RETENTION OF UNION RECORDS

Douglas C. Holbrook, Secretary Treasurer, APWU, Spring 1989

FINANCIAL RECORDS

Section 206 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) outlines general record-keeping requirements for unions.

As a general rule, all types of records used in the normal course of doing union business must be maintained by unions for five (5) years. This includes such financial records as receipt and disbursement journals, cancelled checks and stubs, bank statements, dues collection receipts, per capita reports, vendor invoices, and payroll records. Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) has found that, for the most part, unions do maintain these types of basic financial records but often fail to keep other records which help explain or clarify financial transactions. Such records include:

• payment receipts for all union expenditures
• credit card slips and itemized receipts for each credit card charge
• vouchers for payment to vendors, officers, stewards and members
• the union's copy of bank deposit slips
• audit reports
• journals
• workpapers and other internal worksheets used to prepare financial statements, and
• minutes of all membership and executive board meetings

We recognize the Department of Labor's five (5) year requirement for records. However, I would like to share with you the advice of our CPA and Controller. Good practice dictates that a local, state or national union keep their financial records permanently. If union officers have any questions, we suggest that the unionn records in question be retained or that officers seek advice from the APWU Secretary-Treasurer's office.

BUSINESS RECORDS RETENTION SCHEDULE

Source: Office of the Federal Register, Manufacturer's Association of Delaware Valley

Have you ever wondered how long your business should store records from past years? The following timetable is recommended.