U.S. Warns AFL-CIO on Social Security Lobbying

The Labor Department cautioned organized labor in a letter made public Wednesday not to use money from pension funds to lobby against President Bush’s proposal to overhaul Social Security.

“The department is very concerned about the potential use of plan assets to promote particular policy positions,” Alan D. Lebowitz, a department official, wrote to the AFL-CIO’s top lawyer.

In the letter to Jonathan P. Hiatt, the AFL-CIO’s general counsel, Lebowitz also wrote that officials charged with administering multi-state pension funds must not hire or fire service providers on the basis of their positions on Social Security.

Damon Silvers, an AFL-CIO lawyer, said, “We don’t disagree with the Department of Labor that plans should not be lobbying on Social Security. However, we believe, and we believe the department agrees, that the plans ought to be able to educate their participants on matters directly related to their retirement security.”