U.S. Attny Jeffrey G. Collins announced further details on the case of convicted embezzler Edward Wiebeck, who was sentenced by Fed. judge Denise Page Hood (U.S.D.C. E.D. MI, Clinton) to a split sentence of 6 months in fed. prison, followed by 6 months of home confinement, three years of supervised release and $32,790.82 in restitution.
Mr. Collins stated that the evidence against Mr. Wiebeck showed that in 1970, Mr. Wiebeck became a member of Laborers Local 503, in Jackson, MI, which was part of the Laborer's International Union of North America. Between 1970 and 1976, he became a member of the Executive Board. In 1976, he was appointed to complete the unexpired term of the outgoing Business Manager. He was elected to the position every three years thereafter until he retired on March 1, 1998.
Organized labor, masters of aggressive politics, had its share of triumphs in 2010. With Democrats, their natural ally, the previous year having taken control of the White House and the Senate while increasing their advantage in the House, this was to be expected. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka and other union officials used their window of opportunity to pressure Congress into passing a health care overhaul mandating unprecedented degrees of government intrusion, and by extension, major opportunities for unionization of the health care labor force. They also secured key presidential appointments. 
If Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and Solicitor M. Patricia Smith are pushing the limits of radical advocacy, Leon Rodriguez might just be the person to push them further. Rodriguez, for nearly a year the chief of staff at the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, is President Obama's presumptive nominee for administrator of DOL's Wage and Hour Division. The president announced on December 2 his intent to name him to the long-vacant post. But like the previous (unsuccessful) nominee, Lorelei Boylan, Rodriguez, an experienced prosecutor, has an expressed belief that what counts is equality of result, not equality under the law - even if employers have to pay the toll. If Obama is genuine about his recently stated desire to promote business development, he should find another candidate.
When Department of Labor Solicitor 
If the nomination of pro-union radical Craig Becker for the National Labor Relations Board couldn't survive congressional scrutiny, Obama administration officials are taking heart that another nominee for a major labor policymaking post has passed muster. On Thursday, February 4, 
The Department of Labor (DOL) is one of the prime venues for President Obama's attempt to unite governance and community activism. But he's having an unexpectedly tough time conveying his enthusiasm to the Senate. Nearly four months ago, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee held a hearing on the confirmation of M. Patricia "Trisha" Smith to become the DOL's next solicitor, which is the third highest post in the department behind secretary and deputy secretary. Yet the appointment remains up in the air. That's because Republicans on the committee are concerned Smith may replicate a program she recently initiated as current labor commissioner for the State of New York. 
One of the hallmarks of Barack Obama's political career has been his view that the worlds of governance and community activism should blend. By encouraging public office holders to work closely with grass-roots organizers and by hiring some of the more experienced organizers (especially those already with a government background) for federal positions, he believes, our nation can realize long-overdue institutional change. If the president's recent nominations for two key positions with the Department of Labor are any indication, he's making good on his rhetoric. The nominees, 
