On June 16,1997 the Laborers International
Union of North America (LIUNA) General Executive Board Attorneys
Office filed a complaint for trusteeship against the powerful Chicago District
Council of Laborers.
The complaint seeks the appointment
of a LIUNA trustee to help "rid the District Council of improper
influence by organized crime, to correct financial malpractice,
to restore democracy, and to carry out the legitimate objects
of the union, " according to a statement by the unions Washington,
D.C. headquarters.
The Chicago District Council is headed
by Bruno Caruso, who just months ago opposed Arthur Coia for the
job of Laborers Union President, and lost. Caruso campaigned at
last years Las Vegas General Convention on a platform that included
less cooperation with the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation
of LIUNA.
The Justice Department alleges that
the Laborers Union has been dominated for years by organized crime
(see Hard Hat, Spring 1995). Justice Department documents name
the Chicago crime family of the Mafia, or La Cosa Nostra, as dominating the office of
LIUNA President for decades, and other Mafia crime families as
controlling or influencing many LIUNA locals, district councils
and officers up to, and including, the General Executive Board.
A hearing on trusteeship for the Chicago
District Council is scheduled for July 16. LIUNA Independent Hearing
Officer Peter Vaira will then decide whether or not to impose
a trusteeship. Business Manager Caruso of the Chicago District
Council declined to speak with Hard Hat.
by Michael Blanding
A two-week strike by organizers of
the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA) ended
recently without a resolution. On March 13, most of the organizers
struck against union management in a dispute over collective bargaining
arrangements. They returned to work unconditionally on March 24th.
The organizers had demanded that LIUNA,
their employer, recognize the Federation of Union Representatives
(FOUR) as their collective bargaining agent. LIUNA gave voluntary recognition
to FOUR, but dismissed three project staff from the collective
bargaining unit, inciting the work stoppage.
During the strike, LIUNA withdrew
their recognition of FOUR. Organizers saw the removal of the project
staff as a "clear attempt to weaken and punish our efforts at
collective action" they stated in an explanatory letter to management.
They further characterized management1s
actions as"illegal and outrageous attacks on our union" and
an"insult to our previous efforts to display good faith."
LIUNA proposed that the bargaining
unit include organizers and organizers-in-training, but exclude
project staff, who are hired on a temporary basis. Of the eleven
project staff at the time, LIUNA promoted eight to organizers-in-training, and
excluded the rest from the unit.
Two of the staff members in question,
who were working on a campaign in Las Vegas, were released from
service with the explanation that their contracts had expired,
and LIUNA was reducing the staff on their project. The third staff
member is still working on a campaign in Los Angeles.
FOUR expressed the right to pursue
the termination of one of the Las Vegas staff members with the
National Labor Relations Board before the LIUNA withdrew their
recognition as the collective bargaining agent. It also demanded
that the other two project staff be promoted to organizers-in-training
and included in the unit.
FOUR calls the organizers decision
to return to work as evidence of the workers good faith in working
with union management. Its attorneys are in the process of negotiating
with management to resolve the issue.
The dispute heaps new controversy
on the unions beleaguered management. As reported extensively
by Hard Hat, LIUNA and its President Arthur A. Coia, Jr., are
currently under investigation by the Department of Justice for
the unions long history of corruption and links to organized
crime.
Gunfire at the Laborers Training Center
in San Ramon led to the arrest and conviction of Craig Thomas,
a training center instructor. Thomas is the son of Archie Thomas,
Business manager of Northern California District Council of Laborers
(NCDCL). Six months after his arrest, Craig Thomas was convicted
of two felonies and five misdemeanors, including possession of
unregistered weapons and drug possession.
After his arrest, Thomas continued
working at the Laborers Training Center while free on bail. Craig
Thomas, who was convicted of rape in 1985, was also an officer
in Laborers Local 304. Archie Thomas apparently didnt tell Training
Center Director Marvin Johnson or Local 304 Business Manager Jose
Moreno that his son Craig was a convicted felon. Moreno is also
the President of the NCDCL.