Kamala Harris, the junior U.S. senator from California, is a woman in a hurry. Elected in 2016, Harris today announced her candidacy for president in 2020. “I’m running for president of the United States, and I’m very excited about it,” she told ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Her track record, however, suggests she would be the kind of president who among other things would cut ethical corners on behalf of labor unions. Back in 2015, Harris, as California attorney general, helped a powerful affiliate of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) scotch the purchase of a half-dozen nonprofit health care facilities by a corporate buyer to protect union jobs. While a federal judge twice has dismissed allegations by the buyer, Prime Healthcare, that she abused her office, the case deserves another look.
Kamala Devi Harris, now 54, is a fast-rising Democratic Party star. Of Indian and Jamaican descent, she’s emerged … Read More ➡
On December 20, John Burgess, former president of Pacific Stainless Products Employee Association Local 304, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon to one count of concealment or destruction of financial records of the St. Helens-based union. He had been indicted in September on one count of embezzling about $35,000 and one count of concealment. The actions follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… 
The year 2018 saw the indictment, conviction and sentences of plenty of organized labor scams. New York City played host to some of the largest. For sheer magnitude, nothing anywhere could match the 
On December 19, Ted Watson, former business manager for International Association of Heat & Frost Insulators and Allied Workers Local 74, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa for embezzlement, mail fraud and making false statements against the Des Moines-based union. The indictment follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… 
First, the union leader pleaded guilty. Then, it was his business partner’s turn. On December 14, Lawrence Ackerman, head of a pair of shell insurance brokerages, 
On December 17, Robin Ray Bishop, former financial secretary of United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners Local 2501, was indicted in the Jefferson County Circuit Court for the Commonwealth of Kentucky on one count of theft by deception in a sum of over $500, nine counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument, and one count of falsifying business records. The indictment follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… 
On December 19, Benjamin Wisecarver, former president of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees Local 264, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and embezzlement in the amount of $57,310 from the Hampton union. He had been indicted on multiple counts in October. The actions follow a probe by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and Office of Inspector General.
On December 7, Keith Franzese, former president of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America Local 275, was sentenced in Circuit Court for Prince George’s County, Md. to 10 years in prison (suspended), 90 days of home detention and five years of probation for various acts of theft from the Greenbelt-based union. He also was ordered to pay $67,624 in restitution. Franzese, who entered an Alford plea last June, had been indicted in November 2017 on 15 counts of various acts of theft, embezzlement and fraud totaling well over $200,000. The actions follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… 
Adam Conheeny is following in the footsteps of Christopher Hayes. And the path isn’t an enviable one. On December 20, Conheeny, ex-treasurer of Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 8, 
The union calls them “service fees.” In practice, they amount to dues. And public school teachers are among those who believe that it is a distinction without a difference. On November 13, Thomas Few, a special education teacher in Los Angeles,