.S . Postal Service workers are covered by the LMRDA. Other federal workers became covered by comparable standards in the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 and the Foreign Service Act of 1980. Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, Pub. L . 95 –454, October 13, 1978, 92 Stat. 1111 (codified at 5 U.S.C . §§1101 et seq. (2000)); Foreign Service Act of 1980, Pub. L . 96–465, October 17, 1980, 94 Stat. 2071 (codified at 22 U.S.C. §§3901 et seq. (2000)).
150. Reporting requirements were reduced for small unions, in part because of requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act. Rather than filling out the detailed Form LM-2, union entities with total annual receipts of less than two hundred thousand dollars were allowed to use the simplified Form LM-3 to report financial activities. Unions with annual receipts of les s than ten thousand dollars of annual receipts were allowed to file the more abbreviated Form LM-4 (adopted in 1992 and put into effect in January 1994).
151. General Accounting Office, 2000. The report also cites other reasons why unions face minimal incentives for timely reporting (e.g ., cases against union entities with receipts under five thousand dollars are not even initiated until they have been delinquent filers for three consecutive years). Further, in cases where unions provided deficient information, the agency used voluntary methods to handle 90% of the cases and took no action regarding the remaining cases.
152. Interviews with Hank Guzda, U.S . Department of Labor, Office of Labor/ Management Services, April 1, 2002; David Geiss, Industrial Relations Specialist, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor/Management Services, April 1, 2002.
153. See General Accounting Office, 1999.
154. See Office of Management and Budget, Exec. Office of the President, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2001 (2000), and Office of Management and Budget, Exec. Office of the President, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2006 (2005). The Department of Labor’s budget for fiscal year 2006 can be found at http://www.dol.gov/_sec/budget2006/overview.pdf (site accessed June 4, 2006). Information regarding the Department of Labor’s budget for fiscal year 2001 can be found at http://www.dol.gov/sec/budget/budget01.htm (site accessed June 4, 2006). The budget of the U.S. government in its entirety can be accessed through http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy06/index.html for fiscal year 2006 and through http://www.gpoaccess.gov/usbudget/fy01/index.html for fiscal year 2001.
155. Similar changes to the LMRDA were introduced by President George H. W. Bush in 1992 but then rescinded by President Bill Clinton upon taking office in 1993. See Exec. Order No. 12,800, 57 Fed. Reg. 12985 (April 13, 1992), as corrected 57 Fed. Reg . 13413 (April 16, 1992), revoked by Exec. Order. No. 12836, 58 Fed. Reg. 7045 (dated February 1, 1993, and published February 3, 1993).
156. See Labor Organization Annual Financial Reports, 68 Fed. Reg. 58374 (October 9, 2003) (codified at 29 C.F.R. pts. 403, 408). This five-thousand-dollar figure
