Posts tagged corruption
Connecticut Union Raises. Incompetence or Worse?
August 25, 2025 // By telegraphing guaranteed raises, Lamont places unions on offense, emboldened to demand wage and benefit enhancements, rather than defending existing gains. As negotiation expert Chester Karrass once said, “You don’t get what you deserve; you get what you negotiate.” Revealing your playbook isn’t negotiation — it’s surrender. State unions, representing 45,000 employees, already secured a staggering 33% in raises and step increases under the 2017 SEBAC agreement, far outpacing the wage growth of the private-sector workers whose taxes pay their salaries. These contracts, negotiated in the name of taxpayers, are meant to balance fairness to employees with fiscal responsibility. Yet, taxpayers are left out, footing the bill for what resembles a feast.
SJ Police Officers’ Association accuses department of corruption, misconduct
August 18, 2025 // "A pattern of willful misconduct within the Internal Affairs Department that goes beyond simple mistakes and has exposed outrageous conduct that appears to be sanctioned by the highest levels within the San Jose Police Department," the video said. This includes misconduct, lack of training and altered documents. SJPOA President Steve Slack is demanding accountability. "My members are held accountable every day," Slack said. "Where is accountability for our command staff and the bureaucratic decision makers at city hall?"
Commentar: Why the UAW Endorsed Zohran When Other New York City Unions Held Back
August 11, 2025 // The UAW’s risky endorsement of Mamdani would never have happened without the transformation of the union that occurred over the past half-decade. After a serious of corruption and embezzlement scandals led to the removal and conviction of top UAW officials, the union reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice that required a national referendum on adopting direct election of union leadership.
Commentary: Blatant Lawlessness
August 7, 2025 // A new Yankee Institute report, Blatant Lawlessness: How the CT Department of Labor & Union Leaders Disrespect Union Workers and Ignore the Law, highlights the Connecticut Department of Labor’s (CT DOL’s) failure to enforce vital state laws. These laws require unions to provide financial transparency to their members, and the state’s non-enforcement leaves dues-paying workers vulnerable to potential mismanagement and corruption. Enacted in 1959, Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 31-77 mandates that unions representing public and private sector employees submit verified annual financial reports to the CT DOL and make them available to members.
Boilermakers sue ex-president, demand he repay union nearly $500,000 he ‘misused’
August 3, 2025 // The Kansas City-based International Brotherhood of Boilermakers is suing the president it ousted two years ago, demanding that Newton Jones pay back nearly $500,000 of union money it says he misused. Filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, the lawsuit says Jones has ignored the union’s order to reimburse the money he’s accused of taking.
Several NYPD unions endorse Mayor Adams despite corruption allegations
July 20, 2025 // “Everybody running for office right now for the mayor… they all have plans on how they're going to reduce crime. Those are plans. We have action that has been working. Why do you want to change that?” John Nuthall, a spokesperson for the rank-and-file union, the Police Benevolent Association, said that body is not prepared to make an endorsement at this stage in the mayor’s race. “We have a separate process and we’re going through that process,” Nuthall said. He declined to say which candidate the PBA may be leaning toward endorsing.
Michael Watson: Improving Union Annual Reporting
July 3, 2025 // Especially following the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. FEC, which “collection” is funding what spending is important information for union members, and they deserve ready, single-site access. (Citizens United overturned a Taft-Hartley Act–derived ban on using union dues revenues for independent expenditures on behalf of candidates.) They should not need to cross-reference Federal Election Commission (FEC) reports and Labor Department reports to infer which pot of money paid for which spending. Instead, the Labor Department or Congress should revise the LM-2 form to require labor unions to specify the funding source, perhaps by adding a new schedule for expenditures to or by the “Separate Segregated Fund” (the technical name for the “second collection” pot of money) or by requiring specification of the source of funds for Schedule 16 and 17 expenditures related to politics and advocacy.
Op-ed: Trump DOL Rule Would Reduce Union Transparency
July 2, 2025 // Keeping the reporting threshold at $250,000 in receipts is a good way to increase union transparency automatically. As that has become a smaller number in real terms over time, more unions have been subject to the highest level of scrutiny in their reports. Conservatives should applaud this win for public accountability. Instead, the Trump administration is looking to shield hundreds of unions from greater accountability by raising the reporting threshold. It’s not as though unions have been doing anything for Trump, as the AFL-CIO and government employee unions remain some of his top political adversaries.
A Taft-Hartley Roundup of Recent Labor News
June 25, 2025 // For just shy of 80 years, conservative Americans and the Republican Party that provides their imperfect electoral vehicle have sought to advance a policy consensus on labor relations based on three principles: ensuring union membership and participation is voluntary, scrutinizing unions’ operations in exchange for their government-granted powers, and protecting the public from the fallout from labor disputes. As America sits by the pool at the beginning of what might prove to be a long, hot summer, what news is there about the Taft-Hartley consensus?
When Union Leaders Cross the Line
June 12, 2025 // SEIU represents hundreds of thousands of essential workers. Their focus should be on improving wages, working conditions, and safety, not interfering in federal law enforcement or fueling divisive political narratives. When union leaders act like activists first and representatives second, it is the workers who lose. This moment is a wake-up call. America needs unions that are fair, transparent, and focused on results, not organizations that tolerate or even celebrate lawbreaking from the top.