Posts tagged embezzling
Commentary: Federal unions got caught standing still: Federal workers face the consequences
October 26, 2026 // The executive orders (EOs) were merely the catalyst. The vulnerabilities were decades in the making: reliance on political allies, fragmented organization, no preparation for a hostile administration. This isn’t about bad faith — it’s institutional complacency. That demands a reckoning, and this account draws on a decade representing federal employees and unions. The Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 established the modern federal labor-management framework
Trump commutes sentence of convicted union leader John ‘Johnny Doc’ Dougherty, lawyer says
September 4, 2026 // Dougherty was convicted in 2023 of bribing a City Council member and embezzling nearly $600,000 from Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Known as “Johnny Doc,” Dougherty ran the union for nearly three decades and was a Democratic power broker in Pennsylvania politics, steering tens of millions of dollars in union campaign contributions to candidates
AUTOS UAW Q&A: Presidential candidates on monitorship, future of oversight
August 10, 2026 // Five members are challenging Fain, a popular president and political figure. Fain was at the helm of the union in 2023 when it secured handsome raises after a simultaneous strike of all three Detroit automakers (Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Stellantis). The upcoming election was complicated by news that Fain is facing a grand jury investigation directed by the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations that he improperly used his post to seek benefits for his family members. Fain has denied the allegations.
DOJ Probe Stands to Undercut UAW Election, Organizing Goals
July 22, 2026 // The investigation is something anti-union advocates could cite as evidence that the UAW won’t be a good steward of union resources, particularly in the south where there is already a more hostile environment for organized labor. Organizing southern auto plants has been a chief goal for Fain and the UAW as it battles falling membership. Current numbers stand at about 400,000, down from a peak of about 1.5 million in the 1970s.
NYPD sergeants union honcho gets zero jail time for tax fraud tied to disgraced ex boss Ed Mullins
March 30, 2026 // The bogus tax returns were filed in 2018 and 2019, as his former boss and longtime friend Mullins was being probed for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in union dues to splurge on high-end meals, clothes and other goodies. Ostermann kept his job as the union’s controller even after he’d already pleaded guilty in the case — a fact that Judge Schofield said she factored in while deciding not to jail him. “The union still trusts you, which I think is noteworthy,” Schofield said in court Tuesday.
Commentary: Jacobin’s New Columnist Chris Brooks Doesn’t Disclose Corruption Charges that Led to His Ouster from UAW
February 9, 2026 // However, nowhere in Brooks’ inaugural column titled “Four Lessons From the UAW’s Turn Toward Class Struggle” is his ouster from the UAW over his illegal conduct ever mentioned. This, even though it was covered by major publications including the Detroit Free Press, Reuters, and even Brook’s hometown paper, The Chattanooga Times Free Press. Instead, Jacobin gave a platform to a corrupt union official to repair his legacy without ever having to address the very serious allegations of corruption, dishonesty, and retaliation, or the violation of federal law that forced him out of union office.
West Yarmouth Man Pleads Guilty to Stealing Funds from Labor Union
January 19, 2026 // Between May 2020 and May 2025, Mattoon embezzled funds from the Barnstable Massachusetts Department of Public Works Employees Local Number 3003 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO. Mattoon was an officer of the labor union at the time. The charge of embezzlement from a labor union provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Former UAW president pleads guilty to embezzling union funds
October 14, 2025 // Former United Auto Workers President Dennis Williams on Wednesday pleaded guilty to trying to embezzle union funds that prosecutors said he spent on Palm Springs vacations, golf, liquor and cigars. Appearing by video in the U.S. District Court in Detroit, Williams entered his plea and apologized to the members of a union that faces a corruption probe by the office for Matthew Schneider, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Former central Pa. postal union official sentenced for embezzling $74K
September 30, 2025 // Miller is barred from union office or employment for 13 years. Miller pled guilty this year to one count of embezzling labor union assets, one count of falsifying a labor union annual report, and one count of falsifying labor union financial records. While serving as the treasurer of American Postal Workers Union Local 95 of Lancaster, Miller signed and cashed at least 137 unauthorized checks worth $68,818 between December 2019 and December 2022. She also made at least 128 credit card purchases for personal use totaling $5,441 on her union credit card.
EXCLUSIVE: Congress Asks Union About Blunder That Reportedly Sent About $80 Million Down The Toilet
September 16, 2025 // United Auto Workers (UAW) has not disclosed what happened to $340 million it used to cover strike costs in 2023 while promising to reinvest the funds, the House Education and Workforce Committee told the union in a letter scheduled to be sent Thursday. The committee is requesting documents and information on the alleged blunder, which angry UAW officials claimed cost an estimated $80 million in potential gains, according to a Reuters report cited in the letter. Failing to reinvest the funds may have violated UAW’s fiduciary duty under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), ushered in higher dues, led to lesser strike benefits for members and made them miss out on stock market surges that followed President Donald Trump’s reelection in November, according to the letter.