THE AFL-CIO UNIONS AT WORK FOR THE WORKER:
MACHINISTS (IAM)
Sentenced Ex-ND Boss Threatened Union Members
U.S. Dist. Judge Rodney Webb (N.D., Reagan) sentenced William Michael Lane to a yr. in prison for embezzling union funds, bank fraud and falsification. Lane was elected vice-pres. of Local Lodge 2525 of the Intl. Assn. of Machinists (IAM) in Oct. 1999. As the Local's acting pres. in 2000 and 2001, Lane wrote union checks for his personal benefit and falsified records to cover up his theft.
At his sentencing, Asst. U.S. Atny. Jennifer Puhl said that when other union officials discovered discrepancies between union records and bank statements, Lane threatened to stick the barrel of a sawed-off shotgun in the mouth of then-treasurer Jim Anderson. Police later found such a weapon in Lane's apt. When asked by Judge Webb for a pre-sentencing statement, Lane simply said, "I'd just like to get this done and over with." [Fargo Forum, 3/6/04]
MACHINISTS (IAM)
Ex-Secy.-Treasurer Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
On March 3, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the North. Dist. of Ohio, Kevan Sprow, frmr. secy.-treasurer of District Lodge 57 of the Intl. Assn. of Machinists, pled guilty to an information charging him with embezzling $49, 847 in union funds. The charge follows an investigation by the Cleveland Dist. Ofc. of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor Mgmt. Standards. [OLMS, 3/15/04]
STEELWORKERS (USW)
Ex-Fin. Secy. Fined for Falsification
On Feb. 23, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the West. Dist. of NY, Nancy Childs, the frmr. fin. secy. of Local 4-151G of the United Steel Wrkrs. was fined $1,000 and placed on one year of unsupervised probation for making false entries in union records. Childs pled guilty to the charge in January 2004. The guilty plea and sentence follow an investigation by the Buffalo Dist. Ofc. of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor Mgmt. Standards. [OLMS, 3/4/04]
UNION DEMOCRACY
DOL Wins Case Against Wisc. UFCW Local
On Feb. 23, the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the West. Dist. of Wisc. ruled in favor of the U.S. Dept. of Labor in a lawsuit challenging the Jan. 23 and 24, 2003 election of officers of Local 538 of the United Food and Commercial Workers. The court agreed with the Dept. that the notices of election, which were published in a union federation newspaper, were inadequate. The court found that, despite the Secy. of Labor's regulations, the notices did not appear conspicuously on the front page. Furthermore, the front page did not conspicuously reference the inside page where the notices appeared. As a result, the Dept. of Labor will supervise a new election of officers. The lawsuit resulted from an investigation conducted by the Milwaukee Dist. Ofc. of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor Mgmt. Standards. [OLMS, 3/5/04]
DOL Settles Suit Against IBEW in Calif.
On Feb. 19, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Cent. Dist. of Calif., the court approved a settlement stipulation between the U.S. Dept. of Labor and the Intl. Bhd. of Elec. Wrkrs., Local 47. The parties stipulated that the Secy. of Labor would supervise the union's next regular election of officers in June 2005. This stipulation settlement stems from a complaint filed by the Dept. against the union on May 22, 2003. An investigation into the local's July 8, 2002 election of officers disclosed violations that may have affected the outcome of the Bus. Mgr.-Fin. Secy. and Exec. Bd.-Basin West I officer positions. The stipulation settlement follows an investigation by the Los Angeles Dist. Ofc. of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor Mgmt. Standards. [OLMS, 3/15/04]
DOL Files Suit Against Postal Workers in NJ
On January 22, in the U.S. Dist. Ct. for the Dist. of N.J., the Dept. of Labor filed a complaint against the Amer. Postal Wrkrs. Union, N.J. Mid-State Local 381. The complaint alleged that the union's Dec. 5, 2002 mail ballot election violated the Labor-Mgmt. Relations Disclosure Act (LMRDA) in three ways. First, the local failed to mail the election notice/ballot package to the last known addresses of all eligible members depriving them of an opportunity to vote. Second, the union failed to establish the last day an individual could become a member and still be eligible to vote. Finally, the union failed to timely distribute candidates' campaign statements in the union newspaper. The lawsuit follows an investigation by the N.Y. Dist. Ofc. of the U.S. Ofc. of Labor Mgmt. Standards. [OLMS, 3/5/04]
AFL-CIO Watchdog Dismisses Significance of Kerry Endorsement
date: February 19, 2004
contact: David Kendrick 703-237-1970
website: www.nlpc.org
Statement of David Kendrick, Director, Organized Labor Accountability Project of the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC):
Washington, DC- The AFL-CIO's endorsement of John Kerry will deliver no more votes than its member unions' endorsements of Howard Dean or Dick Gephardt. While the union elites slugged it out in Iowa, the union members who attended the caucuses did their own thing, giving 59 percent of their support to candidates other than Dean or Gephardt, according to the Edison/Mitofskey Iowa Exit Poll.
Sadly, what the union chieftains' endorsement will mean is that millions of unionized workers will be forced to pay for Kerry's campaign through their forced dues. Who paid for the more-than 800 organizers brought into Iowa by the Alliance for Economic Justice, a coalition of major industrial unions, all of whom endorsed Gephardt? The Alliance is not a political action committee, which can only be supported with voluntary contributions, but an "issue advocacy" group whose organizers worked for Gephardt in Iowa. Most likely, the Alliance is supported from the general treasury funds of the 15 unions making up the organization.
Unfortunately, employees who access their unions' LM-2 financial disclosure forms on the U.S. Department of Labor's web site will have no idea how much of their money is spent in this year's campaign. That's because the current forms do not require disclosure of unions' political spending, and union lawyers have tried to get the new and improved forms suspended. The last thing Big Labor wants is to have to explain to its forced-dues captives -- who don't follow the union bosses in lock step to the voting booth -- how much they're paying for union politics in 2004.
rganize workers! Something the AFL-CIO has failed to do. WALMART is just one example of the failure of AFL-CIO organizing efforts. If the AFL-CIO would have quit giving bribes to corrupt politicians and put that money into fighting WALMART management, WALMART would have gone union a long time ago!
