A new wrinkle has been added to the
agreement between the Department of Justice and the Laborers International
Union of North America (LIUNA):
Laborers Union members will get to
elect their President and Secretary-Treasurer this year. Manipulation
of the old, delegate system led to many of the abuses described
in the Justice Department1s draft complaint
(see below).
Members will also get to vote in a
referendum to decide whether the entire General Executive Board
will be chosen by direct election. Election Officer Stephen Goldberg
will oversee the election.
Hard Hat spoke with Goldberg, who
asked LIUNA members to report to him any use of the hiring hall
to influence the election. He can be reached at (800) 383-VOTE,
and in Illinois at (312) 372-VOTE.
According to a report from the U.S.
Department of Justice:
LIUNA claims that the following individuals
have been removed or have resigned in connection with its reform
program:
Some problems that have turned up
in the reform campaign include:
Commenting on the new LIUNA Ethics
Code and other matters, Gene Johnson, Business Manager of the
Central Illinois District Council, wrote a letter to President
Clinton saying, among other things, "This Code was a part of the
agreement so LIUNA could avoid a civil lawsuit that would permit
government takeover of union affairs. This Disciplinary Program
took effect January 18, 1995. I was excited by this act and thought
our International Union was going to police itself and eliminate
the ongoing vice. How wrong I was. It only can succeed if honesty
is the basis. It has been our experience it is used in many instances
and not in others, depending on the person perpetuating the injustices."
He complains of "Intimidation of
members by threatening their jobs if they do not comply with the
demands of the Regional Manager and General President. Neither
were these members given the opportunity to speak in the presence
of others, but each was singled out and questioned alone without
legal representation.
They have since commented they have
an ongoing fear for their jobs and lives." Johnson implores President
Clinton, "We, the prople, need YOU now to help us! We do not need
or want you to succumb to the false words, attitudes, pretensions,
and enticements of an Arthur Coia."
Some exerpts from the Justice Department's
draft complaint, the document that started it all:
Four consecutive General Presidents
of LIUNA, Joseph V. Moreschi (1926-1968), Peter Fosco (1968-1975),
Angelo Fosco (1975-1993) and Arthur Armand Coia (1993-present),
have associated with, and been controlled and influenced by, organized
crime figures.
Consequently, the rights of the members
of the union to control the affairs of the
union have been systematically abused. Those union members who
opposed this corrupt state of affairs, either at the local, district
council, regional or international levels, have been intimidated
into silence by violence, threats of violence, economic coercion,
and by the known ties of corrupt local, district, regional, and international officials of the union
with organized crime." (pp. 1-2)
"b. Acts of Violence to Control LIUNA."
(pp. 59-61) Six murders committed by the LCN are listed, five
of LCN gangsters and one of a Philadelphia Local 332 reformer,
Ben Medina, who was beaten to death for running for local office.
"c. Appointments and Retention of
Corrupt LIUNA Officials to Control LIUNA:
The defendants have repeatedly approved
the appointment of persons with known criminal histories or organized
crime ties to union offices and union
employment and have allowed corrupt
officials to remain in office". (pp. 61-70) Listed are fifteen
examples, from 1958 to the present.
"d. Use of Election and other Internal
Procedures to Control LIUNA." (pp. 70-87) Shows how the LCN keeps
control of LIUNA: the LIUNA Constitution, which the Department
of Justice describes as "designed to meet the minimum requirements
of federal labor law in a fashion which perpetuates the status
quo, i.e., LCN control;" control of elections; manipulation of
the hiring hall; Trusteeships to prevent opposition; and the formation
of District Councils to prevent opposition.
"e. Cronyism and Nepotism in LIUNA."
(pp. 87-96) Listed are nineteen examples of pals and relatives
of mobsters being employed by LIUNA locals, regions, district
councils and the international.
LIUNA claims that the following individuals
have been suspended pursuant to its reform program and charges
against them are pending:
The union claims that the following
local unions have been ordered to run new elections pursuant to
its reform program: