VIA FACSIMILE
August 13, 2004
To: APFA Board of Directors
APFA Executive Committee
I have remained silent throughout all of this proceeding. Now that I have received John Ward’s letter to the Executive Committee – and because of the legal ramifications resulting from that letter – I will no longer remain silent. I am confident that as I write this letter, most of you will ignore it simply because of who authored it. Nonetheless, I am compelled to advise you of what I know – and what I believe will happen – if the majority of you continue to follow a man who was not truly elected President.
The Dallas Daily News quoted “union officials†who stated that the DOL involvement was as a result of complaints filed with the Department of Labor in May. I was one of those complainants. I am enclosing a copy of my formal complaint for your review. It should be clear to those of you who read it that the votes that were counted yesterday track the allegations of my complaint. Eleven (11) of the votes counted yesterday dealt with faxed membership applications. Two (2) others dealt with improperly calculated dues arrearages during OVL or sick leave. I have spent hours with various DOL officials discussing this case. The meetings have been both telephonically and in person. As further proof that I have been kept aware of what is happening, I am enclosing a copy of the latest letter sent to John from the Nashville office demanding an extension of time to investigate the complaint. You will notice that I am copied in on this communication. At the same time, how much has John shared with you? How many of you have been kept in the dark? How honest has John been with you? How many of you have received a legal opinion from someone other than Steve Maldof of what happens in situations like this?
I have also been advised that election complaints were filed by John and other individuals on his slate who lost. I have been led to believe that those complaints were found to be without merit. Has John advised you of that?
Each Resolution you passed providing more power to John has been given to the DOL and the DOL was provided documents concerning actions of John, Cheryl, and Ted when they failed the quorum for the Executive Committee when it tried to pass a resolution to open the ballots. Think about it for a moment. Why do you think that the DOL took the unprecedented and extraordinary step yesterday of opening otherwise valid ballots? Make no mistake about it. For lack of a better phrase, the DOL is your 800-lb. gorilla. It is expecting this organization to correct the actions of Juan and John when they decided (without notice to you) that STL ballots would not be counted. Steve Watson knows this from the conversation he had yesterday with the DOL representative. But for the actions of Juan and John - carried out in secrecy, we would not be where we are today. How many of you would have voted for the latest resolution which John references if you had known what had been transpiring this entire time? For those of you who might want to change your vote, you can do so by recalling the Resolution for a vote. It requires two who voted for the Resolution to bring it up for a new vote. Waiting for September 7 to come is not the answer. The DOL has made it very clear to me that it will take action in federal court to correct election improprieties. How are your members going to feel towards you when the DOL sues this organization (unnecessarily) because you did nothing. Explain that to your membership when you face election shortly. Explain why you wasted union funds defending a lawsuit and explain why you were willing to face the risk of paying the DOL’s costs of prosecuting APFA to do what it should have done.
At this stage of the game, John has nothing to lose and everything to gain. He is grasping at straws and hoping for the proverbial miracle to save his job. That won’t happen. At the same time, you were elected to your positions honestly and fairly. You have everything to lose and NOTHING to gain by prolonging the inevitable. As any attorney would tell you, you are not personally insulated because you hold office. Sins of omission are no different than sins of commission.
I am providing the DOL with a copy of this letter to let them know that I am not a willing participant should legal action ensue. I am also attaching my formal request for a Special Board of Directors meeting.
For those of you who disregard this letter and continue to follow John off the cliff, enjoy the ride. As they all say, it is not the fall that kills you.
Sincerely,
Sherry Cooper
STL Base Chair
Enclosures
cc: Darlene Allison, US Department of Labor
August 13, 2004
To: APFA Board of Directors
APFA Executive Committee
I have remained silent throughout all of this proceeding. Now that I have received John Ward’s letter to the Executive Committee – and because of the legal ramifications resulting from that letter – I will no longer remain silent. I am confident that as I write this letter, most of you will ignore it simply because of who authored it. Nonetheless, I am compelled to advise you of what I know – and what I believe will happen – if the majority of you continue to follow a man who was not truly elected President.
The Dallas Daily News quoted “union officials†who stated that the DOL involvement was as a result of complaints filed with the Department of Labor in May. I was one of those complainants. I am enclosing a copy of my formal complaint for your review. It should be clear to those of you who read it that the votes that were counted yesterday track the allegations of my complaint. Eleven (11) of the votes counted yesterday dealt with faxed membership applications. Two (2) others dealt with improperly calculated dues arrearages during OVL or sick leave. I have spent hours with various DOL officials discussing this case. The meetings have been both telephonically and in person. As further proof that I have been kept aware of what is happening, I am enclosing a copy of the latest letter sent to John from the Nashville office demanding an extension of time to investigate the complaint. You will notice that I am copied in on this communication. At the same time, how much has John shared with you? How many of you have been kept in the dark? How honest has John been with you? How many of you have received a legal opinion from someone other than Steve Maldof of what happens in situations like this?
I have also been advised that election complaints were filed by John and other individuals on his slate who lost. I have been led to believe that those complaints were found to be without merit. Has John advised you of that?
Each Resolution you passed providing more power to John has been given to the DOL and the DOL was provided documents concerning actions of John, Cheryl, and Ted when they failed the quorum for the Executive Committee when it tried to pass a resolution to open the ballots. Think about it for a moment. Why do you think that the DOL took the unprecedented and extraordinary step yesterday of opening otherwise valid ballots? Make no mistake about it. For lack of a better phrase, the DOL is your 800-lb. gorilla. It is expecting this organization to correct the actions of Juan and John when they decided (without notice to you) that STL ballots would not be counted. Steve Watson knows this from the conversation he had yesterday with the DOL representative. But for the actions of Juan and John - carried out in secrecy, we would not be where we are today. How many of you would have voted for the latest resolution which John references if you had known what had been transpiring this entire time? For those of you who might want to change your vote, you can do so by recalling the Resolution for a vote. It requires two who voted for the Resolution to bring it up for a new vote. Waiting for September 7 to come is not the answer. The DOL has made it very clear to me that it will take action in federal court to correct election improprieties. How are your members going to feel towards you when the DOL sues this organization (unnecessarily) because you did nothing. Explain that to your membership when you face election shortly. Explain why you wasted union funds defending a lawsuit and explain why you were willing to face the risk of paying the DOL’s costs of prosecuting APFA to do what it should have done.
At this stage of the game, John has nothing to lose and everything to gain. He is grasping at straws and hoping for the proverbial miracle to save his job. That won’t happen. At the same time, you were elected to your positions honestly and fairly. You have everything to lose and NOTHING to gain by prolonging the inevitable. As any attorney would tell you, you are not personally insulated because you hold office. Sins of omission are no different than sins of commission.
I am providing the DOL with a copy of this letter to let them know that I am not a willing participant should legal action ensue. I am also attaching my formal request for a Special Board of Directors meeting.
For those of you who disregard this letter and continue to follow John off the cliff, enjoy the ride. As they all say, it is not the fall that kills you.
Sincerely,
Sherry Cooper
STL Base Chair
Enclosures
cc: Darlene Allison, US Department of Labor
