Posts tagged Office of Labor-Management Standards
Whiteside County Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Embezzling From Labor Organization
July 6, 2023 // BRENT TOPPERT, 43, of Morrison, Ill., was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Iain D. Johnston to five months in federal prison, to be followed by six months of home detention. Toppert was also fined $5,000. Toppert was the elected Financial Secretary-Treasurer of Local 238 of the Security, Police, and Fire Professionals of America, a labor organization that represents members who provide security at a nuclear plant in Cordova, Ill. Toppert pleaded guilty in federal court earlier this year and admitted that from 2013 to 2018 he made several unauthorized withdrawals from SPFPA’s bank account, totaling $55,140.98, which he converted to his personal use.
Former Union President Admits Filing False Report to Hide Embezzlement; Agrees to Repay Union $36,000
June 21, 2023 // Felix Luciano, the former President of Local 2805 chapter of the American Federation of Government Employees and former Department of Homeland Security officer, pleaded guilty in federal court today, admitting he filed a false report to conceal his embezzlement of thousands of dollars in union dues. Local 2805 is a labor union which represents Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement employees in San Diego and Imperial Counties. Additionally, Luciano agreed to pay a $10,000 fine and repay Local 2805 $36,000 as money that he embezzled. According to court records, Luciano was president of Local 2805. From January of 2016 to December of 2018, Luciano used some of Local 2805’s money for a variety of personal expenses, including shopping, travel reimbursements, groceries, dining, dry cleaning, and paying for non-union accounts. He did this by writing checks from Local 2805’s checking account and using Local 2805’s debit and credit cards to directly pay personal expenses. As a result of Luciano’s actions, he caused a total loss of $36,000 to Local 2805.
Southeast Iowa man sentenced for embezzlement and theft of labor union assets
April 21, 2023 // According to court records, James Darin Boatman, 53, of New London, embezzled and stole union funds for his personal use. Boatman is the former president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 617 Union. UFCW Local 617 members include production workers and skilled trade workers at the Conagra plant in Fort Madison. An investigation revealed Boatman, the president of the union from 2010 until 2019, set up a credit card in the union’s name, without authorization, and from at least May 2017 to August 2019 used the card for personal expenses, including vacations to Florida, large repairs on his personal vehicle, and to pay for attorney representation for an unrelated matter.
Suspect unions’ effort to evade state law could hurt marijuana workers
April 13, 2023 // In many states with adult-use legalization, state law requires legal marijuana businesses to sign a labor peace agreement, or LPA, with a “bona fide” labor union before receiving final licensing. The LPAs are contracts in which an employer agrees to be neutral during a labor-organizing campaign. In return, the union agrees not to picket, boycott or otherwise interfere with the employer’s business. States that require would-be cannabis industry operators to secure labor peace agreements under state law include some of the U.S. industry’s biggest markets: California and New York as well as New Jersey and Connecticut.
Reps Foxx and Allen Call For Greater OLMS Oversight
November 18, 2022 // It’s no secret unions aren’t always the best arbiters of members’ funds. Just look at the UAW — several high ranking officials recently went to prison for a wide-scale corruption scandal that included embezzling hundreds of thousands of members’ dues dollars. For the sake of union members across the country, let’s hope we get better insight to OLMS enforcement sooner rather than later.
Ex-Labor Leader Charged with Embezzling Tens of Thousands of Dollars from Local Union
September 28, 2022 // A former Department of Homeland Security officer and President of American Federation of Government Employees Local 2805 has been indicted by a federal grand jury for wire fraud and making false statements stemming from his alleged embezzlement of tens of thousands of dollars of union funds from Local 2805. Felix Luciano was an Enforcement Removal Officer for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. From approximately 2011 through December 2018, Luciano served as the President of Local 2805, a labor union which represents DHS-ICE employees in San Diego and Imperial Counties. Among his legal duties were maintaining the fiscal integrity of the organization, which prohibited him from engaging in business or financial interest that conflicted with his duty to Local 2805 and its members.
Former St. Louis postal union president sentenced for embezzling union funds
July 1, 2022 // ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV) - A former president of a local postal workers union was sentenced to five years of probation and six months of house arrest for embezzling $80,000 by U.S. District Judge Rodney Sippel. Scott E. Rodgers, 51, embezzled a total of $80,756 and was also ordered to pay back the money. Rodgers became president of Postal Mail Handlers Local 314 in 2016 and has made four unauthorized ATM withdrawals up until April 2020. Officials said the withdrawals were made from the union account using the union debit card for personal purchases including meals, fuel, transportation, shopping, and travel. U.S. Attorney Tiffany Becker,
Worker Advocate Demands Department of Labor and Department of Justice Investigate Michigan SEIU Local’s “Serious Financial Malpractice”
June 6, 2022 // Michigan hospital workers seek to oust Healthcare Michigan union SEIU International recently put into trusteeship Department of Labor, Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney of Michigan, Office of Labor-Management Standards, Healthcare Michigan, HCMI, Sinai-Grace Hospital, Mary Kay Henry,
Democrats’ Proposed Labor Funding Increases Fall Nearly Flat
March 11, 2022 // Federal Funding Legislation. fiscal year 2022, Backgrounder: The final package, after bipartisan and bicameral negotiations, includes just moderate funding increases for these programs or, as in the case of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), no increase at all.
Big US Teacher Union Decline Since Supreme Court Ended Government Employee Union Dues Mandates
December 13, 2021 // The National Education Association and its state affiliate, the Michigan Education Association, saw a significant drop in membership over the past year. That’s according to a new report issued by U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards that has union membership data up to the 2020-21 school year.