TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Boston Boss Faces Embezzlement and Bribery Charges
George W. Cashman, president of
Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters Local 25 in
Charlestown, Mass., along with four other individuals and three firms
were indicted Jan. 16 on 179 counts of embezzlement and bribery. Allegedly,
19 non-employees were ordered or placed on the firms' payrolls in order
to allow the non-employees to receive health benefits from Local 25's Health
Services & Insurance Plan to which they were not entitled. Asst. U.S.
Atty. Fred Wyshak said the defendants robbed the fund of benefits belonging
to qualified members: "The loss is to the fund that has to pay benefits
it normally would not have to pay."
Disilva Transp., Inc., Hutchinson Indus., Inc., and Manfi Leasing Corp., run by brothers Thomas A. and James P. Disilva and their brother-in-law William P. Belanger, filed false documents for the bogus employees from 1992-2001 thereby costing Local 25's HSIP $72,000 in wrongful health benefits. Also, two non-employees were allegedly placed on the firms' payrolls in order to be eligible for pension benefits from the New England Teamsters & Trucking Indus. Pension Fund, which covers several IBT locals.
Cashman and Local 25 vice-president William Carnes allegedly participated in the scheme and directed benefits from the firms to the bogus employees in violation of the Taft-Hartley Act. Cashman and Carnes have run Local 26 since 1992. Additionally, both are trustees of Local 25's HSIP, and Cashman is a trustee of NETTIPF as well as the head of IBT Joint Council 10. All five pled not guilty and were released on $25,000 bond. U.S. Magistrate Judge Joyce L. Alexander rejected arguments that the case against Cashman and Carnes was not serious enough to warrant bail but reduced the prosecutors' demand for $50,000 bail.
Cashman has been the target of a federal probe for several years. Last year, a state report concluded that Local 25's heavy-handed control of labor terms for work on film production in Mass. had driven most major studios away from the state. Mass. acting Gov. Jane Swift (R) said she would ask Cashman to resign immediately from his membership on the Mass. Port Auth. Bd., the agency that operates Logan Int'l Airport where two planes that terrorists used to destroy the World Trade Ctr. originated. Swift added that she would suspend him if he refused. Cashman was appointed by ex-Gov. William F. Weld (R) in June 1993 and was reappointed by ex-Gov. Paul Cellucci (R) in 1998. His current term expires in 2005.
"This case addresses significant allegations of labor racketeering's impact on hard-working Americans and on the corruption of labor-management relations. We intend to vigorously pursue such allegations of corruption throughout the country," said Dep't of Labor Inspector General Gordon S. Heddell. U.S. Atty. Michael J. Sullivan added, "The alleged fabrication of work hours for non-employees to become eligible for health care benefits is an affront to all legitimate and hard-working union members."
Three others linked to Local 25 were charged in three related indictments alleging a broader enterprise entailing Teamsters conspiring to steal truckloads of computer parts and other goods by recruiting or threatening drivers.
John J. "Mick" Murray, a convicted bank burglar and alleged associate of fugitive S. Boston gang member James "Whitey" Bulger, was charged with 12 counts of racketeering, extortion, embezzlement, and interstate transportation of stolen property. Murray allegedly received $35,000 in unauthorized health care benefits via Cashman. Murray also allegedly used his Local 25 affiliation to orchestrate a computer theft ring that operated out of a Chelmford, Mass., UPS facility. He is also charged with in extorting, with convicted S. Boston gang member Kevin Weeks, from bookmaker Kevins Haynes and from Airborne Express truck driver Paul Kupchaunis.
Also indicted was Bruce S. Ziskind on three counts of conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen goods. Ziskind owned Tufts Electronics, and allegedly plotted with UPS driver, Daniel Gilday (nephew of infamous cop-killer William "Lefty" Gilday, who is serving a life sentence for the 1970 killing of Walter Schroeder), to steal computer shipments.
Finally, Thomas C. Brennan, a convicted drug dealer and bookmaker, was indicted on 70 counts of conspiracy to steal goods in interstate commerce, theft of interstate shipments, and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Allegedly, UPS driver, John Loughlin, accrued gambling and drug debt to Brennan, and to pay the debt, Brennan received stolen packages of computer products, including a $50,000 computer shipment belonging to the Navy, and other items, including 11 hand guns and two shotguns.
Murray and Brennan were both held without bail. Detention hearings for the two men are scheduled for the week of Jan. 21. Ziskind, who reportedly has a lengthy criminal record, was released on $250,000 bond. Prosecutors said the probe was continuing. [USAO D. Mass., AP, Reuters 1/17/02; BNA, Boston Globe, Boston Herald 1/18/02]
OPERATING ENGINEERS (IUOE)
New York Local Raided in Racketeering Probe
N.Y. prosecutors have reportedly launched a racketeering probe of a
Queens local whose members run the cranes and other earth-moving equipment
at site of the World Trade Ctr. massacre. The N.Y. State Organized Crime
Task Force agents turned up at Int'l Union of Operating Eng'rs Local 14's
offices on Jan. 8 and carted off documents and payroll records. The raid
was the first action taken in a new probe into reports that mid-level union
bosses allegedly doled out no-show jobs, shook down contractors, and engaged
in other traditional labor racketeering crimes. Local 14's offices were
shut down for more than an hour as agents loaded records into a van. One
boss who asked agents for a search warrant was reportedly put up against
a wall and frisked. Seized documents reportedly included bank, pension,
and annuity fund records. [N.Y. Post 1/13/02]
LABORERS (LIUNA)
Texan Indicted for $35,100 Theft
Linda Chargois, ex-office secretary of Laborers' Int'l Union of N.
Am. Local 80 in Houston, was indicted Jan. 9 on 29 counts of embezzling
$35,171.10. She allegedly stole the funds in 29 transactions from Feb.
1998 to July 2000. Arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 24, and U.S. Dist.
Judge Richard A. Schell (E.D. Tex., Reagan) has been assigned the case
. [DOL 1/9/02; USAO E.D.Tex. 1/18/02]
STEELWORKERS (USWA) / UPHOLSTERS (UIU)
Pennsylvania Man Indicted for $16,500 Theft
Walter J. Agnew, Jr., was charged Dec. 5 with embezzling about $16,562.12
in funds, property, and other assets of the United Steelworkers/Upholsterers
Int'l Union Pension Trust in E. Pa. The assets of the employee benefit
fund were protected by ERISA and were to be held in trust for the exclusive
purpose of providing benefits to participants and beneficiaries.
Agnew, as a mail room operator, allegedly used the Trust's prepaid U.S. Postal Serv. postage meter to print postage labels for outgoing mail. Allegedly, he purposely printed erroneous postage labels in amounts in excess of the amount of required postage for certain outgoing mail. He then presented the erroneous postage labels to the U.S. Postal Serv. for reimbursement to the Plan. He allegedly converted the refunded postage money to his own use and did not remit it to the Trust. The alleged embezzlement ran from Dec. 1996 to Apr. 1998. [USAO E.D. Pa. 12/5/01]
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES (AFSCME)
Probation for New York Boss' $8,900 Theft
On Dec. 20, Laura Greco, ex-treasurer
of Am. Fed'n of State, County & Mun. Employees Local 1501 in NYC was
sentenced in the N.Y. State Supreme Court for the County of N.Y., on charges
of grand larceny for embezzling $8,965 in union funds. As a result of a
plea bargaining agreement, she was sentenced to five years probation and
was required to pay $5,000 restitution. [DOL 12/20/01]
ELECTRICAL WORKERS (IBEW)
Rhode Island Fund Trustees to Repay $24,000
U.S. Dist. Judge Ronald R. Lagueux (D.R.I., Reagan) ordered the trustees
of the Int'l Bhd. of Elec. Workers Local
Union 99 Health & Welfare Fund Jan. 11 to repay $24,000 to cover
improper benefit payments. A suit, filed in May 2001 by the Dep't of Labor
claimed the board of trustees had violated a law protecting employee pension
and welfare benefit plans. Allegedly, from Jan. 1994 and Dec. 31, 1995,
trustees of for the Providence, R.I., based fund failed to adequately
ensure the accuracy of employee eligibility data. As a result, payments
were made to seven ineligible people. Lagueux's judgment also bars the
defendants from committing similar infractions in the future. [Providence
J.-Bull. 1/12/02]
Massachusetts Local Settles Election Suit
Int'l Bhd. of Elec. Workers Local 1505
in Waltham, Mass., has entered into a consent judgment providing for Dep't
of Labor supervision of the next election of Local 1505's officers on June
11, 2002. The Jan. 3 agreement settled a suit that the Dep't of Justice,
on behalf of DOL, brought against Local 1505 in July 2000 alleging that
the last election of officers held in June 1999, was unfair and in violation
of the Landrum-Griffin Act. The civil suit alleged that Local 1505 failed
to hold its election of officers by secret ballot and, in the conduct of
its election, used union funds to prepare and distribute a union letter
that promoted the candidacy of the incumbent Financial Secretary/Business
Manager. The parties will meet no later than Apr. 12 to establish ground
rules for the new election. The court will retain jurisdiction and DOL
will certify names of the election winners to the court.
A union member initially protested the conditions of the June 1999, election to the IBEW Second Dist. vice president, but the boss denied his protest. Thereafter, the member filed a complaint with DOL, which investigated the complaint, and, as a result of the facts identified in the investigation, found probable cause to believe that violations of the Act had occurred. DOL also concluded that the violations may have affected the outcome of the election of the union offices of president, vice president, recording secretary, financial secretary/business manager, treasurer, and eleven executive board members.
After DOL objected to these violations, Local 1505 entered into a formal agreement with DOL in Mar. 28, 2000 to hold a re-run of the June 1999 election of officers, and in reliance on that agreement, no suit against Local 1505 was filed at that time. However, on May 19, 2000, Local 1505, informed DOL that it would not conduct a re-run of the election and was withdrawing from the formal agreement, and the U.S. Atty.'s Office in Boston then filed the suit that has just been settled. [USAO D. Mass. 1/15/02; BNA 1/17/02]
- - - - - -
ADDITIONAL BRIEFS NOT INCLUDED ON THE FAX EDITION OF THIS UNION CORRUPTION UPDATE:
- - - - - -
LABOR LAW REFORM
Union Watchdog Ask President to Appeal Ruling Striking Down Beck
Executive Order
As reported in the last UCU issue, U.S.
Dist. Judge Henry H. Kennedy, Jr. (D.D.C., Clinton) struck down President
Bush's Executive Order 13201 Jan. requiring fed. contractors to post
notices informing employees of their rights not to join a union or
to pay fees for nonrepresentational purpose, under the Supreme Court's
1988 decision, CWA v. Beck. The Nat'l
Legal & Pol'y Ctr. was written President Bush requesting that he and
his Administration appeal Kennedy's adverse ruling. The letter is
at http://www.nlpc.org/olap/dol/020116gb.htm.
TEAMSTERS (IBT)
DOJ Agrees to End Auditor's Oversight of Corruption Plagued Union
Oversight of the Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters' financial affairs by an outside
auditor will end later this month as the result of an order signed Dec.
20 by U.S. Dist. Judge Loretta A. Preska
(S.D.N.Y., H.W. Bush), who has ongoing oversight of the consent decree
that in 1989 settled the racketeering suit against IBT. On Jan. 10, IBT
said an agreement had been reached with the Dep't of Justice to eliminate
the independent financial auditor (IFA) first put in place in 1997 following
discovery of the illegal money laundering
schemes that help finance the re-election of then-president Ron
Carey. Federal officials said at the time that lack of adequate internal
union controls enabled Carey operatives to siphon off union funds for his
reelection and "were an invitation to improper and illegal conduct."
Under the agreement to eliminate the outside auditor, IBT has pledged to establish a series of internal controls. Among other steps, it has agreed to create an audit committee, establish an internal business code of conduct and clear guidelines for reporting violations of this code, and establish procedures for explaining departures from existing policies. In a letter to Preska, outgoing U.S. Atty. Mary Jo "Molasses" White said "the government believes that, given the IBT's enforceable commitment to implement meaningful reform of its internal controls, the circumstances that necessitated the IFA no longer exist and the limited goals of the interim agreement that established the IFA have been met." She recommended that "the IFA's role in monitoring the union's expenditures should be discontinued."
The IFA's review of the Teamsters' financial practices is set to end Jan. 27, one month after Preska's order was entered by the court. The order commits the union to implementing the agreed-upon internal controls within 90 days. The government reserved the right to insist on an audit over the next 15 months to ensure that the union was carrying out promised steps to improve its internal financial controls. The agreement provides that the court may reinstate the IFA if the government shows that the union has failed to implement the controls.
IBT General Counsel Patrick J. Szymanski called elimination of the outside auditor "a very constructive step." He viewed it as a major step toward the union's broader objective of eliminating or making major changes to the consent decree. IBT's discussions with the U.S. Atty.'s Office in Manhattan on lifting the consent decree are on hold temporarily until White's successor, James B. Comey, is confirmed and settles into the job. [BNA 1/14/02, N.Y. Times 1/11/02]
LABOR LAW REFORM
Native American Reservations Win Case Permitting Right to Work Laws
In a precedent-setting 9-1 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Tenth Circuit has upheld the sovereign right of Native American reservations
to pass Right to Work laws to protect workers from being forced to pay
union dues. The ruling announced today advances the Nat'l Right to
Work Legal Def. Fdn.'s battle to protect Right to Work laws around the
country. The decision affirms that the 300 Native American reservations
across America may pass Right to Work laws to limit forced unionism. Attracted
to growing economies, union organizers have made increasing efforts in
recent years to unionize companies on reservations. This ruling clears
the path for tribal governments to act without interference from the federal
government.
"Not only is this a tremendous victory for Native American workers and reservations around the country, but also for the Right to Work movement," said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of NRTWLDF, which provided free legal aid to the Pueblo in the case. "In addition to preserving individual rights, Right to Work laws will help to bring new business and economic growth to these long-impoverished regions."
The case arose when the tribal council of the Pueblo of San Juan passed a Right to Work ordinance that gave workers the right not to join and not to financially support a union as a job condition. Union bosses at the Western Council of Indus. Workers Local 1385 then filed unfair labor charges with the Nat'l Labor Relations Bd. against an employer operating on the Pueblo. The Clinton NLRB's Gen. Counsel brought the full force of the federal government down on the tribe. NLRB filed for a preliminary injunction in early 1998 in the U.S. Dist. Court for New Mexico to crush the Pueblo's Right to Work law. After losing completely at the trial court, the federal government lost again on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals. And, after the ruling of the rare en banc court, the NLRB has now lost a third time. In affirming the Dist. Court's ruling, the appellate court stated, "The legislative enactment of the Pueblo's right-to-work ordinance was also clearly an exercise of sovereign authority over economic transactions on the reservation."
Section 14(b) of the Nat'l Labor Relations Act affirmed that states and territories may pass laws which protect employees from forced unionism imposed by federal law. Thus, 22 states have passed highly popular Right to Work laws. While other New Mexico unionized workers can still be fired for not paying union dues because the state has not enacted such a law, the San Juan Pueblo passed its Right to Work provision in November 1996. [NRTWLDF 1/15/02]
ELEVATOR CONSTRUCTORS (IUEC)
New York Post Uncovers New Details from Union Corruption Probe
An elevator mechanic's little black book is helping federal prosecutors
blow the lid off a multimillion-dollar scam in which corrupt members of
a powerful mob-tainted N.Y.C. union lined their pockets through no-show
jobs. The well-worn, leather-bound book contains the home and cellular
phone numbers of key union members who are thought to be masterminds of
the scam. Some contact numbers belong to union members with blood ties
to a Gambino crime family capo.Two entries in the book list the locations
and numbers for pay telephones - a preferred method of communication for
those concerned about police phone taps. The pages also feature handwritten
lists of major construction sites around the city and the names of union
workers assigned to them - including some workers already busted in the
no-show job scam.
The address book was compiled by a undisclosed member of the Int'l Union of Elevator Constructors Local 1. Federal prosecutors, who have already charged some members of the union with fraud and obstruction, say the book has provided new ammunition that could help nail up to 75 union members who allegedly reaped millions from phantom jobs at building sites across the city.
The elevator mechanic knew he was under FBI scrutiny, but reportedly, he carelessly tossed work-related notes and other items of information into his trash. Among the discarded items viewed by was a key tag with the inscription, "Grandma's basement file cabinet (master key) plus 2 lock box keys." The tag, along with information provided by sources, led FBI investigators to believe the mechanic may have secreted cash and union-related documents in his mother's Long Island home. It is not known whether the mother's home has been searched.
The rubbish also led the feds to a bank account in which the mechanic allegedly funneled $50,000 in cash over one year. Reportedly, prosecutors suspect the money was used to purchase luxury cars for his own use - but under relatives' names.
Sources of the N.Y. Post agreed that the book's confidential information had opened new leads and avenues of investigation. The Post's review of the material also found: 1) contact numbers for relatives of reputed Gambino capo Louis "Big Lou" Vallario, a one-time associate of Salvatore "Sammy Bull" Gravano. The 60-year-old Vallario was indicted last April in a corruption case against officials of Service Employees Int'l Union Local 32B-32J.
2) A list of job sites around NYC between Apr. 2000 and Nov. 2001 and the names of union personnel assigned to them. Some of the names include union members who have already been charged. Job sites on the list include the building of a new 17,000-square-foot wing at the Museum of Modern Art, renovations at Carnegie Hall, Trump West, the Lincoln Tunnel and several major hotels.
3) A mysterious list titled "Members, taking" that contained the names of 41 rank-and-file members, some believed to be in on the no-show scheme, hidden in the book's rear cover. One member on the list, Matthew Downey Jr., was indicted last Oct. 30 for obstruction of justice for telling union members to lie to the feds and even to their own lawyers. Downey allegedly funneled more than $2 million in no-show job money into a bank account between 1996 and 1998, the feds charged. Also on the "Members, taking" list was Frank Walker, one of four local members arrested in 1999 for taking no-show paychecks. Charges against the four were dropped at the time, pending a broader probe. [N.Y. Post 1/13/02]
TEAMSTERS (IBT)
NLRB Brings Charges Against Youngstown Local
In response to charges brought by hospital employees at St. Elizabeth
Health Ctr. in Youngstown, Ohio, the Gen. Counsel of the Nat'l Labor
Relations Bd. filed a formal complaint Jan. 15 against Int'l Bhd. of Teamsters
Local 377 for unfair labor practices. The workers, with the assistance
of Nat'l Right to Work Fdn. Legal Def. Fdn. attorneys, filed federal charges
in 2001 against the the local for refusing to accept their resignations
and for failing to properly notify them of their right to refrain from
paying dues to subsidize union political activities.
"Teamsters officials must now answer for their systematic shaking down of employees," said Stefan Gleason, Vice President of the NRTWLDF. "Hopefully, this is a signal that the Bush NLRB plans to stand up for union-abused workers."
Officials of the Youngstown-based union refused to accept employees' written resignations from union membership and told employees that they must pay all "back dues" before the union would even consider their resignations. Local IBT officials were also charged with using payroll deductions to collect alleged "preexisting debt arrearages" that the union could not lawfully obligate the workers to pay under its forced unionism clause. Under the 1988 Supreme Court decision, CWA v. Beck, workers may resign from formal union membership at any time and pay only for the union's proven collective bargaining costs, an amount that is only a fraction of full union dues. Unless Local 377 remedies its lawbreaking, the case will proceed to a trial before a NLRB administrative law judge. [NRTWLDF 01/15/02]
SCREEN ACTORS (SAG)
Guild's Leadership in Disarray from Tainted Election
The Screen Actors Guild is in disarray. SAG's elections committee astounded
Hollywood on Jan. 7 by setting aside Melissa Gilbert's Nov. 2 victory as
SAG president, along with wins by Elliott Gould for secretary and Kent
McCord for treasurer. The five-member committee, headed by Fred Savage,
set a rerun and blasted SAG staff and Sequoia Voting Systems, which conducted
the election which was tainted by misconduct that may have affected the
outcome. The two main reasons put forth by the committee in
their decision was the deletion from the ballot package sent to New York
branch members of a member signature line and instructions to sign the
return ballot envelope which violated the SAG constitution as well
as two extra days allotted to New York branch voters to return their ballots.
"We have a serious concern about the short-term and long-term integrity of SAG's election process," the panel wrote. "The committee has unanimously concluded that the manner in which the election of the three top officers was conducted falls far short of measuring up to the standards of a fair and level playing field, which is the cornerstone of the democratic process our members and candidates are entitled to receive."
However, adding to SAG's bitter internal feuding, SAG staff threw gasoline on the fire by claiming Gilbert, Gould and McCord should remain in their slots until the rerunning of the election is concluded Apr. 10. The reasons: "To avoid the undesirable consequence of a void in leadership" and the need to be "consistent" with federal law, even though the election had been invalidated.
When Gilbert opened a National Executive Committee meeting the next day, several committee members asserted she no longer had the authority to serve and suggested that First Vice-President Mike Farrell or ex-president William Daniels be installed as acting president. But SAG attorneys insisted the committee could not toss Gilbert, Gould, and McCord out.
That position perplexed and angered several elected leaders and candidates, most notably Eugene Boggs, who finished third in the presidential voting behind Gilbert (45%) and Valerie Harper (39%). Boggs, a law professor who had already accused staff of showing a clear preference for Gilbert, insists SAG's attorneys have erred, since federal labor law only applies when a union does not resolve an election internally. "SAG's election committee has reached a final decision, so this election is over and can't be challenged any longer," Boggs declared. "Melissa Gilbert cannot legally serve as president; her doing so is putting SAG in legal jeopardy for any actions it takes."
Boggs started to make good on his promise to try ousting Gilbert, Gould and McCord. He brought up a motion to remove the trio at the Jan. 28 nat'l board meeting, citing language in the SAG constitution providing two options: if the president's office is vacant, the First Vice-President should be installed as acting president; or the national board can elect a president, secretary and treasurer to fill the vacancies for the balance of the term. "The only way Melissa could legally become president before April 10 is if the national board decides to elect her at a meeting before then," he says.
Boggs, who has not decided if he will go through the rerun, offers the following scenario: If she remains in office, Gilbert will have a huge advantage during the upcoming campaign, which could lead to the rerun election also being invalidated, either by SAG or the Dep't of Labor.
Additionally, on Jan. 11, SAG member Paul Petersen launched a letter-writing campaign calling for SAG national executive director-CEO Bob Pisano and current president Melissa Gilbert to hold a special hearing looking into the validity of last week's decision, which Petersen contends should be null and voided. In his letter, Petersen cited eight separate charges against the committee, with the central tenet being that the five person committee acted outside its jurisdictional authority in determining that the national election be re-run. [Variety, Hollywood Reporter 1/14/02]
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES (AFSCME)
Trusteeship to End at New York City's Corrupt District Council 37
After a three-year trusteeship aimed at rooting out widespread corruption,
Am. Fed'n of State, County & Mun. Employees
Dist. Council 37, NYC's giant municipal union, will again be allowed
to run its own affairs beginning this spring, union bosses said Jan. 9.
DC37 bosses said officials from their parent union had indicated that the
trusteeship would be over by the end of Mar. 2002 and an election held
that same month. The union has been rocked
by a scandal in which more than 20 officials were convicted of embezzlement
and other crimes. The presidents of
two of the council's 56 union locals were convicted of stealing more than
$1 million. Several council officials
were convicted of stuffing the ballot box in 1996 to ensure approval of
an unpopular contract with a two-year wage freeze. [N.Y. Times 1/10/02]
TEACHERS (CFA)
EEOC: California Union Engaged in Religious Discrimination
On Jan. 4, the Equal Employment Opportunity Comm'n found reason to
believe the Cal. Faculty Ass'n discriminated against Cal. State Univ.
Prof. Charles Baird by refusing to accommodate his sincere religious
objections to joining or paying compulsory agency fees to the union.
The EEOC judged the CFA's actions to be in direct violation of Title VII
of the 1964 Civil Right Act after hearing arguments from attorneys
with the Nat'l Right to Work Legal Def. Fdn. "This ruling reaffirms
that Big Labor cannot trample on someone's religious freedom," said Stefan
Gleason, NRTWLDF vice president. "The CFA claims to stand up for
the rights of employees, but this case shows that it only wants to stand
for forced unionism."
NRTWLDF attorneys first filed the religious discrimination charges with the EEOC on Nov. 6, 2000, after the CFA refused to honor Prof. Baird's objection to supporting the union on the grounds that it violated his religious beliefs. As a Roman Catholic, Baird objects to union affiliation on the grounds, among others, that he would be supporting an organization that has promoted conflict and used coercion to achieve its goals.
"Dr. Baird's case shows that Big Labor believes paying tribute to a union is more important than paying tribute to your faith," stated Gleason. "The indifference union operatives have shown to honest men like Professor Baird is exactly why we need to protect every American's right to free association."
Under Title VII, unions must accommodate sincere religious objectors by, at least, allowing them to make charitable contributions in lieu of paying union fees. Unless the CFA remedies its lawbreaking and discriminatory behavior, EEOC has ordered the case will be handed over to the courts for enforcement. [NRTWLDF 01/04/02]
SERVICE EMPLOYEES (SEIU)
SEIU Teams Up With ACLU to Overturn Federal Baggage-Screen Law
The Am. Civil Liberties Union and the Service Employees Int'l Union
filed a suit Jan. 17 challenging the citizenship requirement for airport
baggage screeners in the recently enacted Aviation & Transp. Security
Act, which requires virtually all airport baggage screeners to be federal
employees within one year. Applicants must be United States citizens to
qualify for those federal jobs. In addition to the suit, ACLU and
SEIU are calling on Congress to remove the citizenship requirement from
the statute. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Cal.) has introduced a bill (S. 1829)
to allow permanent foreign residents to be eligible for federal screener
jobs if they are in the process of becoming U.S. citizens. However, a spokesman
for SEIU told BNA that while the union supports Feinstein's measure, the
bill would affect less than 10% of the legal immigrants
who hold baggage screening positions.
About 25% of baggage screeners nationwide are legal, noncitizen residents, according to Mark Rosenbaum, legal director of the ACLU Foundation of S. Cal.. Those workers will lose their jobs within the year if the law is not changed. At San Francisco International Airport 80% of the baggage screeners are legal noncitizens. SEIU represents some 500 baggage screeners at the airport. The legal basis for the case, according to Rosenbaum, will be the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, which prohibits the government from enacting laws that discriminate against specific groups, including immigrants, "without any rational basis," Rosenbaum said. [BNA 1/18/02]
Union Corruption Update is made possible by the generous contributions from readers like you. NLPC, PO Box 6821, Falls Church, VA 22040. 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 (http://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 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)
Organized Labor Accountability Project