February 12, 2009: The former president of Pittsburgh Local 249 has been found guilty by the International Union of rewarding friends and punishing enemies in hiring drivers in the movie industry.

Wayne Shatkoff is suspended from Teamster membership for a year. That means he will not be eligible to run for office in the 2011 local election.

The decision, which affirms the penalty imposed by the Local 249 executive board, is anti-climactic because Shatkoff lost his reelection bid last November and has been out of office since January 1.

It does serve to remind Teamster officers that the use of hiring halls to punish Teamsters considered "enemies" has no place in the labor movement.

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