STEELWORKERS (USWA)
Tennessee Boss Indicted on 56 Counts of Union Corruption
A federal grand jury handed down a 56-count indictment Mar. 21 against Donald G. Martin, ex-boss of United Steelworkers of Am. Local 8681 in Knoxville, Tenn., for union corruption. Allegedly, he embezzled more than $6,875 in union funds. Specifically, he was charged with 49 counts of union embezzlement, five counts of making false entries into union records, and two counts of making false statements concerning union reporting requirements.

Reportedly, Martin, Local 8681's financial secretary, had $6,600 in union reimbursement checks issued to him between 1996-98. The checks were supposed to serve as reimbursements for time lost from their jobs for official union business and travel expenses. He also allegedly took $275 via a union check issued to him without authorization and without listing it in the cashbook. He is also accused of falsely stating that five reimbursement checks were payable to union officers when he knew they were payable to him. It also charges him with falsely representing that he received about $1,480 in disbursements for 1996 and $470 for 1997 when he knew he actually received $4,150 and $1,930.

Martin allegedly deposited the funds to personal credit union accounts. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the embezzlement count and up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine on each of the other counts. [Knoxville News-Sent. 3/22/01]

FIREFIGHTERS
$160,000 Embezzlement Reported in Cleveland Local
Allegedly, members of the N. Ohio Firefighters Union have accused a member of Local 639 of embezzling money from union coffers. The thefts are alleged to have occurred over more than a decade and total as much as $160,000. The FBI is reportedly investigating. Further details were not available. [Cleveland Scene 3/15/01]

ALLIED-INDUSTRIAL WORKERS (PACE)
Iowa Boss Guilty of $4,000 Embezzlement
Randy Kamp, ex-president of the Paper, Allied-Indus., Chem. & Energy Workers Int'l Union local in Waterloo, Iowa, pled guilty to a $4,773 union embezzlement. Kamp was accused in Feb. 2001 of stealing union funds between June-Nov. 1999. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing is scheduled for June 11. He is free until sentencing. [Des Moines Reg. 3/24/01]

TEACHERS (NEA)
Florida Union Accuses Staffer of $66,000 Theft
The Fla. Edu. Ass'n is suing its ex-staffer, claiming Kimberly Richey stole $66,000 from FEA's Port Charlotte office. After sending three letters demanding payment, FEA and its insurance company filed suit in Mar. FEA accused her of theft in 2000, but FEA's Rick Willis said the insurance company decided not to go to the authorities. That may change. "The insurance company told us they use their ability to file a criminal complaint as leverage to get restitution," Willis said. FEA recouped the funds via its union embezzlement insurance.

Allegedly, Richey forged FEA checks and put them into her own account between 1997-99. The money came from teachers' $415 annual dues. Auditors discovered the missing funds in Sept. 1999. Richey had worked at FEA for 12 years, but officials refused to say whether she resigned or was fired. [Sarasota Her.-Trib. 3/29/01]

HOTEL EMPLOYEES & RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES (HERE)
Jesse Jackson Staffers on Union's Payroll
For decades Rev. Jesse Jackson has picketed, prayed and negotiated on behalf of unions, and now the Chicago Tribune has uncovered what the unions do for Jackson. Some give money to Jackson's groups, and a few pick up costs for salary and benefits' packages for Jackson's staffers. Among those benefiting from the arrangement with the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Int'l Union was Karin Stanford, Jackson's ex-mistress and ex-employee. In 1999, Stanford received a salary rate of $35,000 from HERE plus health-care and other benefits, according to HERE.

Jackson's solicitations to unions are blunt according to Gary Massoni of Rainbow/PUSH Coalition: "When Rev. Jackson meets with union leaders, he says, I've been involved in labor rights. I've got three things I want you to do," and asks the bosses to put "someone on the staff payroll," take part in his events, and make a "cash contribution." HERE boss John W. Wilhelm praised Jackson: "He's been with us on strikes all over the country." Other unions which have reportedly given are NEA, IATSE, USWA and locals of UFCW and SElU.

HERE is a good example of the close, business-like relationship. In the 1990s, HERE needed help in Las Vegas, and Jackson marched and lead rallies for six years. In 1996, Jackson met with hotel officials in Tokyo and proposed that workers in the chain's L.A. hotel, who claimed that they were fired for union organizing, be rehired. In June 2000, when HERE was preparing to strike in Minneapolis, Jackson led a march and moved one of his conferences to Chicago.

HERE began giving money to Jackson about a decade ago under ex-boss Edward T. Hanley, who presided over a union that was repeatedly accused of mob and union corruption. Hanley, who died in an accident last year, was forced to retire in 1998 as part of a deal with a federal monitor who was appointed to remove mob influences from HERE. "[Hanley] talked with Jesse Jackson, who was looking for help in making his payroll," said Ron Richardson, a HERE boss who serves on Rainbow/PUSH's board. HERE also has made separate cash contributions to Jackson, Richardson said. "I've heard [Jackson] do a lot of begging and wheedling."

Since 1991, 11 Jackson staffers have been on HERE's payroll, Richardson said. With two Jackson employees usually sponsored at any given time, the going union pay is $35,000 a year plus benefits. Richardson said, "They pick the people. They supervise them. We don't have any control over what they're doing. We pay the wages and benefits."

Jackson said he selects which among his groups' 102 employees will go on HERE's payroll. In addition to Stanford, Jesse Jackson, Jr., received $35,000 a year from 1993-95 from HERE as field director for Rainbow/PUSH before he was elected to the U.S. House in 1995. "Any number of people across the years who had key positions, key to the stability of our growth, had union" checks, Jackson said. The packages offered stability and "very good" benefits when "you're sweating payroll," he said.

Jackson, who, in the face of scrutiny over his groups' finances, publicly issued an internal report earlier in Mar. in response to a IRS Complaint filed by the Nat'l Legal & Pol'y Ctr., declined to say how much he gets from unions. "It's not your business," he said. He also declined to describe how he solicits unions. "I'm not getting into that...I just ask them to help us help them." [Chi. Trib. 3/26/01]

"We are seriously looking into supplementing our IRS Complaint," said NLPC Chairman Ken Boehm. "The first complaint focused on the tax-exempt Citizenship Education Fund and its questionable relationships with corporations. This new union wrinkle raises similar tax concerns. It looks like a non-profit is providing services for a fee, which is not allowable under the tax code." Boehm added, "The Justice Department should look into HERE's arrangement with Jackson. Paying essentially ghost-employees to do perform non-union work is a very questionable use of members' dues."

LABORERS (LIUNA)
Ex-New York Boss Charged with Bribery
The ex-boss of Laborers' Int'l Union of N. Am. Local 66 on Long Island, Michael LaBarbara, Jr., who is serving a nine-year prison sentence for union corruption, has been charged with bribing a prison guard to help him smuggle food, toiletries, tattoo ink and a sperm kit into a federal prison in Allenwood, Pa. Allegedly, he paid an unnamed guard $1,600 between 1998-99 to receive the items from an unnamed Long Islander.

LaBarbara pled not guilty on Mar. 19 to charges of conspiracy and bribery at an arraignment in U.S. Dist. Court, in Williamsport. If convicted, he faces an additional 18-24 months. He was sentenced in 1996  after being convicted of fraud and accepting kickbacks from contractors. Allegedly, he had looted union dues to build an ostensible union training center that included a sauna and golf course. [Newsday (N.Y.) 3/22/01]

AFL-CIO / CARPENTERS (UBC)
Carpenters Union Bolt AFL-CIO
In a sharp slap in the face to AFL-CIO bosses John J. Sweeney and Richard L. Trumka the United Bhd. of Carpenters pulled out of the federation on Mar. 29. A continued affiliation with AFL-CIO not only was a distraction for UBC, said UBC boss Douglas J. McCarron, but an impediment. McCarron said UBC needs flexibility to work with both parties, he said, noting that "a lot of our members are Republicans."

McCarron had been threatening to break away for more than two years. He has told AFL-CIO leaders and his members that Sweeney is wasting carpenters' dues money on a bureaucracy of hundreds of officials that AFL-CIO has hired since Sweeney and Trumka took over in 1995. In a strong letter to Sweeney, McCarron wrote: "After five years I have seen nothing to indicate the AFL-CIO is seriously considering changes that would cure [Sweeney's inability to make fundamental changes], nor do I see any realistic chance that an investment of more time or resources by the UBC will alter those facts. And for that reason [UBC] has voted unanimously to end our affiliation with the AFL-CIO."

UBC's departure is a financial blow to the scandal-scared AFL-CIO. While its dues amount to just $3 million a year in AFL-CIO's $100 million-plus annual budget, the AFL-CIO spends every penny of it. Reportedly, Sweeney and Trumka have even drawn down the federation's reserves in recent years. On Mar. 27, Sweeney and Trumka pled with UBC's executive board in a last-ditch effort to halt a breakup vote. But they failed to change any minds and the eight-member board. [BusinessWeek.com 3/29/01; BNA 3/30/01]

AFL-CIO / TEAMSTERS (IBT)
IBT Gets Second $500,000 from AFL-CIO
According to the Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters' own media release, the scandal-scared AFL-CIO "contributed" a second $500,000 to IBT to aid IBT's strike against Overnite Transp. that started in Oct. 1999. [IBT Media Release 3/26/01]  The $500,000 is suspect. In Apr. 2000, IBT filed a racketeering suit seeking $9 million in damages against indicted ex-boss Ron Carey and others tied to IBT's money-laundering scandal, but not AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer Richard L. Trumka. His absence is troubling given AFL-CIO's $1 million in "contributions." Trumka allegedly helped route $150,000 from IBT to Carey's campaign and wrongfully contributed $50,000 to Carey's campaign.

QUOTABLE QUOTE
"[Ex-]Atty. Gen. Janet Reno refused to take [the Teamsters money-laundering scandal] allegations seriously, and turned [a] blind eye. . . Now, with [ex-boss Ron] Carey under indictment, and the various alleged schemes threatened with judicial exposure, prosecutors can ask some pointed questions of individuals such as AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Richard Trumka and former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Harold Ickes. . . .

Carey operated in close harmony with Democratic officials and the AFL-CIO, and the White House and Justice Department did their best to keep a lid on subsequent inquiries. In the Clinton impeachment crisis, the public was not very engaged by what seemed arcane features of federal election law. But now that Bill Clinton and Janet Reno are out of office, and Ron Carey is under indictment, perhaps the fragments of this scandal can be pieced together."

- Providence Journal-Bulletin, Editorial, Mar. 18, 2001.

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ADDITIONAL BRIEFS NOT INCLUDED ON THE FAX EDITION OF THIS UNION CORRUPTION UPDATE:

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HOTEL EMPLOYEES & RESTAURANT EMPLOYEES (HERE)
Chicago Members Sue Wilhelm, International
On Mar. 16, the final day of a hearing on the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Int'l Union's trusteeship over Chicago-based Local 1, members of the scandal-scarred local went to federal court seeking an order to compel the HERE to dissolve the trusteeship. The suit responded to statements by HERE president John W. Wilhelm and Local 1 trustee Henry Tamarin during the hearing, indicating that they would seek to extend the trusteeship for at least another 17 months. At the same time, the trusteeship terminated the three top bosses of Local 1. The suit was filed by Local 1 members Linda Brush and Sigrid Alexandersen. In addition to HERE, Wilhelm, Tamarin, and James Dupont, assistant trustee of Local 1, were named as defendants in the suit.

The suit contends that HERE has no authority under the Labor-Management Reporting & Disclosure Act, popularly known as the Landrum-Griffin Act, to hold a local union in trusteeship longer than 18 months. With the 18-month anniversary of the Local 1 trusteeship quickly approaching (May 29, 2001) and the deadline for choosing delegates for HERE's convention (July 15-19) also approaching, the suit requests an injunction ordering HERE to dismantle the trusteeship and implement election procedures. Failing to allow local control and participation in int'l activities would cause the members of Local 1 to "suffer irreparable harm," the suit states.

The suit indicates that HERE's hearing on the trusteeship was a failure. The Mar. 14-16 hearing was ordered by the Dep't of Labor's Office of Labor Management Standards. After an investigation into the validity of the trusteeship, OLMS concluded that HERE failed to hold a hearing to justify its actions with members of the local. Reportedly, the hearing urged into a justification for extending the trusteeship beyond the 18-month threshold.

Ed Hogan, a Chicago attorney who represents Local 1's ex-president Terry Maloney and ex-secretary Scott Schneider, said Wilhelm offered testimony suggesting that the local should remain under the control of a trustee through contract bargaining with Chicago's major hotels. That contract does not expire until Aug. 31, 2002.   Hogan, of Hogan, Marren & McCahill Ltd., said he might seek to intervene in the Brush-Alexandersen suit on behalf of his clients. He suggested that there was little justification for the trusteeship 16 months ago and zero justification for its continuation. Hogan accused HERE of attempting to consolidate power by keeping the local in limbo and barring its participation at the int'l convention. Hogan is also concerned about the trusteeship's decision, one week prior to the meeting, to terminate Maloney and Schneider. Local 1 treasurer James Dyson was also terminated. [BNA 3/21/01 citing Brush v. HEREIU]

POLICE UNIONS
New York Boss Named Unindicted Co-Conspirator in Mob Investment Case
Thomas J. Scotto, the president of the N.Y.C. police detectives union has been named as an unindicted co-conspirator in what federal prosecutors say was an organized-crime scheme to use kickbacks to union leaders and mob threats and violence to tap pension funds, inflate stock values and defraud thousands of investors.  Scotto, who has led the Detectives Endowment Ass'n since 1986, was named by prosecutors in papers filed in U.S. Dist. Court in Manhattan recently to supplement information in 16 indictments that brought charges against 120 people in Jun. 2000 in a wide conspiracy.

The papers, filed to give the defendants and their lawyers details of the government's case so they can prepare their defenses for a trial scheduled to start in Sept., outlined a conspiracy in which stockbrokers, mobsters and others schemed to bribe union bosses to invest pension funds in stocks whose values would thereby be driven up and then sold at a profit. While Scotto and bosses of several other unions were described as co-conspirators, the papers did not accuse them of taking any bribes or even of being approached with bribe offers. The papers, which were filed Feb. 5 and came
to light Mar. 26, noted pointedly that Scotto and the others "may or may not have known they were targeted as bribe recipients."

Typically, people named as unindicted co-conspirators have become targets of an investigation that has produced some evidence against them but not enough to bring charges. They are cited in the pretrial record because their names, and descriptions of their purported roles, are likely to come out at a trial.

Philip Karasyk, Scotto's attorney, called the government's identification of his client as an unindicted co-conspirator "baseless and unsupportable." He said the identification apparently stemmed from two taped conversations made by a government informant in which Scotto's name was mentioned. Scotto was not present, nor was his voice heard on the recording, Karasyk said. In one, he said, Stephen E. Gardell, a retired police detective who served as treasurer of the DEA until his indictment in the case in, was said to have commented that Scotto liked the idea of the stock scheme. In the second tape, James S. Labate, a reputed associate of the Gambino organized crime family, was said to have made a similar remark. [N.Y. Times 3/27/01]

LABOR LAW REFORM / UNION DUES
Utah Governor Signs Paycheck Protection into Law
President Bush's efforts to enact legislation protecting the first amendment rights of America's worker were given a boost Mar. 19, according to Am. for Tax Reform, as Utah Governor Michael O. Leavitt (R) signed a paycheck protection bill into law.  Utah becomes the sixth state to enact such a statute; the others are Idaho, Michigan, Ohio, Washington and Wyoming.

Under the "Voluntary Contributions Act," no Utah worker may have monies deducted from his or her paycheck by an employer or union for political purposes unless the worker has first given written permission.  The measure also gets taxpayers out of the business of subsidizing political fundraising by prohibiting the use of public employer resources to collect political contributions.

"No worker should be forced to choose between retaining his or her rights in the workplace, and making political contributions," said ATR's Ron Nehring. "Some union officials are understandably unsupportive of paycheck protection because it shifts power to individual workers.  Paycheck protection gives each worker the power to decide whether to contribute money to politics. . . [A] worker's first amendment rights are paramount."

Paycheck protection legislation can be enacted at the state level, or by Congress.  State action in this area is permitted when there is a "compelling state interest," in the words of the U.S. Supreme Court.  Other courts have ruled that protecting the free speech rights of a worker to not contribute to causes he or she opposes qualifies as a compelling state interest.

According to Nehring, the Utah action blows a hole in the Beltway argument that paycheck protection is some kind of deal-breaker for campaign finance regulation.  The measure won the support of conservatives and centrists in the Utah legislature before making it to Governor Leavitt's desk.  It was supported, among others, by the Utah Taxpayers Ass'n and the Nat'l Fed'n of Indep. Businesses. [ATR Media Release 3/19/01]

Oklahoma House Committee Approves Right-to-Work Measure
The Small Business Comm. of the Okla. House voted 9-5 Mar. 28 to pass a joint resolution that would put the question of whether Oklahoma should become a right-to-work state to a popular vote this summer.  The measure, which passed the Senate Mar. 14, now goes to the full House for consideration. The would amend the state constitution to prohibit employment contracts that require employees to be union members or pay union dues.  The House committee altered the measure passed by the Senate by adopting a provision calling for an Aug. 14, 2001, special election on the issue.

Union bosses had hoped that the Senate-passed resolution would be referred to the House Business and Labor Committee, where the bosses supporters were expected to let the measure die as in previous years.

The Okla. State Chamber applauded the vote. "I hope the House will act on this important economic development resolution immediately," said Richard P. Rush, president of the Chamber. [BNA 3/30/01]

SERVICE EMPLOYEES (SEIU)
Pittsburgh Local Placed in Trusteeship
Service Employees Int'l Union Local 585 in Pittsburgh was placed in trusteeship Mar. 5 because of allegations that democratic procedures were ignored by its newly elected president, James Neville. The trusteeship was imposed after a hearing in late Feb. by int'l vice-president Thomas Balanoff. Deborah Schneider, regional director of SEIU District 925 in Cincinnati, was appointed trustee. Thomas Hoffman, a longtime SEIU staffer in Pittsburgh, was named deputy trustee.

The action takes control of the union away from Neville, an ex-Allegheny County assessor and former Air Force officer, who last December defeated Rosemary Trump, the 27-year president, by a vote of 1,505 to 1,403. Roughly 20% of the local's membership voted. Trump, an outspoken leftist, was recently the subject defamation suit brought by an employer, Beverly Enterprises.

"A breakdown in democratic procedures in the local since new officials took office in December led to the trusteeship," said SEIU spokesman Dan O'Sullivan. He said a hearing over the trusteeship will be held within 30 days." Reportedly, SEIU acted on complaints filed by Local 585 members who alleged Neville violated provisions of the union's constitution shortly after he was elected. Allegedly, Neville canceled union meetings, hired staff without proper authorization, engaged in nepotism, bypassed a negotiating committee in talks with the county and improperly ordered that collective bargaining agreements not be put out for ratification.

One flier distributed by an anonymous "monitoring committee" questioned Neville's hiring, pay and administrative practices, saying he bloated the payroll and alienated executive board members. It said he entered his second board meeting to the intonation "All rise!" normally reserved for judges, and paid gun-toting constables to accompany union tellers who counted the election ballots. Additionally,  Trump alleged in a complaint that Neville received outside financial assistance for campaigning in violation of the union's constitution. O'Sullivan said those allegations played no role in the trusteeship. [Pitt. Post-Gaz. 3/6/01]

LABORERS (LIUNA)
LIUNA Affirms Tainted Illinois Election
Peter Vaira, the "in-house judge" of the Laborers' Int'l Union of N. Am., denied a members petition Mar. 20 to overturn the Sept. 2000 election of officers at LIUNA Local 703 in Urbana, Ill.  However, a petition to review the election filed is pending at the Dep't of Labor. Further, Local 703 secretary-treasurer Randy Perring admitted that DOL had met with the local's leadership, suggesting that a federal investigation in ongoing.

The election followed a 27-month trusteeship which was imposed by LIUNA for alleged financial malpractices. The election was challenged by four defeated candidates, who claimed current Local 703 business manager Marc Manuel was improperly in the polling area on the day of the election and that the ballots were left unattended at an election site. The protesters complain that their opponents ran as a slate that was designated on the ballot as the "Honest Choice" and that those candidates were listed next to even numbers and the others next to odd numbers. [News-Gaz. (Champaign, Ill.) 3/21/01]

TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Bush Nominee Tied to Boston's Local 25 Scandal
President Bush's nominee for ambassador to Canada has ties to a union boss who is under investigation for shaking down Hollywood production crews shooting in New England. Mass. Gov. Paul Cellucci's nomination comes as a federal grand jury and the Dep't of Labor probe possible illegal actions by Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters Local 25. Indictments in the case reportedly could come down anytime. Cellucci has repeatedly denied any knowledge of IBT misconduct, and a spokesman said the labor controversy will not harm his confirmation. Hearings on his confirmation before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee are expected in a couple of weeks.

Local 25 president George Cashman and local transportation coordinator Larry Flynn are reportedly among the targets of the federal investigations. Cashman was reappointed by Cellucci to the union seat on the powerful Mass. Port Auth.board. The union boss also was among those who accompanied the governor on a 1997 "trade mission" to L.A. to woo the studios.

The trade mission apparently didn't help because Local 25's reputation is so bad for featherbedding and other illegal activities that film production in Mass. has dropped precipitously, according to a Feb. report on the local by retired state Superior Court Judge Robert Barton. Local 25 has jurisdiction over drivers on movie crews in Mass., Vt., Me., and N.H. The alleged union practices add between $1 million-$2 million to the cost of making a film in Mass. Barton also recommended that Cellucci should avoid getting involved in negotiations with the film industry because the governor's intervention was often "counterproductive." The report, ordered by Cellucci, also found no "improper motivation" on the governor's part when he intervened in labor disputes. The Boston Globe and Boston Herald first reported allegations that Local 25 padded expenses and was forcing production companies to hire trucks from a firm owned by Flynn and hire no-show jobs and extra drivers. [Hollywood Rep. 3/27/01]

GRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS (GCIU)
Pennsylvania Local Looses Dues Suit
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled Mar. 27 that it was an unfair labor practice for the Graphic Communications Int'l Union Local No. 735-S in Hazelton, Pa., to try to coerce a former member into paying union dues and to sue him to collect the dues because the union security clause in a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) did not require employees to continue paying dues after resigning from the union.

The CBA between the Local 735-S and Quebecor Printing, Inc., required new production and maintenance employees to join the union but did not require them to remain members or to continue paying dues after resigning, the court found. Thus, the union violated the Nat'l Labor Relations Act by attempting to coerce Patrick Quick to pay union dues after he quit the union, Circuit Judge Theodore A. McKee held. The court enforced the Nat'l Labor Relations Bd.'s order requiring the local to stop its unlawful conduct, make Quick whole for dues deducted from his wages after his resignation, and to reimburse Quick for any expenses incurred in defending against the local's lawsuit.  The court also upheld the board's refusal to order the union to pay Quick's attorneys' fees. Quick, who was represented without charge by W. James Young of the Nat'l Right to Work Legal Defense Fdn., argued that NLRB abused its discretion in refusing to award attorneys' fees. Disagreeing, the court pointed out that the NLRA confers rights only on workers, not their attorneys. NLRA does not contain a provision for the award of attorneys' fees to prevailing parties, the court said. [BNA 3/29/01 citing Quick v. NLRB]

MACHINISTS (IAM)
Seventh Circuit Rules against Chicago Union in Illegal Slowdown Case
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held Mar. 14 that U.S. Dist. Judge William J. Hibbler erred in refusing to issue a preliminary injunction to compel the Int'l Ass'n of Machinists to discourage its member mechanics from engaging in a work slowdown at United Air Lines. The appeals court remanded the case with instructions to enter a preliminary injunction against IAM Dist. Lodge 141-M and to quickly hold a trial on whether to grant a permanent injunction.

On remand, Hibbler granted UAL a preliminary injunction Mar. 22, barring IAM mechanics from engaging in a work slowdown. The preliminary injunction will remain in effect while Hibbler considers UAL's petition for a permanent injunction.

UAL claimed that IAM, frustrated with the pace of bargaining contract negotiations, orchestrated an illegal work slowdown by approximately 15,000 mechanics, resulting in hundreds of canceled and delayed flights since the alleged slowdown began last summer.

Hibbler granted UAL's request for a temporary restraining order on Nov. 17, 2000. However, he lifted it on Dec. 7, finding the slowdown activity had dissipated and some of the activity was beyond IAM's control. Hibbler later denied UAL's request for a preliminary injunction, saying UAL could more effectively deal with the slowdown by disciplining individual mechanics. He also denied UAL's motion to hold IAM in contempt for not fully complying with the TRO.

The appeals court decided Hibbler "misapplied the law" by basing his decision to deny a preliminary injunction on a finding that management disciplinary action would be more effective. There was evidence that some mechanics were engaging in a slowdown in violation of the RLA and IAM was involved, the Seventh Circuit found. Circuit Judge William J. Bauer wrote:"[U]nder these circumstances a court may issue an injunction against a union as the 'sole, effective means' of forcing the union to observe its obligations under the RLA's status quo provisions, and a carrier's efforts to solve the problem through management are no substitute for judicial enforcement of the union's independent obligations."

IAM spokesman Frank Larkin said IAM plans to seek an en banc review and blasted the Seventh Circuit decision: "We believe the [three-judge panel] misapplied the law."

Andy Studdert, UAL's COO and executive vice president, said"Those who have engaged in illegal job actions have been given a clear signal by the court that this type of activity is unacceptable."

Bauer found UAL's statistical evidence showed increases in the number of maintenance "write-ups" calling for inspection or repair, more frequent scheduled maintenance checks, more aircraft held out of service for unscheduled maintenance, and increases in flights delayed or cancelled due to mechanical problems. Maintenance base managers testified that mechanics spent excessive amounts of time consulting manuals, refused to work voluntary overtime, waited until just before flight time to report maintenance problems, and wrote up merely cosmetic problems that normally would be ignored.

Bauer noted that in early Oct. 2000, Lodge 141-M sent a bulletin stressing the importance of complying with federal aviation regulations by making sure that each aircraft was in fully airworthy condition before being returned to service. The bulletin stated that dock personnel, not just higher-ranking team leaders and lead mechanics, could and should generate write-ups. "If you find something wrong on an aircraft, ACTION MUST BE TAKEN!" the bulletin said. Subsequent bulletins and memos reported that negotiations were not going well and urged mechanics to "work safe," which UAL maintenance officials testified was a coded reference to a work slowdown. UAL also submitted a number of leaflets, flyers, and Web site messages encouraging slowdown activities that allegedly were distributed in maintenance facilities. [BNA 3/16, 3/26/01, citing United Air Lines Inc. v. IAM].

ELECTRONIC WORKERS (IUE)
Ohio Local Settles DOL Suit with New Election
Int'l Union of Electronic Workers Local 801 in Moraine, Ohio, has agreed to hold a new election for officers under the supervision of the Dep't of Labor in Nov. The agreement, approved Jan. 23 by U.S. Dist. Chief Judge Walter H. Rice, was reached in a lawsuit filed by DOL in Sept. 1999 accusing Local 801 of using money to promote a slate of candidates headed by Bob Sparks, Local 801's president. Sparks said he was not the president at the time of the election and had nothing to do with handbills distributed at the time. At the time of the election, Local 801 was in trusteeship, after the IUE's int'l bosses split the local and created Local 798 at after several months of turmoil. Rice's court will retain jurisdiction until the DOL certifies the election was held in accordance with the union's constitution and federal labor law. [Dayton Daily News 1/24/01]

LONGSHOREMEN (ILA)
Florida Members Involved in Smuggling Ring
Thirteen former and current members of the Int'l Longshoremen's Ass'n in the Port of Miami were indicted Mar. 27 for helping to smuggle cocaine through the Port. The indictments are the result of undercover investigations conducted by the U.S. Customs Serv. and Drug Enforcement Admin. from 1992-97. Smugglers transported 44,000 pounds of cocaine into the United States during that time with the help of the 13 members. Investigators discovered that the members would help remove containers from the port before Customs officials could examine them. [Orlando Sent. 3/28/01]

Investigators say they are still trying to locate the two men accused of being responsible for setting up the scheme, Ernie Acosta and Fernando Martinez. The two were never associated with the ILA. Eighteen were arrested between the evening of Mar. 26 and the morning of Mar. 27. They include current ILA members Reinaldo Garcia, Tony Molina, Bose Neloms, Elisha Marshall, Cedric Rouland, Ronnie Faison and Samuel Watts. The former ILA members arrested were Guillermo Martinez, Felix Fontanilles, Rolando Torricella, Charles Thomas, Joe Cobb and Darryl Bell. Charges against them include conspiracy to import a controlled substance and conspiracy to possess and distribute. [Miami Her. 3/28/01]

Union Corruption Update is made possible by the generous contributions from readers like you. NLPC, P.O. Box 6273, McLean, VA 22106-6273. Thank you.

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.

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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.

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