TEAMSTERS (IBT)
Davis, Ansara Sentenced; Pay $1,345,000 in Restitution
The UCU has now learned that the two last unaccounted for defendants
in the Teamsters money-laundering scandal were sentenced in Mar. 2002,
at two hush hush court hearings, which that have gone unreported by major
daily newspapers. When the UCU previously reported that scandal figure
Jere Nash was sentenced on Apr. 9, it incorrectly
reported that the two other defendants who pled guilty with Nash, had not
yet been sentenced. Both were sentenced some 54 months after they pled
guilty on Sept. 18, 1997. The three engaged in a series
of schemes which led to the embezzlement of some $885,000 from the Int'l
Bhd. of Teamsters and to $538,100 in illegal campaign contributions
to the failed 1996 reelection campaign of expelled IBT president Ron
Carey.
First, Washington, D.C., political consultant Martin Davis, who ran direct mail operations for Carey's campaign, was sentenced by U.S. Dist. Judge Thomas P. Griesa (S.D.N.Y., Nixon) Mar. 22 to a probation term and ordered to pay a $300 fine. He pled guilty to three counts: conspiracy, union embezzlement, and mail fraud. Davis already paid $700,000 in restitution as part of his plea. Second, Griesa sentenced Carlisle, Mass., telemarketer Michael Ansara to a probation term on Mar. 7. Ansara had pled guilty to one count of conspiracy. Although Ansara had already paid $395,000 in restitution as part of his plea, Griesa ordered Ansara at sentencing to pay an extra $250,000. Ansara filed objections to the additional amount, but the court records indicate that the judgment has been paid and the case closed.
The restitution orders were based in part on claims made by IBT president James P. Hoffa's administration that IBT was entitled to $2,635,000 to cover losses incurred as a result of the crimes. That figure included the $885,000 embezzlement amount plus $2.2 million in rerun election costs. Subtracted from the total was $450,000 that IBT received from fidelity-bond claims made over the Carey administration's anti-fiduciary conduct. Also, Nash paid $25,000 in restitution. Plus ex-IBT political director William Hamilton, who pled not guilty and was convicted on related charges, was order to pay $100,000 in restitution. He was the only scandal figure sentenced to prison (three years). Still, the IBT was not made fully whole. But IBT has a pending amended civil suit seeking the remaining sums. [BNA 4/30/02]
STEELWORKERS (USWA)
Trusteeship Illegal: $400,000 Punitive Award Upheld
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld a jury's $400,000
punitive damages award against the United Steelworkers of Am. on Apr. 18.
The court ruled that USWA unlawfully imposed a trusteeship and removed
the officers of Local 5644 in Toronto, Ohio. Further, the court held that
the district court properly assessed compensatory damages of $9,406 against
USWA plus agreed with U.S. Dist. Judge Algenon L. Marbley (S.D. Ohio, Clinton)
that USWA's actions were sufficiently "reprehensible" to warrant the jury's
large punitive award. Allegedly, the plaintiffs, Local 5644 officers Charles
Argentine, Clarence Wingo, and John Gooch, were removed to silence their
opposition to a USWA-negotiated collective bargaining agreement.
The court's opinion, written by U.S. Dist. Judge Curtis L. Collier (E.D. Tenn., Clinton), sitting by designation, and joined by U.S. Cir Judge Richard F. Suhrheinrich (6th Cir., G.H.W. Bush), affirmed the district court's holdings that USWA violated the Labor Mgmt. Reporting & Disclosure Act of 1959 by infringing the officers' free speech rights and by imposing the trusteeship for an improper purpose. The court further upheld the district court's decision that USWA breached its contract with the officers by imposing a trusteeship in violation of USWA's constitution and bylaws. However, the court reversed Marbley's grant of attorneys' fees to the officers. U.S. Cir. Judge R. Guy Cole (6th Cir., Clinton) dissented solely on the attorneys' fees issue.
Argentine, Wingo, and Gooch, were elected in 1994 during USWA's negotiations with Titanium Metals Co. (a.k.a., Timet). USWA district director Jim Bowen was lead negotiator for the local. The officers openly opposed Timet's final contract proposal presented in July 1994, and it was voted down by a large margin of members. Local 5644 then struck and Timet provided notice of prospective plant closure, conditioned on the local's failure to make substantial contract concessions. The strike ended with an extension of the contract until May 1995. When bargaining resumed, the officers told USWA and Timet that the proposal under consideration was unacceptable to them and they would not take it back to local members for a vote.
At the same time, USWA auditors were conducting a financial investigation of Local 5644, allegedly at Bowen's direction. An audit completed in May 1995 showed "substantial expenditures" by Argentine, Wingo, and Gooch. On Bowen's recommendation, a trusteeship was imposed on the local and the officers were removed from office in a letter from USWA president George Becker, which made no mention of financial irregularities. Shortly after the officers were removed, a tentative agreement with Timet was reached and submitted to the membership by means of a mail ballot, not a usual practice. The agreement was accepted.
The officers received notice of a removal hearing by a USWA "factfinding commission" two days before the meeting was to be held and were not told the meeting would touch on financial matters. Their request for a postponement was denied. The "commission" recommended continuing the trusteeship. A USWA "appeals panel" upheld the report and recommended that the USWA's executive board do the same. The executive board adopted the report as did the convention appeals committee. Having exhausted their union remedies, the officers brought suit in federal court alleging violations of the LMRDA and of the union's constitution and bylaws.
USWA argued on appeal that even if the officers were removed to silence them, this would not be unlawful under the LMRDA's trusteeship provisions. "A trusteeship is presumed to be valid when it is imposed for a purpose allowable under [the LMRDA] and it is imposed in a procedurally correct manner," the court stated. Here, however, USWA engaged procedures that violated the LMRDA; as a result, the trusteeship lost its presumption of validity, and the USWA's reasons for imposing it were open to question, the court held. Further the court said the officers presented sufficient evidence that they were removed because of their criticisms. Evidence was presented that "Bowen resented the officers' interference with the . . . negotiations, [that he] agreed to a contract with Timet soon after [the officers] were removed, [and that he] requested an audit of [the officers]."
USWA will not appeal the Sixth Circuit's ruling, but "will pay [the judgment] and move on," said USWA spokesman Mel Stein. Andrew D. Roth of Bredhoff & Kaiser, Washington, D.C., represented the USWA. Ira J. Mirkin of Green, Haines, Sgambati Company, Youngstown, Ohio, represented the officers. [BNA 4/26/02]
IRON WORKERS (IAIW)
Indicted Boss: My Attorney Said It Was Okay
Union boss Jacob "Jake" West, who spent
thousands on personal meals, liquor, and golf trips, is claiming he did
so only because his attorney said such expenditures were legitimate union
expenses. That was the argument of West's new attorney, Michele Roberts,
at a May 7 pretrial hearing before U.S. Dist. Judge Thomas F. Hogan (D.D.C.,
Reagan). West, ex-president and current president emeritus
of the Int'l Ass'n of Iron Workers, allegedly embezzled some $50,000 from
the Washington, D.C., based union during his 12 years as president. Roberts
was previewing arguments that may be used in West's trial, which is scheduled
for this summer.
A superceding indictment was returned Dec. 12 against West. It contained the same 49 union embezzlement and related counts that were in the Aug. 29 indictment, plus it added one count of conspiracy to embezzle, defraud, and file false reports and one count of obstruction of justice. West is one of seven individuals charged in the IAIW scandal. The other six have pled guilty to embezzling amounts ranging from $7,000 to $350,000 from IAIW and related funds. Also, West has been linked to the Ullico, Inc., insider trading scandal. [Wash. Post 5/9/02, DOL 12/12/01]
ULLICO
Ullico Board on Defensive; Fashions an "Investigation"
The scandal-scarred board of Ullico, Inc.,
appointed labor-friendly ex-Ill. Gov. James R. Thompson (R) Apr. 29 to
"review" the insider trading scheme that allowed some directors of the
union-dominated insurance company to make hundreds of thousands in tainted
profits. To see just how labor-friendly, visit http://www.ipsn.org/ullico/thompson_ullico.htm,
for a picture from when Thompson was governor. It shows Thompson with Robert
A. Georgine, now the Ullico president, who helped select Thompson for the
lucrative investigatory job and who Thompson is supposed to be investigating.
Also pictured is Angelo Fosco. The deceased Fosco was president, as was
his father, of the Laborers' Int'l Union of N. Am from 1975-1993. The government's
draft 1994 racketeering suit that led to a quasi-government takeover of
LIUNA, stated that Fosco "was an associate of the Chicago [La Costa Nostra]
family" and accused him of racketeering acts related to extortion of LIUNA
members. Also in the picture is deceased plumbers and AFL-CIO boss Edward
Brabec.
Thankfully, in addition to Thompson's "investigation," a federal grand jury in Washington and the Dep't of Labor are examining the stock deals to determine if the union presidents who sit on Ullico's board made money at the expense of their unions.
The resolution empowering Thompson was approved unanimously by the Ullico board during a closed-door session. Thompson, currently chairman of the Chicago law firm of Winston & Strawn, confessed: "I'll do the investigation that they've asked me to do. I'll ask the questions they want me to get answered." [Bloomberg News 4/30/02; N.Y. Times 5/1/02]
PLUMBERS & PIPE FITTERS (UA)
Arkansasan Admits $67,300 Theft
On Apr. 25, L. Ann Brockman, ex-bookkeeper
for United Ass'n of Plumbers & Pipe Fitters Local 155 in Little Rock,
Ark., pled guilty to one count of union embezzlement and agreed to make
full restitution of $67,338. It was previously reported that, Brockman
was indicted Feb. 5 on 26 counts of embezzling $11,621 from UA Local 665
in Pine Bluff, Ark. The exact relationship between the two reports was
unavailable. [DOL 4/25/02, 2/5/02]
SHEET METAL WORKERS (SMW)
Boss Stole $52,000 from Illinois Local
John M. Cornwell pled guilty Apr. 29 to one count of union embezzlement
and agreed to pay restitution of $52,009.33. Cornwell was financial secretary-treasurer
for Sheet Metal Workers Int'l Ass'n Local 479 in Peoria, Ill., from Jan.
1998 to Feb. 2001. During the plea hearing in open court, he admitted to
converting more than $50,000 in local funds to his personal use from Dec.
18, 1998 to Jan. 20, 2001.
Cornwell confessed that he wrote and negotiated some 62 unauthorized Local 479 checks to himself and to his wife. He signed both his name and Local 479 president Sharon Ball's name to the checks without Ball's knowledge or permission. The U.S. Atty's Office for the Cent. Dist. of Ill. told the UCU that Cornwell spent the funds on routine living expenses. U.S. Dist. Judge Joe B. McDade (C.D. Ill., G.H.W. Bush) scheduled sentencing for Aug. 23. Cornwell currently a resident of Lenoir City, Tenn. [USAO C.D. Ill. 4/30/02; DOL 4/29/02]
AUTO WORKERS (UAW)
Grand Jury Still Probing Michigan Local
A federal grand jury has subpoenaed United Auto Workers Local
594 in Pontiac, Mich., seeking the minutes or audio records from membership
meetings held in Sept. 1997, months after the local ended a contentious
87-day strike at a Gen. Motors Corp. plant. The strike has been under investigation
for years by federal officials, who suspect that bogus overtime for union
bosses and jobs for their relatives and friends were illegally used to
settle the strike.
At the 1997 meetings in question, angry workers reportedly confronted their union bosses about the strike and allegations of improper inducements to settle it. The grand jury was convened and began looking into the strike and related issues at Local 594 as early as Jan. 2001. The subpoena requested that Local 594's custodian of records testify before the grand jury May 8. The Dep't of Labor and the FBI have also investigated whether Local 594 president Larry Trandell made a deal with GM to delay a $35,000 overtime payment to him until after his May 1999 election, when he defeated Gene Austin.
In Aug. 2000, some 130 members filed a civil suit over the strike seeking $550 million in damages from Local 594 plus UAW and GM. The suit echoes the criminal allegations. The civil suit is scheduled to go to trial in Nov. 2002 before U.S. Dist. Judge Paul V. Gadola (E.D. Mich., Reagan). It is currently in discovery and the members' attorney, Harold Dunne, said he has received 44 boxes, some 100,000 pages, of GM documents, plus one box from UAW.
Trandell dismissed the the subpoena news as political. The local's officer elections are on May 14. Austin disputed that the subpoena or the grand-jury investigation were political. "He gives us far too much credit to think we could manipulate a U.S. grand jury. They wouldn't have spent so much time looking at this if there wasn't something there," said Austin, who is running for Local 594 shop chairman. He is also part of the civil suit. [Detroit Free Press 5/4/02]
SERVICE EMPLOYEES (SEIU)
Judge Suggests Aging Crooks Retire
"I suggest at your age . . . you ought to be thinking about getting
out of that life, worrying about who's coming knocking at your door putting
handcuffs on you." That was the advice of U.S. Dist. Court Justice I. Leo
Glasser (E.D.N.Y., Reagan) to two septuagenarians at their May 8 sentencing:
John "Johnny Green" Faraci, 79, reputed
Bonanno soldier, and Jerome Brancato,
74, reputed Gambino soldier. The two and a third reputed "wiseguy," Gambino
capo Louis "Big Lou" Vallario, 60, pled guilty
and were sentenced to probation for their roles in conspiring to bribe
a union boss of Serv. Employees Int'l Union Local
32B-32J in N.Y.C. There have been nine guilty pleas in the
case, plus landlord Abe Wieder and union delegate Ismet
Kukic await trial.
Glasser grew annoyed at attempts to downplayed the trio's roles. When Faraci's attorney, Vincent Romano, noted that his client, whose criminal record spans nearly 25 years, had fought in WWII's Battle of Normandy and won the Bronze Star, the unimpressed 78-year old judge snapped, "So did I."
Further, when Glasser asked Faraci whether he had anything to say, an apology to his family for "aggravating" them was not well-received. "You've been doing that, putting your family through aggravation, since 1978," Glasser replied as he flipped through pages of Faraci's rap sheet. [Daily News, N.Y. Post 5/9/02]
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ADDITIONAL BRIEFS NOT INCLUDED ON THE FAX EDITION OF THIS UNION CORRUPTION UPDATE:
- - - - - -
MUSICIANS (AFM)
Missouri Boss Sentenced for $18,500 Embezzlement
U.S. Dist. Judge Ortrie D. Smith (W.D. Mo., Clinton) sentenced admitted
union embezzler J. Steven Call Apr. 23
to five years probation, 250 hours of community service and ordered him
to make full restitution of $18,536. Call was the president of Am. Fed'n
Musicians Local 150, which represented entertainers in Mo., Kan., Okla.,
and Ark. Call pled guilty Nov. 29 and admitted embezzling funds from the
Branson, Mo., based local .
His scheme ran from Apr. 1997 to Mar. 1999. The local was first placed in trusteeship by the int'l union due to financial difficulties in 1995. Then as the the trusteeship was ending, int'l trustee Theresa Gafford made a poor judgment and groomed Call to run the local. He was elected president and secretary-treasurer in Apr. 1997. In an apparent cost-cutting move, Call relocated the local's office to his leased house in May 1997. He received no salary from the local, but the local's board agreed to pay him $100 for rent and utility-related costs of running the local out of his home plus any expense he incurred in the course of his work for the local.
Call did not have a personal checking account during the entire period in question. Instead, Call used Local 150's checking account as if it were a joint account. He wrote checks to himself, his disabled wife, other relatives, and cash for his personal benefit. According to the plea agreement he also used the checking account for personal groceries, restaurant meals, books, magazines, compact disks, videos, household supplies (e.g., diapers, toothpaste), school pictures, toys, fishing gear, clothing, cable, and dues for memberships in the Int'l Ass'n of Elec. Inspectors and the Building Code Ass'n. Further, while the local's office occupied one room of the house, the union paid Call's full rent and electric, sewer, trash, and water bills in excess of the agreed $100 amount.
More than 300 checks were involved. Also, Call admitted to making false entries on check stubs and monthly financial reports to conceal the personal nature of some of the expenses. In total, he took $21,936.50 from the local's account for his personal use but deposited $3,400 into the account; thus, the net embezzlement was $18,536.50. Call was removed from office on Mar. 1999 by the int'l union. The int'l then closed down the local in 2000 and assigned its members to Local 257 in Nashville. [DOL 4/23/02; USAO W.D. Mo. 12/17/01]
COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS (CWA)
Denver Boss Ordered to Pay $18,000 in Restitution
U.S. Dist. Judge Lewis T. Babcock (D. Colo., Reagan) sentenced union
embezzler Bobby R. Putnam Apr. 23 to
five years probation, including six months in home detention with electronic
monitoring, and was ordered to pay $18,026.95 in restitution. Putnam, ex-secretary-treasurer
of Communications Workers of Am. Local 14708 (a.k.a., Denver Mailers Union
No. 8) in Denver, was charged Oct. 31 in a 40-count indictment with embezzling
$7,808.26 and falsifying union
records. He later pled guilty. The reason for the $10,218.69 difference
between the indictment and the restitution amounts was unavailable.
According to the indictment, Putnam engaged in a multi-step check scheme
to steal $1,913.28 between Dec. 1996 and Sept. 1997. He allegedly 1) wrote
nine union checks to nine union members, 2) endorsed these checks without
the nine members' knowledge or permission, 3) deposited these checks back
into the local's checking account, and 4) then took the cash from the local's
funds for his own use and benefit. He was charged with nine counts of union
embezzlement. He was also charged with nine counts of union records
falsification because for each of these nine checks, Putnam
willfully made false entries in union records relating to these purported
disbursements and their purported purpose. The alleged falsifications included:
"1 Day lost time," "Sick Pay from Union 60 Days $4.00," and "91 Days $4.00
day, Out Feb.-Aug. 97 Auto Accident."
Additionally, for eleven months, Nov. 1996 to Sept. 1997, Putnam allegedly collected union dues and fees from members but took a portion of these dues and fees for his own use without authorization. Allegedly, this scheme resulted in a $5,894.98 embezzlement, and Putnam was indicted on eleven additional counts of union embezzlement. Again, he was also indicted on eleven additional counts of union records falsification relating to this dues scheme. [DOL 4/23/02; DOJ 12/18/01]
ALLIED-INDUSTRIAL WORKERS (PACE)
Illinois Boss Pleads Guilty to Embezzling $13,000
Wesley J. Sharp, ex-financial secretary-treasurer of Paper, Allied-Indus.,
Chem. & Energy Workers Int'l Union Local 647 in Des Plaines, Ill.,
pled guilty May 6 to a one-count of embezzling $13,062.86 in union funds.
According to the plea agreement, Sharp wrote 53 unauthorized checks on
the local's checking account between Mar. 1, 1996 and Dec. 29, 1997 totaling
$13,062.86. Each check required two signatures of union officers.
On 49 checks, Sharp forged the signature of a second union officer
before negotiating the check. On the other four checks, he simply left
off the second signature but was still able to cash the check. He made
all the checks payable to himself and converted the union's funds to his
personal use.
Of the embezzled amount, $9,362.86 remains outstanding. Sharp agreed to reimburse $5,000 to Local 647's corruption insurance company, Fidelity & Deposit Co. of Md. He also agreed to make further restitution of $4,362.86 to Local 647. U.S. Dist. Judge William J. Hibbler (N.D. Ill., Clinton) set sentencing for July 29. [USAO N.D. Ill. 5/9/02; DOL 5/6/02]
MARINE ENGINEERS (MEBA)
Magistrate in Florida Embezzlement Case Rules She Has No Impermissible
Conflict
As previously reported, over the Dep't of Justice' strenuous objections,
U.S. Magis. Judge Linnea R. Johnson (S.D. Fla.) ruled in Mar. 2002 that
ex-U.S. Atty. Thomas E. Scott's prior government
service did not create a conflict of interest that would bar him from representing
indicted union boss Walter J. "Buster"
Browne. Johnson allowed Scott to represent Browne in his upcoming criminal
trial on racketeering and embezzlement charges. Browne pled not guilty
Nov. 3 to a 40-page federal indictment, brought by Scott's former U.S.
Atty.'s Office, accusing Browne and his sister, Patricia B. Devaney, of
running a racketeering scheme that milked more than $400,000 from his union
and four companies. Browne is president of the Marine Eng'rs' Beneficial
Ass'n Dist. 1 (a.k.a., Nat'l Fed'n of Public & Private Employees) headquartered
in Fort Lauderdale.
However, Johnson herself may be conflicted. On Apr. 24, Johnson denied another DOJ motion requesting that the magistrate recuse herself from the Browne case. Johnson ruled that although Scott represented her in her 1991 divorce in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. "The representation in an uncontested divorce was brief and over a decade ago," Johnson said. Johnson added that she examined 100 relevant state and federal cases in recent days. "I have found no case that favors a recusal by this court."
DOJ filed the motion the morning of the hearing--the same day as the Palm Beach Daily Business Review ran an news article questioning whether Johnson had a conflict of interest. DOJ's Julia J. Stiller said the government would not appeal Johnson's recusal ruling.Johnson also heard lengthy arguments on Apr. 24 on DOJ's other pending, previously reported, motion to disqualify Browne's attorneys, Scott and Steven E. Chaykin, from representing him due to impermissible conflicts. No decision on that motion has been reached. [Palm Beach Daily Business Rev. 4/24, 4/25/02]
PAINTERS (IBPAT)
LMRDA Victory for Ex-Kansas City Boss
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Cir. ruled Apr. 24 that an
ex-officer of Int'l Bhd. of Painters & Allied Trades Dist. Council
3 who won a Nat'l Labor Relations Bd. action against his union over his
job loss can additionally bring a civil action against the union and its
officers alleging violations of the the Labor Mgmt. Reporting & Disclosure
Act of 1959. Reversing the U.S. Dist. Court for the W. Dist. of Mo.'s dismissal
of Lonnie Gurley's LMRDA action on the ground that he had already been
"made whole" by the NLRB's order that the union restore his lost earnings
and benefits, the Eighth Cir., in an opinion by U.S. Cir. Judge Gerald
W. Heaney (8th Cir., Johnson), held that Gurley did not have an "adequate
opportunity" to litigate his LMRDA claim before the NLRB. The agency lacked
jurisdiction over the claim, the court found, and was unable to award the
full range of remedies available to a district court under the LMRDA.
Gurley lost his position as executive secretary of DC 3 in Kansas City, Mo., to Michael Hunt in a heated 1997 election. After the election, Gurley got a job as a painter with Essex Corp., but was fired in Jan. 1998. Believing that the union was behind his termination, he filed charges with NLRB, alleging that the union had fined him and had procured his discharge because he had opposed the incumbent leadership in the recent election. The board found for Gurley and ordered the union to make him whole.
After the NLRB's ruling, Gurley brought a civil action against the union and Hunt alleging violations of the LMRDA's "Bill of Rights of Members of Labor Organizations." The action was based on the same events as the NLRB charge, but sought damages for emotional distress and punitive damages. The district court dismissed the action as barred by the legal doctrine of "res judicata," finding that the cause had already been adjudicated. However, the appellate court held: "Because the plain language of the LMRDA gives jurisdiction to the federal court, and because the type of relief authorized by the LMRDA is inconsistent with the [Nat'l Labor Relations Act's] policy of issuing relief that vindicates public, not private rights," the NLRB lacked jurisdiction to hear Gurley's LMRDA claim; as a result, that claim is not barred by res judicata and may go forward.
U.S. Circuit Judges James B. Loken (8th Cir., G.H.W. Bush) and Diana E. Murphy (8th Cir., Clinton) concurred. Fred Lee Slough of Slough & Connealy, Kansas City, Mo., represented Gurley. Donald R. Aubry of Jolley & Walsh, Kansas City Mo., represented Hunt and the union. [BNA 4/29/02]
UNION DUES / GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES / TEACHERS (NEA)
Utah Court Deals Union Lawyers a Blow
The State of Utah's Third Dist. Court has rejected union lawyers' attempts
to dismiss a counter suit, brought by employees represented by Nat'l Right
to Work Legal Def. Fdn. attorneys, which, as a result, calls into question
the constitutionality of the fundamental union privilege known as monopoly
bargaining. In his ruling issued the week of April 29, Utah Judge
Stephen L. Henriod allowed the employees to defend the constitutionality
of Utah's Voluntary Contributions Act (VCA), a law intending to give union
members the right to withhold union dues spent for political activities.
If the court refuses to uphold the VCA as constitutional, the court will
consider the employees alternative argument that monopoly bargaining power--held
in many locales by union officials of the Utah Public Employees'
Ass'n (UPEA) and Utah Education Association (UEA)--is unconstitutional.
Even though Utah has a highly popular and effective Right to Work law that enables nonunion employees to pay no dues whatsoever to an unwanted union, the still-intact monopoly bargaining privilege forces employees to accept the rigid terms of one size fits all union-brokered contracts: ones tending to punish the best and most productive employees. Union monopoly bargaining bars all employees, even union objectors, from individually negotiating over the terms of their own employment. And using their monopoly bargaining privilege, union officials refuse to allow non-union members any input into workplace issues that directly affect them.
NRTWLDF attorneys filed to intervene in this case on behalf of union members who oppose their unions' politicking. NRTWLDF attorneys argue that, if union lawyers succeed in overturning the VCA as an unconstitutional interference into private union matters, then monopoly bargaining must also be declared unconstitutional for all Utah's government employees because of its inherent infringements on their rights to free speech and association. [NRTWLDF 5/3/02]
AUTO WORKERS (UAW) / STEELWORKERS (USWA)
Ohio Unionist Indicted on Pipebomb and Counterfeiting Charges
A supporter of United Steelworkers of Am. Local 169 is accused of planning
to fire explosives at the AK Steel Co.'s plant in Middletown, Ohio, because
the firm hired nonunion workers. Fred Frigo was indicted May 1 on charges
of seeking help from others to damage the plant, whose union employees
have been locked out since 1999. Frigo is a member of the United Auto Workers
and worked at a Gen. Motors Corp. plant, where he reportedly "disliked"
nonunion workers. Frigo told an informant that he hoped to fire a rocket
at the steel plant as he drove down the road. The indictment alleges that
Frigo made pipebombs with .12-gauge shotgun shells and nails. Frigo also
was accused of making $13,440 in counterfeit $20 bills. [Plain Dealer (Cleveland)
5/2/02]
ALLIED-INDUSTRIAL WORKERS (PACE)
Judge Allows ADA Suit Against Union to Proceed
U.S. Dist. Judge George Z. Singa (D. Me., Clinton) held Apr. 23 that
an ex-paper mill employee can go forward with an Americans with Disabilities
Act claim against Paper, Allied-Indus., Chem. & Energy Workers Int'l
Union Local 1188 in Bucksport, Me., because of the local's "deliberate
acquiescence" with the potentially illegal actions of the employer.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Cir. has not yet considered whether
a claim for deliberate acquiescence can be brought under either the ADA,
said Singa; but his decision to allow Joseph Greenier to proceed with an
ADA claim against the union is "recognition that it is a plausible legal
theory worthy of further factual development."
Singa found Greenier's allegations to be "adequate" and to constitute "a plausible legal theory" under the ADA. Greenier claimed that he sought the assistance of union officials to remedy the illegal termination, but that he was rebuffed, and "instead of assisting him, [the local] cooperated with Champion [Paper]." Singa said, the local failed to subpoena the witnesses Greenier had requested or to assist him in discovery. "These allegations are adequate to put [the local] on notice of [Greenier's] ADA claim," the court said.
Singa also determined that Greenier "may be able to recover against [the union] if he can prove a duty of fair representation claim under the ADA," if he can prove that Champion Paper breached its collective bargaining agreement, the union failed to address the breach, and the breach by the union "was motivated by hostility toward [Greenier] as a person with a disability." Greenier also can proceed with a retaliation claim against the union, if he is able to establish that the local refused to assist him in the arbitration or otherwise "not strictly because he was disabled, but rather because he exercised his rights under the statute," the Singa wrote.
Although Greenier reportedly suffers from "unspecified physical and mental disabilities," he won the case by representing himself. Jonathan Beal of Fontaine & Beal in Portland, Me., represented the union. [BNA 4/29/02]
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES
Boss Admits Stealing $271,800 Ontario Local
It's hard for Gordon Walsh to even consider forgiving his longtime
friend, a man who turned against him and stole more than C$270,000 from
the union he was heading. Walsh, president of the Canadian Union of Public
Employees Local 32 and ex-president of Local 68, sat in the Ontario Court
of Justice in Kitchener, Ontario, Apr. 26 as Harvey Holst, ex-Local 68
secretary-treasurer, pled guilty to pocketing a total of C$271,800 in union
funds from Jan. 1989 to May 2000. The missing money was noticed in May
2000 after Local 68 amalgamated with two other unions representing outside
municipal workers. Holst, who secretary-treasurer for 12 years, was arrested
in July 2001.
"I've lost many, many hours of sleep over this," said Walsh. "I went
through a lot of hardships because people accused me of being in cahoots
with him." Walsh said they haven't spoken since the embezzlement was uncovered.
Union officials first noticed discrepancies in financial statements
given to them by Holst after checking on the union's bank account shortly
before the amalgamation. "The statements he showed had one set of numbers,
but the bank account numbers were certainly lower," said Mark Charboneau,
staff representative for the union, who was also at the plea hearing.
While working for the union, Holst altered financial books and issued
checks to himself by forging Walsh's name. At the union's monthly meetings,
Holst would give false statements, Walsh
said. Holst paid back C$146,897 of the C$271,800. Insurance was able
to pay out $50,000 to the union, resulting in C$74,903 still missing. However,
when the discrepancies were first found, the union paid to have an audit
done, which cost C$17,611. Sentencing is scheduled for May 21.
Walsh said he called Holst about the missing money shortly after it was discovered and said Holst didn't deny taking it. However, he gave no reason why. "We never received any satisfactory answer," said Charboneau. "I'm sure if we asked him today it would be that the money was there and he just took it." [Record (Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario) 4/27/02]
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