Posts tagged Department of Justice
Wisconsin’s Anti-Union Model Faces Reckoning as Top Court Shifts
December 12, 2023 // “They’ve been trying to overturn it through the legislature and the ballot box and have been wholly unsuccessful,” said Brett Healy, president of the conservative John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy, which estimates Act 10 has saved taxpayers $16.8 billion as of this year. Act 10 also made it easier for school districts to fire low-performing teachers and retain good ones, said Walker, now president of the Young America’s Foundation, a conservative activist organization for youth. The former governor pointed to the state’s standardized test scores and graduation rates, which typically meet or exceed national averages. “We’ve seen tremendous success,” Walker added. “All the attacks they said at the time, how this would devastate schools, proved be just that—attacks. They don’t match reality.”
Oregon Woman Admits to $40K Embezzlement from Labor Union: Union Integrity Challenged
November 6, 2023 // Anderson held a part-time role that encompassed tasks such as signing checks, general clerk duties, bill payment, and oversight of the union's bank account. From 2013 to July 2022, Anderson purloined a cumulative $39,169 from BSAC, restituting only $8,000, resulting in a net loss to the union of $30,316 according to the press release.
Union, hospital workers voice concerns over proposed WHS-UPMC merger
October 6, 2023 // Petro said her husband, sister, and nephew work at WHS. “If UPMC takes over and cuts wages, benefits or staffing, you see how that won’t just be a problem for me, it will upend my entire family,” said Petro. She noted SEIU Healthcare Pennsylvania’s recent complaint filed with the Department of Justice alleging UPMC, the largest private employer in the state, is abusing its position to suppress wages, increase workload, and keep workers from departing to other jobs. “A UPMC takeover will not be good for Washington. We can do better. We have to do better, for the 2,000 employees and their families that count on Washington Health System for their livelihoods,” said Petro. “In the Lehigh Valley, an MRI at St. Luke’s costs $650 whereas at the (Lehigh Valley Health Network), it costs $2,010. Good data suggests this price variation and the ability to command higher and higher prices by acquiring local hospitals is one of the key drivers of consolidations,” Gabriel said. “Larger hospitals want to get bigger and bigger and that’s important to note because frequently the reason they give for consolidation is lowering our health care costs.”
Federal court hands down a major conviction of corrupt union bosses
July 2, 2023 // "LEEBA inflicted severe damage on its members over the years, to the point that it created division, disgust and disdain," said Bruce Mateer, a former member of the union. "Thanks to LEEBA, we have one of the worst-paid police departments in the entire state of New York and we lack proper retirement benefits. LEEBA is supposed to serve their members, but both contracts that LEEBA signed did not meet their members’ needs." Labor unions are supposed to have one simple function: represent their workers during negotiations with management and try to get the best deal possible. Kenneth Wynder and his cronies are unfortunately just the latest in a long tradition of union bosses who decided to make enriching themselves their No. 1 priority.
Unions take on UPMC in antitrust complaint
June 2, 2023 // On Thursday, SEIU along with a coalition of labor unions filed a 55-page complaint against Pennsylvania’s biggest nongovernmental employer, alleging that its size has allowed UPMC to hold down wages and benefits, “drastically increased workloads,” and kept workers from leaving for other jobs through a “draconian system of mobility restrictions.” The union is asking the Justice Department to investigate UPMC for antitrust violations, made possible by its dominance of the health care market in Pittsburgh, Erie and other parts of Pennsylvania, something called monopsonization. For every 10% increase in market share, wages for UPMC workers falls 30 cents to 57 cents an hour on average, according to the complaint. At the same time, the ratio of workers to patients has steadily increased, making UPMC’s staffing ratios on average 19% lower than at non-UPMC facilities.
No deal: Federal Workers Union asks U.S. court to intervene
May 23, 2023 // "This litigation is both an effort to protect our members from illegal furloughs and to correct an unconstitutional statute that frequently creates uncertainty and anxiety for millions of Americans," NAGE national president David Holway said earlier this month. "The debt ceiling has become a political football for certain members of Congress. If Congress will not raise the debt limit as it has nearly 80 times before without condition, it leaves no constitutional choice for the president." "Congress' failure of will to act is not justification to violate the Constitution," added Holway, just days after his union endorsed Biden for reelection. "But it is the reason this case had to be filed to protect the American public, federal employees, and our Constitution."
Former D.C. Police Union Vice Chairman Pleads Guilty to Time and Attendance Fraud Scheme
May 17, 2023 // Former D.C. Police Union Vice Chairman Pleads Guilty to Time and ... of the Attorney General to prosecute local fraud and public corruption cases Defendant Billed MPD While Working Outside Employment
Former Union President Ordered to Serve Probation and Pay Restitution for Embezzling Union Funds
May 3, 2023 // Crystal R. Mathis, the former president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 1812, was sentenced to 12 months, suspended, and three years of probation for embezzling funds from the union. The sentence was announced today by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Mark Wheeler, Director of the Washington District Office of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards. Mathis, 51, of Cheverly, Maryland, pleaded guilty in February 2023, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to one count of first-degree theft. She was sentenced by the Honorable Errol R. Arthur, who also ordered her to pay more than $10,000 in restitution to the union and ordered three years of supervised release.
Has a Firefighters’ Union Burned Its Members?
April 17, 2023 // New information from a federal court case against the International Association of Fire Fighters-Financial Corporation (IAFF-FC) reveals alleged backroom deals, “kickbacks,” coercion, and greed by IAFF union leaders. The IAFF-FC was chartered as a nonprofit with a fiduciary duty to safeguard firefighters’ finances by offering a plethora of financial services, ranging from auto insurance to retirement with a focus on wealth management. But a recent federal lawsuit filed by John F. Hughes describes a much different reality.