Union Corruption Update

On November 17, Tommy Harris, former secretary-treasurer of National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 1230, pled guilty in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to one count of embezzlement in the amount of $24,646.82 from the Griffin, Ga.-based local. The guilty plea follows a probe by the Labor Department's Office of Labor-Management Standards.

In the words of Yogi Berra, it looks like déjà vu all over again as General Motors plans to "relaunch" the Chevy Volt. Just in case you missed the first rollout that saw certain financial news networks dedicate loads of airtime to help GM build the hype surrounding a vehicle that was to be a savior for GM as support was garnered for a taxpayer bailout and subsequent IPO, we now get a second take on the failed first production.

Some very humorous (if not cost-effective) ads were exhibited by General Motors during this year's Super Bowl game. GM continues to freely spend its stockpile of taxpayer supplied cash reserve as it even aired a spot touting the Chevy Volt. At a cost of $3.5 million for a 30 second spot the expense equals about 15% of the total revenues GM brought in during the entire month of January for the Volt when sales fell to a dismal level of 603. What is the reasoning behind spending so much to advertise a vehicle that sells in such small numbers and is not profitable if not political? But the ad that may lead to more controversy than the Volt folly was the one in which GM claims their trucks are more dependable than Ford's; a claim that is highly debatable and not backed by studies at Consumers Reports (CR).

Kevin Clor's intentions may have been good, but members of the union he represented might not be impressed. Clor, formerly general counsel for New York State Thruway Employees Local 72, was indicted in Manhattan state court on January 25 on charges of embezzling more than $211,000 from the Teamsters-affiliated union, which represents some 2,500 toll collectors and other Thruway employees. Working out of his Buffalo home office, the defendant allegedly used his position to generate phony receipts enabling him to receive funds from two separate union accounts. "Instead of representing their best interests, (Clor) now stands accused of violating their trust and using his position to enrich himself illegally," said District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. Clor has pleaded not guilty and is free on $75,000 bail.