A former union official from Milwaukee has agreed to plead guilty to embezzling about $180,000 of union funds, according to federal court records.Paula Dorsey, former president of District Council 48 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, withdrew the money from an account between 2004 and 2009 to finance her gambling habit, said Mel Johnson, an assistant U.S. attorney. Dorsey faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release, in addition to repayment of the estimated amount stolen.The money was intended to fund Operation Big Vote, a national initiative to increase minority voter turnout.
Although the organization prides itself for its registration efforts, it also has a long history of scandal. In the state of Missouri in 1986, 12 ACORN members were convicted of voter fraud. But that case was not an isolated incident in the state. In December 2004, in St. Louis, six volunteers pleaded guilty of dozens of election law violations for filling out registration cards with names of dead people and other bogus information. Authorities launched an earlier investigation after noticing that among the new voters was longtime St. Louis alderman Albert “Red” Villa, who died in 1990. The volunteers worked for “Operation Big Vote” — a branch of ACORN — in St. Louis.
Machinists union members at Spirit AeroSystems are voting today on whether to accept the company's 10-year contract offer.
Of close to 20 Machinists interviewed this morning, most said they were voting to strike.
Machinists union members at Spirit AeroSystems rejected the company's offer of a 10-year contract on Friday, but lacked the votes required for a strike.Read more here.
As a result, members ratified the contract by default.
Of those voting, 57 percent rejected the contract. Fifty-eight percent voted to strike, falling short of the two-thirds required for a work stoppage.
John Harris relays a meeting on Nov. 3, 2008 with himself, two union leaders -- Andy Stern and Tom Balanoff -- and the governor.
In a previous call played to jurors, Harris testified he and Blagojevich understood the two were approaching him on behalf of Obama's camp.
The meeting happened one day before the presidential election and the talk was about the senate seat vacancy the major campaign donors expected would happen the next day.
Witnesses said pickets at scene, however, prevented the Gatlin employees from using the crane, saying that only union operators were allowed to run them.
"They gathered around and wouldn't let the guys get to the equipment," said Diane Brzycki, who lives across the street from Milton. "They just stood there in the middle of the road."
A spokesman for Gatlin acknowledged there was a "dispute" Thursday morning but that the company and the union workers settled it. But whatever they agreed upon did not help Milton, whose property to the north of his just-completed house was still under standing water Thursday afternoon.
"They don't give a hoot about what happens to my house; they weren't even going to turn on the pumps," Milton said. "Gatlin came to turn them on, but the Teamsters said no, not without union operators.
"I'm a union person myself, but I wouldn't allow someone's house to get flooded."
More here.
A Democratic amendment tucked into campaign finance legislation Wednesday night appears to exempt big labor unions from proposed disclosure requirements.
The change, inserted by Rep. Bob Brady (D-Pa.), chairman of the committee charged with handling the bill and a key union ally, would also affect other groups funded by members who pay dues of less than $50,000. While the move may satiate liberal Democrats who had become uneasy with an exemption for the National Rifle Association, a union loophole will certainly cause Big Business to cry foul.
The DISCLOSE Act marks a stark departure from the traditional treatment of corporations and unions by applying punitive measures to associations in the corporate form, but not to labor unions, even though these groups have traditionally been treated similarly in campaign finance law:
- Companies that received federal money during the financial crisis face restrictions on speech, but not unions: General Motors cannot engage in express advocacy, urging voters to support a candidate by name, while the United Auto Workers union can
- Corporations, unions, non-profits and 527 groups will be required to report donors who give more than $600 if they engage in express advocacy, -- average union dues, the source of the majority of their funds, in 2004 were $377
- Businesses with government contracts worth more than $7 million are not allowed to engage in express advocacy while public sector unions that receive their dues from the taxpayers are exempt from such restrictions
- Companies where a foreign entity owns 20 percent or more of a company’s shares are not allowed to engage in express advocacy while international unions are free to tell Americans how to vote
Governor Riley was in Huntsville Wednesday afternoon updating leaders on the state of our state... namely how we're dealing with the oil spill.
He said he believes Alabama leaders could have stopped the oil from lapping onto our shores, if only they had the tools from the start.
"Can we protect our shores?" Governor Riley asked. "Sure you can, but you can't do it with the situation that you have down there today."
Riley says there are about 20 federal agencies that have veto power, and they all have their hand in the decisions to clean up the spill; that creates gridlock, so nothing gets done.
"If this is going to affect a turtle, you can't do it. If this is going to affect a person's ability to work in hot conditions, you can't do it," Riley mimicked the agency officials.
The Governor says there was a boom in Alabama that would have protected the 25 miles of coastline from the oil, but he says government leaders moved it to Louisiana, saying that state needed it worse. Then, the plan was to put up a snare boom across the beach.
"Sounded like a plan to me until Fish and Wildlife said, 'Nope. You can't do that because it'll catch turtles in the net,'" said Riley.
So, then the plan changed, and 400 workers would be hired to clean the beach.
"Sounded great right up until OSHA said, 'Nope. It's too hot for 'em to work.' So, now they're limited to working no more than 20 minutes out of the hour or a maximum of two hours a day," said Riley.
Despite a slightly more upbeat report, Business Roundtable Chairman Ivan Seidenberg said chief executives still have plenty of angst. They are not sure if the economy will continue to build momentum and are concerned about new congressional proposals to increase taxes and regulations on business, he said.
"There's a lot of caution on the part of CEOs," Seidenberg said after the report was issued Wednesday. "We are not expanding as fast as we expected to at this stage of the recovery."
The day before the report, Seidenberg warned of a "growing disconnect" between business and government that he said are preventing the economy from growing faster and creating more jobs.
Several Senators have learned of a possible plan by the Obama Administration that would provide a mass Amnesty for the nation's 11-18 million illegal aliens. Led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), eight Senators addressed a letter to the President asking for answers to questions about a plan that would allow DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano to provide an amnesty if they can't secure enough votes for a bill in the Senate.
The National Labor Relations Board reached its full five-member size for the first time since December 2007 after the U.S. Senate confirmed two of President Barack Obama’s nominees.
Brian Hayes, a Republican Senate aide, was confirmed by the Senate as it approved a package of almost 70 of Obama’s stalled nominees. The Senate also confirmed Mark Pearce, a Democrat Obama appointed to the board in March, for a full term.
Becker, opposed by Republicans and business groups for his ties to labor unions, wasn’t confirmed by the Senate today. That means he will serve on the board only until the end of 2011, less than the full five-year term.
Not bad enough to cause painful damage to workers who are still paying for his fat compensation package, and too many others who took risks and made sacrifices only to see their organizing or contract campaigns damaged or smashed entirely.
All the while, he’s building his own golden parachute from the burning wreckage he left, polishing up his WH insider portfolio — and then peddling his ass to fat cats and high hats everywhere who must enjoy having a pet labor leader who does tricks upon command — all for the same bastards who are actively destroying the American dream for the working stiffs and huddled masses this punk once claimed to speak for.
Remember why unions were formed in the first place -- to protect workers from being taken advantage of?
Nowadays, the rank-and-file mostly need protection from their own leadership.
SIGA Technologies, Inc. (SIGA 6.76, -0.04, -0.59%) , a company specializing in the development of pharmaceutical agents to combat bio-warfare pathogens, announced today that Andy Stern, labor leader and prominent advocate for reform, joined SIGA's board of directors. Mr. Stern is the former president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the largest and fastest-growing healthcare union in North America.
[snip]
"Andy is a strong leader and a great addition to our Board of Directors. His insight, experience, and leadership, particularly his understanding of how our federal government works, will complement the skill sets of our existing board members," said Dr. Eric Rose, SIGA's Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Stern has been cited in numerous publications as being one of the most influential leaders on healthcare and a frequent White House visitor. In 2010, Stern was named a Presidential appointee to the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.
Shares of SIGA Technologies have approached the eight dollar level of late, rebounding nicely from the low of under five dollars about six months ago. The SIGA stock reached a high of over ten bucks last December in anticipation of a possible awarding of a BARDA contract for the ST-246 smallpox vaccine. The contract did not pan out at the time, although some modifications to the application process in the interest of creating competition were announced around that time.
A $2.8 million contract was awarded to Siga by the Department of Defense in early March, although this one was for ST-669, a broad-spectrum anti-viral.
That's nothing in comparison to the big BARDA contract that investors of the company are waiting for, but it does have the potential to rake in up to ten million dollars for SIGA when it's all said and done.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is launching a sweeping campaign to convince St. Louis Carpenters Local 57 to stop performing electrical work that undercuts union standards of quality, safety and wages.
Billboards have been mounted in several locations, and the message can be seen and heard in radio and print ads this week. A unity rally June 15 drew more than 1,000 members from several craft unions to hear national leaders of the IBEW and other trades.
A roly-poly ripoff artist with a taste for hookers and gambling pleaded guilty Wednesday to squandering nearly $300,000 in looted union funds.
[snip]
The 400-pound married father of a young son cavorted with prostitutes in Manhattan, the Bronx and a notorious Queens motel offering specially themed rooms and short-stay rates.
"They were $400 to $500 [per date]," Port Authority Deputy Inspector General Michael Nestor told the Daily News about the union-subsidized trysts.
Hundreds of recent federal rulings in disputes between unions and employers could be reopened after the Supreme Court said on Thursday that it was illegal for the National Labor Relations Board to decide the cases with only two sitting members.
Teamsters members growing wary of strike
SOME UNION TRUCK DRIVERS SAY THEY WERE MISLED ABOUT CONTRACT
Several members of a Gary-based union have contacted The Times in recent days over concerns that the terms of a labor agreement proposed by employers was misrepresented, and they question why they are on strike.
More than 300 truck drivers with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 142 went on strike at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday against 28 contractors after voting down a proposed new two-year contract. In a move of solidarity, union members declined to cross picket lines of certain contractors after Portage-based Ironworkers Local 395 went on strike June 1.
[snip]
One union driver, who declined to be identified fearing retaliation, said a strike vote was taken as early as March 21 at a union meeting. He said Teamsters Local 142 President Mitch Sawochka told members a group of highway contractors was trying to break up the union by separating the people doing highway work from people who work at steel mills and refineries. He said he also was baffled about why a vote was being taken because the contract didn't expire until two months later and that likely a final proposal hadn't been presented to the union.
"He told us they were out to screw us," the driver said. "I don't think he went into negotiations with good faith as these people were led to believe."
Contributor  | Total | Indivs | PACs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers | $75,000 | $0 | $75,000 |
| American Assn for Justice | $73,000 | $0 | $73,000 |
| Credit Union National Assn | $71,819 | $6,250 | $65,569 |
| Machinists/Aerospace Workers Union | $71,500 | $0 | $71,500 |
| Teamsters Union | $68,000 | $0 | $68,000 |
| National Assn of Realtors | $67,750 | $1,000 | $66,750 |
| Carpenters & Joiners Union | $67,500 | $0 | $67,500 |
| United Auto Workers | $66,000 | $0 | $66,000 |
| American Institute of CPAs | $62,500 | $0 | $62,500 |
| American Fedn of St/Cnty/Munic Employees | $59,000 | $0 | $59,000 |
| Operating Engineers Union | $58,000 | $0 | $58,000 |
| Laborers Union | $55,000 | $0 | $55,000 |
| United Food & Commercial Workers Union | $52,500 | $0 | $52,500 |
| Time Warner | $51,400 | $38,900 | $12,500 |
| Specialty Merchandise Corp | $48,200 | $48,200 | $0 |
| American Federation of Teachers | $44,031 | $0 | $44,031 |
| Grobstein, Horwath & Co | $43,533 | $43,533 | $0 |
| Deloitte & Touche | $41,750 | $750 | $41,000 |
| National Education Assn | $40,000 | $0 | $40,000 |
| Service Employees International Union | $37,200 | $0 | $37,200 |
Racine County's use of inmates to mow state highway medians and shoulders violated 2009 labor agreements, an arbitrator has decided.
Racine County has been using jail inmates for the last year to mow state highway medians, and that upset union members who filed a grievance.
An arbitrator decision, publicly released Tuesday, said Racine County did violate 2009 labor agreements by using inmates to mow, but the arbitrator's decision did not directly say the county needed to stop using inmates to mow.
Former House Dem leader Gephardt hired as lobbyist by firm battling SEIU
Former House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) has been hired to lobby for a major food-services company that has faced criticism from a powerful union
Gephardt and Tom O’Donnell, his former chief of staff, have registered to lobby on “labor/management related matters” by Sodexo, according to lobbying disclosure records.
The French-owned company has been embroiled in a battle with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) over a labor organizing campaign, and Gephardt is known for his labor ties.
[snip]
The company has also hired Jeff Trammell, a former senior adviser to ex-Vice President Al Gore, to lobby for the firm.
So what does a labor union supporter and former 14-term congressman do after abandoning all hope of becoming president? Does he hook up with a union and use his connections to further the cause? Does he put his Northwestern University bachelor’s degree and University of Michigan law degree to use by doing public interest work? Does he teach, write books and go on the lecture circuit, extolling the virtues of America’s workers?
No. He turns his back on what he formerly stood for and goes for the easy money. He places his snout in the trough right next to the other guys. Gephardt becomes a lobbyist. Not only a lobbyist, but a lobbyist for Goldman Sachs
This former critic of Wall Street is now a booster of Wall Street. With his knowledge and connections, there were a dozen ways Gephardt could have helped the labor movement. He could have made a difference. Instead, by defecting, he defiled his legacy and further fanned the flames of cynicism.
Trumka also called on UAW members to intensify phone calls, letter writing and other lobbying of their congressional representatives and senators to pass the Employee Free Choice Act....
"We won't quit until the EFCA becomes the law of the land and everyone who wants a union can have a union," Trumka said.
“I do not understand it. … We control the White House. We control the Senate. We control the House of Representatives," Lewis said. “Let's pass it and pass it now.”
United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger gave a preview Sunday of part of his Monday farewell speech at the union's constitutional convention, telling reporters that he would vigorously defend the right of workers to organize.
Gettelfinger questioned why it is all right for groups like the National Association of Manufacturers to have members, but businesses try to trample the rights of individual employees to form unions and collectively bargain for wages, benefits and working conditions.
For more than 60 years, the UAW's top leadership has blocked attempts to permit union members to vote directly for the union presidency. Rather, as the UAW's new designated nominee, King has the support of the union executive board, which has picked the UAW presidents since the late 1940s through series of closed caucuses.
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