April 2, 2010: The head of Puerto Rico Local 901 has been banned from the union. Members are demanding a real clean-up and a new election.

Teamster members in Puerto Rico demonstrated outside their union last month demanding new elections in Local 901.

Members rallied at the union hall and tried to present a petition to the Executive Board. Local 901 officials locked the doors and armed security guards blocked members from entering their own union hall.

A Coup?

A local television story called the move a “coup d’etat in the union.” If that sounds extreme, consider the extreme circumstances in Local 901.

Germán Vázquez was removed from his position as secretary-treasurer after an International Union panel found him guilty of taking more than $72,000 in unauthorized salary increases. But the Local 901 officials who did nothing to stop Vázquez’s unauthorized pay hikes kept their positions and installed Alexis Rodriguez as the new secretary-treasurer.

Vázquez held a separate competing press conference where he claimed that the Local 901 Executive Board had approved his salary hikes.

Labor Department Suing

The Department of Labor is already suing Local 901 for election violations, charging that the local ran the 2008 vote to illegally favor the incumbents. And the National Labor Relations Board has charged local officials with retaliating against members for supporting the reform candidates for union office.

“When they removed Germán, they didn’t remove the corruption from our union,” Jose Budet told the media. “The corruption is inside our union with [the officials]. They represent themselves, their pockets; and the employers of this country. They don’t represent the Teamsters. The Teamsters are here in the street demanding elections.”

“A new election should be held to return our union to the members,” said TDU member Mara Quiara. “The future of Local 901 is at stake.”

2010 TDU Convention

“I’ll Be There.”

“Last year nine members came from Puerto Rico to the convention. It’s great to come together with so many members excited to change our union.

“The workshops at the convention are the best in our union. We came back to Puerto Rico and shared what we learned. We’re bringing even more members this year to Chicago.”

Migdalia Magriz, Crowley Local 901, Puerto Rico

April 2, 2010: Hoffa moves to protect an International Vice President caught in a nepotism scandal.

Friends and relatives of Local 107 officials work on Philadelphia movie sets, while experienced Teamsters sit home out of work.

The Independent Review Board (IRB) has released a devastating 125-page report detailing a “nepotism and favoritism” scandal in the home local of International Vice President Bill Hamilton.

The IRB recommended that Philadelphia Local 107 be put in trusteeship. Instead Hoffa has moved to protect Hamilton, a Hoffa ally and campaign donor.

A lengthy investigation by the IRB found that movie jobs in Philadelphia Local 107 were doled out to friends and relatives of Hamilton and other union officials.

Instead of movie jobs going to the most senior Teamsters available they went to brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, cousins, nephews, uncles, sons-in-law and other relatives of Local 107 officials.

Local 107 members even did unpaid work at Hamilton’s home in exchange for movie jobs.

Nepotism

Hamilton’s sister Donna, with no driving or movie industry experience or a CDL, obtained good movie jobs while experienced Teamsters lost out. Hundreds of Local 107 drivers are laid off and out of work.

After the IRB investigated this blatant nepotism, the union produced a bogus “request” from a movie employer, which was dated more than a month after Donna Hamilton started the job.

Hamilton even got members to work for free for him in exchange for movie jobs. Hamilton assigned movie industry Teamsters to move his furniture, rebuild his kitchen and do plumbing work.

One of them, John Morrone, testified that “I felt as though I had to help the president of the local…if you didn’t help, you didn’t work.” Another Teamster, George Palladino, who did extensive free plumbing work for Hamilton, testified that “I felt obligated…to keep my job.” The movie Teamsters even used the employer’s truck to move Hamilton’s belongings to his lakeside home.

The local union’s dispatcher, John Dooley, testified that he worked for two weeks on Hamilton’s kitchen while being paid by Local 107. Dooley further testified that he told Hamilton that he made enough money to hire people to work for him. Hamilton made $213,975 in union salaries in 2008.

Cover Up

The local has a history of covering up this problem and subverting attempts to operate a legitimate union referral list. The local created written referral rules in May 2001. But the IRB investigation found that these rules “were never put into effect” and were in fact “window dressing” to cover up the practice of nepotism.

The IRB report recommended that Hoffa put Local 107 into trusteeship. Instead Hoffa has kept Hamilton in both his International and local positions. International Rep Ron Schwab has been sent to oversee the movie and trade show division of Local 107.

The man in charge has changed but not much else. Three new movie and television projects are gearing up in Philadelphia and hiring-by-nepotism remains the order of the day.

The brother of Local 107 Secretary-Treasurer Shawn Dougherty is working on a TV pilot, ironically called “Justice.” So is Mike Nugent, a trustee for the local, as are other relatives and friends of Local 107 officials. They don’t have the industry experience or seniority that out-of-work members do. But they’ve got the connections.

In this economy more than ever, we need our union officials to be looking out for working Teamsters—not looking out for themselves. Unfortunately, that’s not happening in Local 107. But that can change.

Hoffa isn’t going to clean up Local 107. That job is up to the members.

You can read the IRB investigative report here

March 19, 2010: Teamster members in Puerto Rico demonstrated outside their union demanding new elections in Local 901.

Members rallied at the union hall and tried to present a petition to the Executive Board. Local 901 officials locked the doors and hired armed security guards to keep members out of their union.

The press called the move a “coup d’etat in the union.” If that sounds extreme, consider the extreme circumstances in Local 901.

Germán Vázquez was removed from his position as Secretary-Treasurer after being found guilty by an internal union panel of taking more than $72,000 in unauthorized salary increases. But the Local 901 officials who did nothing to stop Vazquez’s unauthorized pay hikes kept their positions and installed Alexis Rodriguez as the new secretary-treasurer.

The Department of Labor is already suing Local 901 for election violations, charging that the local ran the 2008 vote to illegally favor the incumbents. And the National Labor Relations Board has charged local officials with retaliating against members for supporting the reform candidates for union office.

“When they removed Germán, they didn’t remove the corruption from our union,” Jose Budet told the media. “The corruption is inside our union with [the officials]. They represent themselves, their pockets; and the employers of this country. They don’t represent the Teamsters. The Teamsters are here in the street demanding elections.”

“A vote should be held immediately to return our union to the members,” said TDU member Mara Quiara. “The future of Local 901 is at stake.”

Click here to read an earlier TDU report: Teamsters in Puerto Rico Unite for Change.

Click here to watch TV coverage in Spanish of the demonstration.

March 19, 2010: A nepotism scandal has exposed an IBT Vice President. But movie work is still being doled out to Local 107 officials and their relatives including on the TV pilot “Justice.”

Local 107 members went to the union hall today to meet with the man Hoffa put in charge of restoring seniority rights and fairness in hiring for movie work in Philadelphia.

The members wanted to meet with Ron Schwab, Hoffa’s newly appointed overseer of Local 107 movie work, to find out why union officials and their relatives are being given lucrative work while Teamsters with years of experience in the industry are home and out of work.

But Hoffa’s anti-corruption point man wasn’t at the hall or even in Philadelphia. Local 107 President Bill Hamilton showed up at the hall. But his only words for the members was to call them “scumbags” for daring to stand up to his nepotism scheme.

The Hoffa-Schwab clean-up job is a long-distance operation—and if any clean-up is underway it isn’t detectable. Three new movie and television projects are gearing up in Philadelphia and hiring-by-nepotism remains the order of the day.

The brother of Local 107 Secretary-Treasurer Shawn Dougherty is working on the TV pilot “Justice.” So is Mike Nugent, a trustee for the local, as are other relatives and friends of Local 107 officials. They don’t have the industry experience or seniority that out-of-work members do. But they’ve got the connections.

The Independent Review Board just released a 125-page report detailing how “favoritism and nepotism” rule movie work in Local 107. The IRB recommended that the local be put in trusteeship. Instead Hoffa moved to protect Hamilton, an International Union VP. And the scandal continues.

For now, the only “Justice” in Philadelphia is the work that officials and their cronies are stealing from deserving working Teamsters. But members are taking action. They will continue to keep the pressure on Local 107 and the Hoffa administration to establish fair and transparent hiring in the movie industry.

Click here to read Teamster VP at Center of Nepotism Scandal

The IRB report is available here. (Warning: This is a large file).

Click here to get in touch with Local 107 members who are meeting to work for change in their union.

March 15, 2010: It's a chance to rub elbows with Hollywood stars.

And make good money while doing it.

For years, a select group of Teamsters Local 107 members have apparently been on a short list for high-paying jobs on movie shoots in the Philadelphia area.

Click here to read more at Philly.

March 11, 2010: The Independent Review Board (IRB) has released a devastating 125-page report detailing a “nepotism and favoritism” scandal in the home local of International Vice President Bill Hamilton.

The IRB recommended that Philadelphia Local 107 be put in trusteeship. Instead Hoffa has moved to protect Hamilton and his political power base in Philadelphia.

A lengthy investigation by the IRB found that movie jobs in Philadelphia Local 107 were doled out to friends and relatives of Bill Hamilton and other union officials.

Instead of movie jobs going to the most senior Teamsters available they went to brothers, sisters, brothers-in-law, cousins, nephews, uncles, sons-in-law and more varieties of relatives of the officials of Local 107. Local 107 members even did unpaid work at Hamilton’s home in exchange for movie jobs.

Hamilton’s sister Donna, with no driving or movie industry experience or a CDL, obtained good movie jobs while experienced Teamsters lost out. Hundreds of Local 107 drivers are laid off and out of work.

After the IRB investigated this blatant nepotism, the union produced a bogus “request” from a movie employer, which was dated more than a month after Donna Hamilton started the job.

How bad is the corruption? Hamilton got members to work for free for him in exchange for movie jobs. The International Union VP assigned movie industry Teamsters to move his furniture, rebuild his kitchen and do plumbing work.

“I felt obligated…to keep my job”

One of them, John Morrone, testified that “I felt as though I had to help the president of the local…if you didn’t help, you didn’t work.” Another Teamster, George Palladino, who did extensive free plumbing work for Hamilton, testified that “I felt obligated… to keep my job.” The movie Teamsters even used the employer’s truck to move Hamilton’s belongings to his lakeside home.

The local union’s dispatcher, John Dooley, testified that he worked for two weeks on Hamilton’s kitchen, while being paid by Local 107. Dooley further testified that he told Hamilton that he made enough money to hire people to work for him. Hamilton made $213,975 in union salaries in 2008.

History of Cover-Up

The local has a history of covering up this problem and subverting attempts to operate a legitimate union referral list. The local created written referral rules in May 2001 with the assistance of attorney Robert Baptiste.

But the IRB investigation found that these rules “were never put into effect” and were in fact “window dressing” to cover up the practice of nepotism.

The IRB report recommended that Hoffa put Local 107 into trusteeship. Instead Hoffa has kept Hamilton in both his International and local position. International Rep Ron Schwab has been sent to oversee the movie and trade show division of Local 107. Hamilton now claims the local has nothing to do with movie referrals—a claim he has made before.

Corruption Weakens Our Union

The corruption and cover-up in Philadelphia are similar to the scandal in Boston Local 82 where another Hoffa appointee—Trade Show Division Director John Perry is under investigation for favoritism schemes run by violent union thugs. Hoffa has refused to take action there as well—even after the violent beating of a Teamster member and a grand jury investigation of Perry and his enforcers.

Employers love to seize on scandals like these to run down our entire union. This is especially true in organizing drives where employers jump on every case of corruption and throw it in the face of Teamster organizers. That is why it is critical for our union to take swift action against officials who exploit our union and the members’ trust.

The majority of Teamsters officers are honest and hard-working. Hoffa does a disservice to them and every Teamster member when he covers up corruption—instead of rooting it out.

The IRB report is available here. (Warning: This is a large file).

March 5, 2010: Union officers often think of union democracy as a threat to their power. But union democracy is about member power, and member power means union power.

Click here to read two articles from the Association for Union Democracy, including a transcript of a talk by TDU counsel Barbara Harvey.

March 3, 2010: For many years, Jim Santangelo ruled Los Angeles Local 848 with an iron hand. Now the members realize their local belongs to them and it's paying off.

Last weekend, a packed union hall shouted a big NO vote to a motion to approve spending $59,000 on a new GMC Yukon for Eric Tate, the local secretary-treasurer.

Tate was appointed to the position last October as the chosen successor to Santangelo, who was driven out of office in disgrace after TDU broke the story that the joint council quietly paid $500,000 to settle a sexual harassment suit involving his conduct.

Tate may want to continue the tradition of having Local 848 put union officials first, but members seem to have another idea.

Members report that Tate looked shocked when the vote was so lopsided against paying union funds for such an expensive ride. He mumbled something about having to get a bike instead. Maybe a member will bring him a bike to the next meeting. But what he really needs is a sense of union priorities.

The Local 848 bylaws [Section 14] require membership approval for expenditures over $10,000.

March 2, 2010: A grand jury is looking at allegations that top Teamster officials working at the city’s convention centers intimidated witnesses in assault cases involving union members, sources say.

The grand jury, working in conjunction with Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s office, has reportedly grilled a number of people tied to Teamsters Local 82, a union long embroiled in factional fights.

Click here to read more at the Boston Herald.

February 26, 2010: Commercial movers in New York are mobilizing to end decades of contract givebacks and save their pensions and healthcare.

Over 150 commercial movers in Local 814 turned out on Feb. 9 to prepare for bargaining. Givebacks in recent contracts gutted members' pay and benefits and divided the membership into tiers.New York Local 814 moves New York—literally. The local represents the commercial movers who work for some of the deepest pockets in the city: Fortune 500 companies, Wall Street banks and the U.N.

But you’d never know it by their recent contracts. Givebacks have gutted members’ pay and benefits and divided the membership into tiers of higher and lower-paid workers.

Last year, members voted by 72 percent to dump the old Local 814 officers and elected the 814 New Directions team.

The New York Moving and Storage contract expires on April 30. Local 814 is mobilizing to win a contract that reverses the trends that have undermined good union jobs and benefits in the industry.

Sold Short for Years

Under the current contract, moving companies don’t have to pay any contributions for casuals. But they’re supposed to hire at least one industry worker for every casual. That’s called the “one-to-one ratio.”

For years, the employers violated the ratio and shorted the benefit funds, with disastrous results for the members. The Local 814 pension fund could go into the Red Zone at the end of March, and the health fund needs increased contributions to get back on its feet.

Standing Up for Good Jobs

On Feb. 9, over 150 movers turned out to launch the local’s new contract campaign.

At their meeting, members and the new leaders set out a platform for winning a good contract:

• Save the pension and benefit funds

• Make employers pay benefit contributions for all movers, including casuals.

• Reduce the pay gap between tiers

“The runaway abuse of casuals is killing us,” said Andy Diclemente, a mover at Globe Storage and Moving. “I’m going around and telling the members that we need to fight for contributions for all movers.”

The Fight Starts Now

Members are already turning up the heat on employers who violate the contract.

In January, 25 members met and formed the Local 814 Enforcement Committee.

Now the committee is out on the streets, checking jobs, signing up new members, and enforcing the one-to-one ratio.

The union discovered that Clancy-Cullen Moving and Storage had been using a hidden team of nonunion workers for years. Now the company owes over $800,000 to the benefit funds, and they’ve had to start using Local 814 members.

The committee is bringing new members into the union, getting more work for industry workers, and making employers pay more into members’ pensions and healthcare.

“We know we’re not going to solve all our problems in one contract,” said Diclemente. “But we’re determined to fight for improvements that move us in the right direction.”

Moving in a New Direction

“The runaway abuse of casuals is killing us. I’m going around and telling the members that we need to fight for contributions for all movers.

“We know we’re not going to solve all our problems in one contract.

But we’re determined to fight for improvements that move us in the right direction.”

Andy Diclemente, Globe Storage & Moving Local 814, New York