On December 12, Brian Cisek, former sergeant-at-arms of National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 56, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan to two years of probation, and was ordered to pay a $3,000 fine and a $100 special assessment, for embezzling funds from the Grand Rapids-based union. He previously paid restitution in the amount of $9,200. Cisek had pleaded guilty in August after being charged earlier that month. The actions follow a probe by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡
Carl Horowitz
Sharpton Washington March Offers Preview of Political Intimidation
When it comes to organizing rallies on short notice, Al Sharpton has few peers. The ability of Reverend Al to generate a crowd through his New York City-based nonprofit National Action Network (NAN) was in evidence last Saturday morning, January 14, in the nation’s capital. Billed as the “We Shall Not Be Moved March on Washington,” the rain-soaked event (see photo) drew thousands of participants, overwhelmingly black, many of whom arrived by chartered bus. The stated purpose of this grievance convention, timed for Martin Luther King Day and the Donald Trump inauguration, was to pressure Congress into resisting the new administration. Accordingly, the march offered a platform for ritual denunciations of enemies of blacks, Hispanics, gays and other “disenfranchised” groups, and calls for new laws to protect their members. If lawmakers are smart, they’ll take a pass.
Al Sharpton for more than a decade has become a political player of … Read More ➡
Electrical Workers Office Manager in Texas Sentenced for Embezzlement
On December 15, Jennifer Cruise, also known as Jenn Studebaker, former office manager for International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 520, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to three years of probation for embezzling funds from the Austin-based union. She also was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $12,344 and a special assessment of $100. Cruise had pleaded guilty in October after being charged in August for stealing $12,750. The actions follow an investigation by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡
Top Ten Union Corruption Stories of the Year
Benefit scams, especially involving health plans, grabbed the lion’s share of union corruption stories in 2016. Scammers came from outside as well as from inside the unions, a fact highlighting the need for trustees to exercise greater due diligence in choosing outside parties. There were also the usual cases of six-figure (or more) embezzlement and fraud against union general funds. Labor officials, meanwhile, expanded their misguided campaign to enact a $15 an hour minimum wage. They also tried to undo Right to Work laws in three states, temporarily achieving success in two by way of court action. And a deadlocked Supreme Court enabled state and local public-sector union bosses to retain their authority to coerce dues payments from unwilling workers. In other words, there was plenty to write about. Here were the ten stories that mattered most:
10) Hawaii contractor pleads guilty; sentenced for scamming Painters union, benefit fund, IRS … Read More ➡
Boilermakers Secretary in SW Virginia Charged; Pleads Guilty
On December 12, William Dixon, former secretary-treasurer of International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 2014, was charged in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia with one count of embezzling $4,338 in funds from the Lebanon, Va. union. He then pleaded guilty. The charge and guilty plea follow an investigation by the Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡
Central California Firefighters Treasurer Charged with Theft of Nearly $300K
Oscar Picazo’s colleagues aren’t happy right now – and with good reason. On December 16, Picazo, former captain with the City of Lodi Fire Department and treasurer of the Lodi Professional Firefighters Union, was charged in San Joaquin County Superior Court with embezzling $297,000 from the union, also known as International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 1225. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing at his arraignment on December 22. The actions follow a City investigation. In a prepared statement, the union said: “The Lodi Professional Firefighters has been coping with the damage inflicted by (Picazo) for several months. The LPF was very disappointed to discover that Mr. Picazo violated the trust placed in him by the union.”
According to prosecutors, Picazo fleeced his union during January 2010-August 2016. News of the thefts surfaced after the City of Lodi this summer initiated an investigation at local union request; … Read More ➡
Secretary of Minnesota Insulators Local Pleads Guilty
On December 9, Scot McNamara, former financial secretary for International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators Local 34, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota to one count of embezzlement of $8,871 in funds from the St. Paul-based union. He had been indicted in July on four counts of embezzling $7,761. The actions follow a probe by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡
Seattle-Area SMART President Indicted for Embezzlement
On December 7, Pascale McAtee, former president of International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers (SMART) Local 161, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on one count of embezzling more than $80,000 in funds from the Everett (Snohomish County), Wash. union. McAtee also was indicted on three counts of making false statements in local financial records. The charges follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡
New Report Highlights Dangers of Micro-Unions
Workplace organizing typically requires large amounts of time and money. Yet for more than five years, labor unions increasingly have been relying on a low-cost alternative: partial workplace organizing. A new monograph published by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce summarizes this trend and its enormous potential for harm. The 32-page report, “Trouble with the Truth: Specialty Healthcare and the Spread of Micro-Unions,” explains how a National Labor Relations Board ruling in August 2011 has enabled unions to create miniature bargaining units within the workplace, all the better to conscript reluctant employees. These fractional or “micro” unions, argue the authors, constitute a genuine threat to worker liberty and the integrity of collective bargaining.
In relative numbers, organized labor in this country has seen a long-term decline in membership. In 2015, only 6.7 percent of all private-sector employees belonged to a union, a drop from the mid-50s/early-60s peak years (at … Read More ➡
Buffalo-Area Operating Engineers Ex-President Sentenced for Racketeering
It took years, but Mark Kirsch finally reaped what he sowed. On August 31, Kirsch, former president and business manager of International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 17, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York to three years in prison and ordered to pay $184,000 in restitution to two contractors for his role in running the Buffalo-area union as a criminal enterprise. For about 10 years, Kirsch and certain union members and business agents vandalized nonunion sites. And they didn’t hesitate to assault or threaten workers at these sites. Kirsch had been convicted by a jury in March 2014, a trial that saw four other Local 17 members acquitted. The case was made possible by a five-year probe by the FBI, the Labor Department and the New York State Police.
Union Corruption Update has described this case more than once. Federal and state … Read More ➡