Laborers for JUSTICE |
55 S. Northwest Highway |
Laborers' International Union Of North
America
Attn: General Secretary-Treasurer Carl E. Booker (202) 737-2754
Attn: LIUNA General Inspector Douglas Gow (202) 942-2260
Attn: LIUNA GEB Attorney Robert Luskin, Esq, (202) 625-1230
Attn: LIUNA Independent hearing Officer Peter Vaira Esq.(215) 751-9420
Attn: LIUNA Appellate Officer Neil Eggleston, Esq (202)-383-6610
Attn: LIUNA General Counsel Michael Bearse, Esq. (202)-737-2754
RE: Request for copies of IHO decisions and material in LIUNA's
docket pursuant to RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR ARBITRATIONS INVOLVING DISCIPLINARY
MATTERS FOR INDIVIDUALS BEFORE THE LIUNA INDEPENDENT HEARING OFFICER (See attached Rules)
Dear Sir and Brother
On February 12,1999 I formally requested a paper and electronic copy of the Independent Hearing Officer's forthcoming decision on the Arthur A. Coia disciplinary matter and have not yet received a reply from you, the constitutionally elected officer charged under the rules with responsibility of making arrangements for copies with members authorized to examine and copy material in the docket. Nor has The Independent Hearing Officer formally acknowledged receipt of my formal faxed request which was faxed pursuant to his ironic e-mail instruction to me to fax and not e-mail motions to his office.
To assist you and others interested in this matter and on behalf of the 450,000+ members of the LIUNA (not the bogus 750,000+ membership figure fraudulently reported by Arthur A. Coia on Labor Management Reports) who can not afford to travel to Washington , DC to examine and/or copy the material, I have posted this letter and related material on the internet for easy examination at https://members.tripod.com/jimmcgough/docket.htm. as well as the new motions I am filing pro bono on their behalf.
The February 05, 1999 letter from LIUNA's General Counsel Michael Bearse, copy attached, requests that I identify particular decisions I am interested in obtaining copies of so that you may forward them subject to payment of the copying charge of $07 per page. He also advises me that cumulatively the IHO decisions total thousand of pages.
I would be happy to identify which particular decisions I or my designated representative want to copy if you would furnish me with both a paper and electronic copy of the actual docket as well as the identity of the software program you utilize to maintain the docket electronically To assist you in your endeavors and minimize the amount of correspondence required, you should be advised that I want as a member in good standing a copy of everything in the docket and that I want them forwarded to my address and not to my local union located 80 miles away..
I am mailing you today a check for $140 for the first two thousand pages in the docket relating to the Coia disciplinary matter. Once I receive the first weekly batch of copies, I will send you a check for the rest. As a service to my fellow LIUNA bothers and sisters that can not afford to travel from Alaska, Hawaii, etc to Washington, D.C to exercise their right of self governance under the LMRDA and their constitutionally protected right to copy material in the docket , I intend to furnish a cdrom for approximately $10 that will include digital images of everything in the docket to any LIUNA member requesting a copy., thereby saving everybody time and money. LIUNA can reimburse me if it wants to for costs incurred but is under no obligation to do so (the decent thing to do).
I, the blind, and nearly blind members of the LIUNA need to receive the information electronically so we can convert it to audio and/or magnify the small print on our electronic reading machines. Hence my formal request under the Americans With Disabilities Act. I distinctly recall advising by letter the IHO, Appellate Officer, and GEB Attorney in 1996 that I would be requesting electronic copies of transcripts in the future. I assumed they followed or would follow the generally accepted practice in law firms of obtaining electronic copies of transcripts from court reporters so as not to be subject to lawsuits for malpractice in the event they did not utilize modern business practices, a requirement both under LIUNA's Code of Ethics as well as the Model Rules of Professional Responsibility. To the best of my knowledge as a former expert in the field of law office automation, obtaining electronic copies of paper transcripts from court reporters has been standard operating procedure in any quasi legal proceeding since the mid 1980's.Not to obtain electronic copies which are typically available at no additional costs constitutes, in my considered judgment, gross incompetence, a proposition I would delight in proving in court of law.
Providing an electronic copy of these files is very simple and inexpensive as was proven when the IHO set a precedent and e-mailed me an electronic copy of his decisions in my 1996 election protests . Providing electronic copies would also help these officers keep their ethical obligations to minimize costs to the client as well as to the members they serve., a fiscal constraint on reform mentioned in the most recent extension of the monitorship.
Please advise if the charges of $.07 a page can be waived in return for my providing digital copies on a cdrom of all documents to LIUNA members for approximately $10.
Please advise if costs per page is based primarily on copying paper consumed and whether or not there could be a reduction in costs if we furnished the paper, personnel, and equipment required to copy everything in the docket.
I am sending copies of these public motions to interested members of the law enforcement community a well as members of congress who retain oversight responsibilities over DOJ and its operations in an effort to demonstrate that the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) truly desires to reform as well as provide its members with educational information that would be relevant in the context of elections while facilitating the exercise of their right of self governance, a right at the core of the Labor Management Reporting Act (the LMRDA)
I trust this letter is clear and understandable. To recapitulate less there be any misunderstanding I demand as a member in good standing on behalf of my self and others similarly situated the following:
· A paper copy of everything in "The Formal Docket" for $.07 a page.
· An electronic copy of whatever is in "The Formal Docket" that exists on magnetic media in the computers of the GEB Attorney, Independent Hearing Officer, Appellate Officer, and LIUNA at the cost of $.05 per diskette.
· A paper and electronic copy of the docket itself together with user/operations manuals
· That all material requested be forwarded to the above extreme Northern Cook County address and not to my local union which is located in distant southern Cook County and against which I have brought formal charges for being under the influence of organized crime, an allegation supported by public LIUNA GEB Attorney statements
Should you have any questions regarding this formal request, please do not hesitate to contact me immediately by e-mail , jimmcgough@super-highway.net or by phone at 847-202-3838. A hyperlinked version of this and referenced documents can be located on the world wide web at https://members.tripod.com/jimmcgough/docket.htm
With kind regards and my prayers, I am
Fraternally yours,
James W. McGough
Laborers for JUSTICE-Director
LIUNA member in good standing #2776753
a. The General Secretary-Treasurer of the LIUNA shall establish a formal docket at a secure location within the General Headquarters of the union.
b. The security of the docket will be the responsibility of the General Secretary-Treasurer.
c. The docket will contain all charges, pleadings, and other papers filed with the IHO, as well as all opinions and orders of the IHO, arbitration transcripts, and other documents ordered by the IHO to be docketed.
d. A separate file will be maintained for each matter, with a separate number. The details of this numbering system will be formulated at a future date. The General Secretary-Treasurer shall maintain a separate docket summary sheet, similar to those maintained by federal courts, which indicates the matter number, the date the document is entered on the docket, and a brief description of the document.
e. The original documents placed on the docket shall not be removed except upon order by the IHO or the Appellate Officer.
f. The documents on the docket and the docket entry sheet may be examined by members of the LIUNA or their representatives upon request made to the General Secretary-Treasurer, but may not be removed from the premises of the General Headquarters except upon a written order by the IHO or the Appellate Officer. It is the responsibility of the General Secretary -Treasurer to insure that no one examining the docketed materials destroys or damages the records.
g. Copies of the documents on the docket may be made at any time upon request of those persons who are authorized to examine the material.
h. Persons, other than those authorized to examine the docket by these rules, who wish to examine the docket must request permission from the General Secretary-Treasurer.