Posts tagged Embezzlement
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.
Members of Warren union local move forward with effort to oust UAW president
August 3, 2025 // According to copies of the charges reviewed by the Michigan Advance, Fain is accused of dereliction of duty, financial mismanagement, retaliation against union members, hiring non-UAW personnel for positions that should be filled by union members, and failing to comply with the conditions of a consent decree appointing an independent monitor to investigate misconduct and remove fraud, corruption, illegal behavior, dishonesty and unethical practices from the union.
Union Reporting Threshold Threatens Worker Transparency
August 3, 2025 // Another issue is the lack of plain language on the LM 2 forms themselves. For example, they categorize money coming into the union as “receipts” — yet to most union members, a receipt is something someone receives after paying for something. The forms should be at a grade 10 reading level and broken down in one line, a simple explanation
Probation officer claims mental illness contributed to $160,000 theft from union
July 17, 2025 // The majority of the transactions in Rollins' account were regular purchases, such as childcare, mortgage payments, groceries and gas, according to Koznek's testimony. She also settled more than $17,000 of credit card debt for around $13,000 - something Sanger argued was accrued as a result of impulsive spending. Rollins spent hundreds - possibly more than $1,000 - on groceries each month and in at least one month spent nearly $1,000 on gas for her vehicle, Blumenthal said. Rollins' purchase of a Tesla - one of her largest purchases - was also not impulsive, Blumenthal argued.
Power-Hungry and Petty: How Shawn Fain Runs the UAW
June 25, 2025 // Fain had the union’s compliance director read the fabricated report of Mock’s alleged wrongdoing into the record at an executive board meeting in February 2024. Mock was never interviewed in the creation of the report, and did not know it existed until it was delivered in the meeting. Mock is a black woman. Fain coordinated with two other black women on the executive board, regional directors Laura Dickerson and LaShawn English, to strip Mock of much of her authority in the organization. Dickerson made the motion and English seconded it. The exact wording of the motion was scripted by Fain’s aides, text messages uncovered by the monitor revealed, and Dickerson said she had agreed to make the motion before the report was even finalized.
Ex-union president for Homeland Security workers in Vermont avoids prison in embezzling case
June 3, 2025 // Leticia Russi-Shareno had earlier pleaded guilty to a wire fraud charge stemming from her theft that led to a $36,000 “out-of-pocket” loss to the union, according to court filings.
Walberg, Allen Seek Feedback on Path to Give Rank-And-File Workers a Bigger Voice in Unions
May 28, 2025 // “Too often, rank‑and‑file workers lack the timely information and meaningful voice they need to hold elected leaders accountable for both fiscal and political decisions. Recent misconduct cases, ranging from embezzlement to unauthorized political expenditures, underscore the need for a modernized framework that prioritizes the rights of individual members to hold union leadership accountable and that provides individual union members with more control over how labor organizations operate.”
Former Ypsilanti union president who embezzled thousands of dollars from members sentenced to 6 months
May 1, 2025 // While president, acting financial secretary, and acting treasurer of the union, Miller embezzled approximately $47,347 of union funds in the custody and control of the bank of Ann Arbor by issuing approximately 38 unauthorized checks to himself and forging the signature of the second signatory on 20 of those checks; issuing approximately four unauthorized checks made payable to a family member; and making approximately two unauthorized cash withdrawals from the union’s bank account. The 38-year-old also used the union’s Bank of Ann Arbor debit card as his own personal debit card. He made at least 184 unauthorized personal purchases, totaling approximately $11,259. His purchases with the union’s debit card included flights, hotel rooms, rental cars, and retail purchases. For example, Miller used the debit card to pay for five flights to Florida, Las Vegas, and Atlanta, as well as for rental cars in Florida and Atlanta. Miller also used the debit card at a jewelry store and several footwear shops.
Chair Walberg Requests Investigation into Alleged Union Embezzlement
April 17, 2025 // “According to the article, Mr. Gresham ‘has for years used union money to benefit himself, his family and political allies.’ These allegations raise serious concerns about whether the union’s officers have been treating the union treasury as a personal slush fund rather than upholding their legal duty to manage members’ dues for the members’ exclusive benefit. The Committee shares these concerns and is committed to supporting the enforcement of federal laws protecting union members’ rights.”