Union Corruption Update

Business Week [06/15/98] reported that top DNC/Clinton-Gore fundraiser Terrence McAuliffe’s conversations with 2 Democratic party staffers about a possible swap scheme with the Teamsters during the 1996 election are now “the focus of a federal grand jury in Manhattan that is investigating whether Democratic fundraisers conspired to find donors for Carey’s campaign in hopes of getting back hefty union contributions.”

Business Week also said sources “close to the investigation said the U.S. Attorney is interested in whether [an AFL-CIO] credit-card deal played a role in the swap schemes.” McAuliffe and Carey campaign consultant Martin Davis, who plead guilty to charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, embezzlement and making false statements to the court-appointed Teamsters election officer, were both under contract to “lobby the AFL-CIO Executive Council to switch its union credit card program” to Household International bank.

In a Jun. 3 ruling, Judge Edelstein rejected a Carey appeal of his disqualification … Read More ➡

6 Teamsters were arrested in connection with a 14-man crime-ring that was stealing and reselling electronic equipment, clothing and jewelry in N.Y. Each faces up to 10 years in prison. Many of the stolen items were sold to an undercover FBI agent in 67 transactions according to U.S. District Court records. The 6 were UPS drivers. UPS notified the FBI that it had suspected criminal activity. [A.P. 06/11/98]

Violent Teamsters Shut Down CA Port
The Port of Hueneme, near L.A., was shut down on Jun. 1 due to a violent Teamsters strike sparked by a dispute over 2 forklift workers’ salaries. The reportedly illegal strike idled hundreds of workers and stranded 3 cargo-laden ships.
Police were present to stop Teamsters’ violence against Longshoremen wishing to cross the picket line. All 250 members of the International Longshoremen’s & Warehousemen’s Union honored the picket line until an arbitrator ruled that the strike … Read More ➡

Rep. Harris W. Fawell (R-IL), chairman of a House subcommittee examining union abuses against members, sent letter to Laborers Int’l. Union of North America president Arthur A. Coia, warning him against acts of retaliation against individuals testifying before the committee.

Coia as long-been suspected of being under the influence of organized crime. In 1997, LIUNA’s in-house prosecutor filed charges against Coia for knowingly associating with organized crime and permitting organized crime to influence LIUNA affairs.

“We can not, and will not, tolerate any retaliation against any witness and we will take every step necessary and possible to protect them,” wrote Fawell in the May 27 letter. Stephen Manos, vice-president LIUNA Local 230 in Hartford, told the committee his Congressional testimony has “further exacerbated” acts of harassment, intimidation and retaliation against him, including a recent complaint filed in U.S. District Court by Local 230’s business manager Charles LeConche accusing him of … Read More ➡

LIUNA’s in-house prosecutor Robert D. Luskin, who is responsible for the integrity of LIUNA’s “internal reform effort,” admitted to being paid about $4 million from LIUNA since Nov. 1994 in the Jun. 7 Washington Post . It’s a rare public account of what LIUNA has paid to Luskin and his 11-lawyer firm.

$4 million over 44 months (11/94 to 06/98) equals $90,909 a month, or… $1,090,909 a year… $20,979 a week… $4,196 a day…$524 a hour (at 40 hours a week)… $8.74 a minute… all thanks to the mandatory unions dues of LIUNA members. Note too that LIUNA is not Luskin’s only client.

Laborers Fired Over Pay Questions
On May 29, the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority upheld the firings of 2 LIUNA electricians at Orlando’s airport for reportedly falsifying payroll records. The records in question show the 2 collected $34,000 for over 1,500 hours of allegedly bogus overtime. LIUNA Local … Read More ➡

According to Rep. Hoekstra’s subcommittee, the bosses of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial & Textile Employees are profiting from their members job losses due to a special industry proviso in federal labor law.
The May 27 report states UNITE receives “liquated damages” from companies for contract breaches which include relocating production overseas. UNITE treats the payments as its own since no explicit obligation exists to distribute the money to its members.

“So as contracts leave the country and UNITE’s members lose their jobs, UNITE itself continues to receive ‘a piece of the action’… Over the past few decades garment unions have lost more than half of their membership to overseas competition. Yet during that same time, UNITE and its predecessors became the richest of all unions, as measured on an assets per member basis. UNITE not only on owns the Amalgamated Bank of New York, but also owns much prime … Read More ➡

In a June 2 letter, the Developmental Disabilities Council, a New Jersey watchdog group on state policy, accused the Communications Workers of America of threatening to expose the names of group home residents who have criminal records or a history of behavior problems in order to halt the closing of state institutions for the disabled. The group’s director Ethan Ellis said, “This degrades the public images of people with developmental disabilities irreparably. It is going to take years to repair that damage.” [Bergen Co. Record 06/03/98]

Tainted Ex-President Reinstated
On June 3 in St. Louis, a U.S. District Judge had Service Employees Int’l. Union Local 50 to reinstated its ex-president William Stodghill. He was ousted from office and the union in 1996 amid allegations of wrongly spending the union’s funds for his personal expenses. Current local president Don Rudd said, “Stodghill was found guilty of improperly using members’ money at … Read More ➡