ULLICO / CARPENTERS (UBC) / COMMUNICATIONS WORKERS
(CWA)
Watchdog Calls on Tainted Bosses to Resign
Union corruption watchdog, the Nat'l Legal & Policy Ctr., has demanded
the resignation of several Ullico, Inc., board
members allegedly involved in the growing insider trading scandal. NLPC
sent a open letter May 16 to
three board members of the union-dominated insurance firm: Robert
Georgine, Ullico chairman, Morton Bahr, Communications Workers of Am. president,
and Douglas McCarron, United Bhd. of Carpenters president. Each potentially
made huge profits at the expense of union members, whose pensions invested
in Ullico stock.
NLPC's letter was published as ad in Roll Call magazine on Capitol Hill and is at: http://www.nlpc.org/olap/aflcio/rollcallfinal.pdf. It began: "AFL-CIO says 'No more Enrons.' We could not agree more!" NLPC Chairman Ken Boehm, author of the letter, put the pressure on the board members: "Your first responsibility is to union members, not your personal bank accounts. Yet, according to recent news reports, you and other union presidents on Ullico's board allegedly enriched yourselves--at workers' expense--with secret, insider stock deals. You and other board members have turned down invitations to testify before Congress to explain what you knew about this growing scandal, and are now being investigated by a federal grand jury and the Department of Labor."
Boehm added "To set the record straight on the Ullico scandal, board members should explain why Arthur Coia, a former laborers union president and convicted felon, Jake West, former head of the ironworkers and recently indicted on federal embezzlement charges, and Marty Maddaloni, head of the plumbers union and under investigation for pension irregularities--were all part of the Ullico board who approved the stock scheme. They--like you--cashed in on the insider Ullico stock deal with the excuse that lawyers gave the secret scheme their ok. Wasn't that the Enron defense?"
The letter concluded "Union leaders on Ullico's board must act immediately
to set the record straight and restore the damaged integrity of union leaders
by; 1) Returning to Ullico the millions of dollars in insider stock profits
by union leaders. 2) Testifying before Congress about your involvement
in the stock scheme that allowed Ullico directors to receive a disproportionate
share of Ullico profits while shortchanging rank and file union members.
3) Offering a full accounting of all profits you and other Ullico directors
received as part of the special stock deal you voted for yourselves, but
did not offer to rank and file owners of Ullico. 4) Explaining the qualifications
you and the other Ullico directors have to make judgments about sophisticated
investment strategies in the insurance business. 5) Apologizing to union
members and retirees. They deserve to hear from union heads--not spokesmen--about
the impropriety of the Ullico board's actions. 6) Resigning."
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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.
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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.
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