HOTEL & RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES (HERE)
Boehner: Reform Labor Law; Boss: Reform Unneeded
Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) held a oversight hearing Jul. 21 to probe
the murky world of the scandal-scarred Hotel Employees & Restaurant
Employees Int'l Union. It was the House Employer-Employee Relations Subcommittee's
seventh hearing on the lack of democracy in America's unions. HERE -- where
U.S. Dist. Court-appointed monitor Kurt W. Muellenberg
issued a shocking Report documenting years of financial mismanagement,
fraud, cronyism, nepotism, inadequate internal controls and undemocratic
processes -- demonstrates "a pattern where the rights of...union members
granted by [the Landrum-Griffin Act of 1959] are not being adequately enforced,"
Boehner said.
Boehner added, "Incredibly, [HERE], which takes in about $30 million a year...'traditionally operated without some absolute basics. There is no budget, no organizational chart, no job descriptions for employees, and no policy manual.' [Ex-]President Edward Hanley negotiated an immunity agreement with the [Dep't] of Justice and agreed to step down. He is allowed, however, to keep for the rest of his life his $350,000 a year salary. It seems to me the message sent to [HERE] rank and file is that crime pays."
Boehner reasoned, "The Landrum-Griffin Act and the [Dep't] of Labor's enforcement of the Act needs an overhaul" citing similar corruption plagues in other unions such as the Laborers and Teamsters. "The intent of Landrum-Griffin is to empower union members so they can regulate themselves...so that government supervision, ideally, becomes unnecessary."
Muellenberg agreed with Boehner. "I think Landrum-Griffin should be amended," Muellenberg said. DOL "should be able to bring suits for breach of fiduciary responsibilities." He noted that the 1986 President Reagan Commission on Organized Crime and 1984 Senate Permanent Investigations Subcommittee made similar recommendations.
Not surprisingly, HERE boss John W. Wilhelm had the audacity to say that reform was unnecessary. And a DOL bureaucrat backed-up Wilhelm; Lary Yud said that DOL has "no plans to propose legislative changes" to the Act and that the current reporting system is sufficient. Wilhelm's weak defense: 44 of the 47 Mullenberg recommendations have been "completed." But his definition of completed is suspicious. For example, recommendation #28 says: "Consider abolishing Midwestern Regional Office." But, Wilhelm didn't abolish the office. Offering his best imitation of Bill Clinton, Wilhelm alleged that the recommendation has been completed because he "considered" it. Such double-speak and actions indicate that attitudes have changed little at HERE.
HERE made sure that their boss had a favorable crowd. Before the hearing, HERE lined up dozens of groupies (some with children and babies in tow) outside the hearing room. They were wearing yellow t-shirts claiming "PROUD TO BE HERE." Undoubtedly, pun intended. When the hearing roomed opened, they filed in with several pawns to spare; thus, no one else could get into the hearing. Supposedly, HERE was taping the hearing for the union's use (i.e. propaganda). [BNA & Las Vegas Review-Journal 7/22/99]
Rabbi Blasts California Local for Misrepresentation
The following letter-to-the-editor by Rabbi Steven Carr Reuben, Ph.D.,
appeared in the Jul. 26, 1999 edition of the Los Angeles Times:
"I am a supporter of members of Local 11 of [HERE] in their desire to negotiate a contract with [the Univ. of So. Cal.]... Even so I was shocked...to read that I was supposedly to be the keynote speaker at a demonstration calling on USC supporters to halt their donations to USC.
I was all the more upset by the inference that since I am vice-president of the [So. Cal.] Board of Rabbis, the board has endorsed this call for action against USC. No such decision has ever been taken by the board, and as its social action chair I am certain that no such action has ever even been contemplated.
Such a strategy is contrary to my convictions regarding how best to influence institutions... I believe that the best way to influence organizations with which we differ is to become a significant supporter and thereby develop the clout to effect change. If anything, I would urge USC supporters to increase their giving, get involved with social issues that affect the university and its extended community, and then use the added influence that significant giving provides to encourage the institution to make whatever changes best serve the values for which it stands."
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES (PEF)
New York Union Sues Ex-Boss for $62,000
The N.Y. Public Employees Fed. filed suit Jul. 15 against its ex-president,
charging that he and five other bosses embezzled nearly $63,000. PEF president
Robert Benson and secretary-treasurer Jane Hallum filed the suit in U.S.
Dist. Court in Albany saying that the ex-bosses violated the Landrum-Griffin
Act and are seeking reimbursement for the allegedly unauthorized payments.
The suit says ex-president James Sheedy ordered checks totaling $62,900 to cover years of allegedly bogus sick leave. The alleged distribution was Sheedy, $4,796; ex-secretary-treasurer Patricia Ford, $14,611; ex-vice-presidents Philip DelPiano, Margaret Litzenberger and Kenneth Robertson $5,911, $8,166 and $22,627, respectively; and ex-aide Robert Walsh, $4,487. [Times Union 7/17/99]
TEAMSTERS (IBT)
California Bosses' Tiny Fines Upheld
The Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters' Independent Review Board's fine of a top
boss for breach of the IBT constitution has been affirmed by the U.S. Dist.
Judge David N. Edelstein who oversees the 1989 consent decree between IBT
and the Dep't of Justice. On Jul. 12, Edelstein ordered James Santangelo,
an IBT western region int'l vice-president, to pay a petty $2,000 fine
for failing to uphold his fiduciary duties as secretary-treasurer of IBT
Local 848 in Los Angeles. Local 848 president Richard Middleton must pay
a $1,000 fine and the local must institute certain educational and financial
controls to ensure its bosses fully understand and carry out their fiduciary
duties.
The court-appointed IRB investigated allegations that Santangelo and Middleton had created a severance payment plan and made payments to themselves and others from the plan in violation of Local 848's bylaws. After a ridiculously long administrative process, IRB held a hearing on the charges against the two bosses and in May 1999 issued a decision imposing the insignificant fines. Edelstein held that IRB's charges against Santangelo and Middleton had been proven and that the fines were adequate for the misconduct. For a measly $2,000 and $1,000, why even waste members dues pursuing the case? [BNA 7/23/99]
Ex-Carey Aide Running for Mississippi House
It's rare to find a union boss running in a Republican primary. But
Aaron Belk, expelled-IBT president Ron Carey's exec. assistant and an ex-IBT
vice-president, is spouting conservative themes for the Aug. 3 Republican
primary for Miss. House Dist. 25. He hopes to face ex-Clarksdale mayor,
John Mayo (D) in the general election.
"I'm not your normal union person, I suppose," said Belk, who is calling for lower taxes. "It's not going to be done by electing lawyers. We've got to elect practical people." [Commercial Appeal 7/22/99]
Belk was in the middle of the money-laundering scandal that ruined Carey. Belk rejected a $475,000 contribution to the liberal Citizen Action. The contribution eventually went through reportedly due to the table-pounding of then-IBT attorney Judy Scott, whose cauldron now simmers at the Service Employees Int'l Union. Of that money, $110,000 found its way back to Carey's reelection campaign.
TEACHERS (NEA)
Nevada Boss Guilty of Embezzlement
Since 1997, ex-Nev. teachers union boss Steve
Confer has denied allegations he embezzled over $53,000 while treasurer
of an Ind. teachers union. On Jul. 26, his story changed.
Confer pled guilty to one count of embezzlement in U.S. Dist. Court in Fort Wayne, Ind., after reaching an agreement with the U.S. Atty. For the plea, prosecutors dropped the remaining 19 embezzlement counts and will recommend leniency at sentencing.
Confer allegedly embezzled over $53,000 in 1994-96 while treasurer of the Professional Service Org. of the Ind. State Teachers Ass'n. He moved to Las Vegas in 1996, becoming exec. director of the Clark County Edu. Ass'n -- the second largest Nat. Edu. Ass'n chapter. He resigned in 1998. He allegedly wrote himself $45,300 in checks and charged $7,800 on the union's credit card for personal purposes. PSO sought to recover the funds. Reportedly, Confer settled by repaying the disputed amount in a 1997 agreement. But a private settlement doesn't shelter him from criminal prosecution.
"He's now barred for life from being an officer in any union," said Asst. U.S. Atty. David Miller. He said Confer admitted guilt to writing a union check to a fictitious person for $1,850 and then cashing it himself. The maximum penalty is five years in prison or a $10,000 fine. Unfortunately, it's likely that Confer will only get probation or house arrest. [Las Vegas Review-Journal 7/27/99]
ELECTIONS & POLITICS
Corrupt Unions Stuff Democratic Coffers
In the latest soft money reports, several
of America's most corrupt unions made huge payments to Democratic Party
committees, according to Public Disclosure, Inc. United Bhd. of Carpenters
gave $100,000 to the Dem. Cong. Camp. Committee on Jun. 30. The Longshoremen
gave $100,000 to DCCC on Jun. 29. Laborers' Int'l Union of No. Am. and
the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Int'l Union both gave $50,000
to the DCCC on Jun. 21 and Jun. 30, respectively. The Longshoremen, LIUNA
and HERE were cited for corruption by the 1986 President Reagan Commission
on Organized Crime and have been under close scrutiny ever since. UBC has
suffered corruption scandals in N.Y. and elsewhere.
Further, Am. Fed. of Teachers gave the DCCC $75,000 on Jun. 18 and $1,000 on Jun. 21. AFT gave the Dem. Sen. Camp. Committee $25,000 on Jun. 28. Communications Workers of Am. gave DSCC $50,000 on Jun. 9. The Republican Cong. Camp. Committee took in $25,000 from the Int'l Ass'n of Fire Fighters on Feb. 26.
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ADDITIONAL BRIEFS NOT INCLUDED ON THE FAX EDITION OF THIS UNION CORRUPTION UPDATE:
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TEACHERS UNIONS / UNION DUES
Massachusetts Court Holds Unions Must Conduct Audits
In a resounding victory for workers rights, a requirement that unions
provide audited financial statements to nonmembers before demanding payment
of agency fees was upheld by the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court in a Jul.
15 ruling. The unanimous ruling rejected the arguments of three Mass. Teachers
Ass'n affiliates that small unions should be excused from the financial
burden of conducting independent audits. "We see no basis for modifying
the United States Supreme Court's express requirement that a union must
accompany any demand for agency fees with an independently audited verification
of its major expenses," the opinion by Justice Neil L. Lynch stated.
The case involved the Fairhaven Edu. Ass'n -- which had an annual income of $29,000 and represented 185 employees, of whom seven were nonmembers -- the Bridgewater Edu. Ass'n -- which had an annual income of $17,900 and represented 116 employees including two nonmembers -- and the Wareham Edu. Ass'n -- which had an annual income of $9,400 and represented 205 employees including one nonmember. Allegedly, the cost of local union audits ranged from $2,230 to $4,105. The local portion of fees the unions were seeking to obtain from each nonmember was $45 or less.
An audit of union expenditures "provides significantly more verification and reliability" than a compilation or review conducted by an accountant, the court held. It is also the type of procedure contemplated by the Supreme Court in its 1986 decision: Chicago Teachers Union v. Hudson. Hudson didn't include a small union exemption. [BNA 7/20/99]
DELIVERERS (NMDU)
New York Union to Appeal Indictment to Supreme Court
The Newspaper & Mail Deliverers Union of N.Y., will appeal a seven-year-old
racketeering indictment to the U.S. Supreme Court. The prolonged case was
filed in 1992 by Manhattan Dist. Atty. Robert M. Morgenthau, who charged
the union with making deals with the Bonanno and Luchese crime families.
"We are filing an application for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court,"
said NMDU attorney J. Kenneth O'Connor. "They don't hear that many cases,
but this is an interesting one. What is the criminal liability of a trade
union? How do you find criminal liability where some of the members may
have been engaged in criminality?" Where is this guy coming from? Expect
cert. to be denied. [Daily News 7/26/99]
LABORERS (LIUNA)
Tennessee Bosses Suspended after Fistfight with Manager
Willis Hall and Dale Atkin, business manager and steward, respectively,
of Laborers' Int'l Union of No. Am. Local 818 in Knoxville, were "de-badged"
or suspended from a job site pending an investigation of an altercation
between Hall and George Jones, a manager for contractor BNFL. Hall and
Jones required medical attention after a fistfight on Jul. 22 at BNFL's
site. An argument reportedly led to the fight. Both sides gave conflicting
reports about who instigated the altercation, but one of the issues apparently
involved Atkin's availability to conduct union business on Jul. 22. [Knoxville
News-Sentinel 7/23/99]
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES (OPSEU)
Ontario Ex-Boss Sued for Assault
A former Toronto jail inmate filed C$1.35 million lawsuit Jul. 16 against
Don Ford, a jail guard and ex-union president, for his alleged sexual assault.
According to the suit, the woman alleges Ford "repeatedly touched her...without
her consent" from Dec. 10, 1997 to Mar. 31, 1998. She also alleges he "forcibly
had...intercourse without her consent" in a stairwell in the prison on
one occasion. She further alleges Ford "assigned her to cleanup duty and
would arrange for her to be in isolated areas of the prison, such as supply
rooms, interview rooms and stairwells. "On a daily basis, in these isolated
areas, the defendant touched her...without her consent," the suit claims.
The woman is seeking $500,000 in general damages for sexual assault and battery and breach of fiduciary duty and $500,000 for punitive damages as well as $350,000 in damages for her two kids and their grandmother under Canada's Family Law Act. Ford has been on a leave from the jail since May 17 for allegedly unrelated reasons. He was president of the Ontario Public Service Employees' Union at the jail for six years until last year. [Toronto Sun 7/23/99]
TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Hoekstra: DOJ Thwarted Teamsters Probe
Five U.S. House committee chairmen blasted the Dep't of Justice Jul.
15 for thwarting Congressional investigations and looked for new tools
to strengthen future probes. In testimony to the House Rules Committee,
the chairmen directed most of their criticism at Atty. Gen. Janet Reno.
House Gov't Reform Chairman Dan Burton (R-Ind.) led the charge accusing
Reno of "corruption" by dodging or blocking his requests for information.
The most specific reform suggestions came from Education & Workforce
Oversight & Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.)
who complained that his probe of the Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters was "substantially
limited" by DOJ. Hoekstra proposed a new rule to give oversight committees
subpoena power
they now can acquire only by a vote of the full House. He also suggested
the House should entertain giving itself the power to pursue contempt of
Congress charges in court; currently, the House refers contempt actions
to the attorney general.
Burton placed all blame for the trouble on the administration's partisanship, but Judiciary Chairman Henry J. Hyde said it was "human" and endemic of the relationship between Congress and the executive branch. Hyde said DOJ went over the line in refusing to cooperate, but laid the root of the blame on the pursuit of political power. [CongressDaily 7/16/99]
NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD (NLRB)
Senate Holds Hearing into NLRB/OSHA Paying Defense Costs
A Senate subcommittee heard testimony Jul. 29 on the proposed Fair
Access to Indemnity and Reimbursement Act that would allow qualifying small
employers to automatically recoup their attorneys' fees if they prevail
in judicial or administrative actions brought against them by the Nat.
Labor Relations Board or the Occupational Safety & Health
Admin. If passed the measure could help stop union corporate campaigns.
Sen. Michael B. Enzi (R-Wyo.) said the purpose of the bill is to give "small businesses...the incentive to fight meritless claims brought against them." Enzi is chairman of the Employment, Safety, and Training Subcommittee of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He described NLRB and OSHA as "two intimidating bureaucracies that sometimes strong-arm the 'little guy' who doesn't have the resources to defend himself." The bill's chief sponsor, Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.), argued that a legislative change is necessary because the 18-year-old Equal Access to Justice Act "is not providing the relief it was meant to provide" -- giving small business owners an incentive to defend themselves and reimburse them for their defense costs if they win.
The EAJA applies to employers with 500 or fewer employees and a net worth of up to $7 million. Qualifying employers who prevail in an action by a federal enforcement agency cannot recover attorneys' fees and costs under the EAJA if the agency was "substantially justified" in bringing the action or there were "special circumstances." FAIR would make recovery of defense costs automatic for employers or unions with 100 or fewer employees and a net worth of up to $7 million and make agency justification irrelevant.
Not surprisingly Sen. Paul Wellstone (D-Minn.), the ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman and the AFL-CIO opposed the common sense measure. Speaking on behalf of the AFL-CIO, Richard Griffin, general counsel of the Int'l Union of Operating Engineers, said the AFL-CIO opposes the bill because it allegedly "would seriously weaken enforcement" of the Nat. Labor Relations Act and the Occupational Safety & Health Act.
Supported from small business is overwhelming. Eamonn McGeady, owner of Martin G. Imbach Inc., a Baltimore construction company, testified that his company has been treated to unreasonable inspections and penalties by OSHA that were eventually greatly reduced or completely withdrawn. Trained as a lawyer, McGeady said he handled much of the defense work himself, saving the company some money but distracting him from running the business. He asserted that small businesses are at a disadvantage "when faced with the full force of the federal government" and asked the subcommittee to "level the playing field."
Sam Colburn of Colburn Electric in Broken Arrow, Okla., described two cases brought against his company by NLRB. He successfully defended both cases but ended up paying $37,000 in attorneys' fees and costs. He rejected advice to settle for $20,000 because he believed union organizers were manipulating NLRB "for legalized extortion."
Vincent T. Norwillo, attorney for labor broker Tradesmen International Inc. in Solon, Ohio, described the FAIR Act as "an evolutionary response to the progression of EAJA litigation." He observed that "the potential relief offered by EAJA has proven elusive, if not wholly inadequate, to the entities intended to be protected." Agencies too often deny applications for attorneys' fees, forcing the successful party to go to court and litigate the fees issue, incurring additional expenses, he said. The EAJA has been particularly ineffective regarding NLRB and OSHA actions, Norwillo contended. He observed that unions target nonunion employers by filing numerous frivolous charges with the two agencies in an attempt "to impede if not eliminate the competitive ability of merit shop employers." He asserted that the proliferation of frivolous actions against nonunion employers "necessitates the legislative changes proposed by the FAIR Act." [BNA 7/30/99]
BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION UNIONS
Liberal Infighting in Boston over Development
Boston construction unions are fighting back against anti-development
community activists (probably Midwest Academy protégés).
Yes, that's right: liberal infighting. Unions say that too many projects
remain on the drawing boards or have evaporated. They worry that fierce
neighborhood activism may be scaring away developers. The Boston Building
Trades Council which is coalition of the Laborers, Ironworkers, Electrical
Workers and other unions are making development an election issue.
Many elected officials represent anti-development views. But construction workers, representing a huge voting constituency, don't want to apply the brakes or make life complicated for developers. Mayor Thomas M. Menino demands checks on rampant development. "I don't think any developer has been scared away YET," (emphasis added) he said.
For example, a new Fenway Park would be "nirvana" for the unions. But
many Fenway residents remain adamantly opposed to a new stadium in their
neighborhood, and candidates running for the City Council seat there have
already embraced the residents' cause. [Boston Globe 7/22/99]
QUOTABLE QUOTE
"Union-only deals (on public and private jobs) are signed by owners
because labor unions threaten 'pickets, job stoppages and labor unrest'
to secure the entire job. That's great if you're a union member but it's
discrimination against four out of every five construction workers who
choose not to belong to organized labor."
- Stephen L. Stone of the Wis. Associated Builders & Contractors disputing a Laborers Union boss' assertion that labor agreements that require union labor don't discriminate. [Capital Times 7/22/99]
In addition to the unions and organizations covered in this Union Corruption Update, readers can look forward to news and information on other corrupt and abusive unions in future editions.
All back issues of the Union Corruption Update can be viewed at NLPC's website (www.nlpc.org). Also available is a union-by-union and state-by-state index of all Union Corruption Update articles.
If you have story ideas or suggestions for future editions of Union Corruption Update, please email NLPC at nlpc@nlpc.org. Thank you.
Union Corruption Update is part of NLPC's Organized Labor Accountability Project which is investigating and exposing corruption and extremism in the Teamsters, LIUNA, AFL-CIO and many other union organizations. NLPC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit foundation promoting ethics and accountability in government through research, education and legal action.
Union Corruption Update Article Index (by Union)
Union Corruption Update Article Index (by State)
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