Posts tagged PHILADELPHIA
Former Local 98 President Brian Burrows Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Embezzlement of Union Funds, Filing False Government Reports, and Tax Fraud
June 28, 2024 // United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Brian Burrows, 64, of Mount Laurel, NJ, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl to 48 months’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, forfeiture of $135,689.11, an $1,800 special assessment, and restitution to be determined later, for crimes arising from his embezzlement of funds belonging to Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (“Local 98”). Burrows had served as the President of Local 98 since 2008. The only person who held a higher office in the union was his codefendant, Business Manager John Dougherty.
Controversy brewing over abrupt closure of 3 OCF Coffee House shops in Philly
June 17, 2024 // In a letter to employees and patrons, the owner of OCF Coffee House, Ori Feibush, said rising costs and reduced sales led to the decision to close all three of his locations. He also pointed to administrative and legal costs associated with the staff's desire to organize. Feibush hosted a poorly attended non-mandatory staff meeting on Monday, and by 4 p.m., staffers received an email that all three coffee shops were shuttered, effective immediately.
Police responded to AFSCME District Council 33′s offices after union leaders allegedly got into a fight
June 5, 2024 // Greg Boulware, who is running to be president of the 9,000-member American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 33, said he was in the offices of the union’s health and welfare fund Monday morning when his rival in the runoff election, interim president Omar Salaam, stormed in. Boulware said he eventually stood up and was injured above his eye when Salaam punched him and “got probably one good shot in.” Boulware said he fought back in self-defense and “locked him up.” The fracas left a hole in the wall, Boulware said, and Salaam had left by the time police arrived.
Aramark workers at Wells Fargo Center announce strike for 1st home game of Sixers-Knicks playoff series
April 22, 2024 // On Thursday, the Philadelphia City Council passed a resolution to support food service employees in their contract negotiations. The document "urges Aramark to negotiate fair and equitable contracts that provide these workers with a standard minimum wage and healthcare coverage." At Thursday's City Council meeting, union members announced another strike for Thursday, April 25 -- Game 3 of the Sixers-Knicks playoff series and the first time the Sixers will be at home in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Jury Selected in New John Dockerty Trial
April 18, 2024 // A jury has been selected in the third trial of former Philadelphia labor leader, John Dockerty. In December, Dockerty and a former union president were found guilty of corruption and embezzlement after stealing over $600,000 from the electrical workers union. “The Inquirer” reports that this trial is based on “conspiracy and extortion” charges.
Workers at Philadelphia sports stadium hit picket lines for one-day strike
April 11, 2024 // The union — which represents people who work at the Wells Fargo Center and neighboring Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park, where the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies, respectively, play — say their wages and benefits are not keeping up with inflation. The union said some staffers who work at all three stadiums make different hourly wages at each site, and union members say they are treated as seasonal workers rather than year-round employees, based on each sport’s season.
Philly-Area Dometic Employees Slam UAW Union with Federal Charges for Illegal Threats Linked to Strike
March 12, 2024 // Seven employees of auto accessory manufacturer Dometic’s Philadelphia-area factory have filed federal charges against the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 644 union, maintaining that union officials ignored their requests to resign union membership during a strike, and are now unlawfully imposing internal union discipline on them. The workers, Nancy Powelson, Eric Angell, Joseph Buchak, Mario Coccie, Md Rasidul Islam, James Nold, and Robert Haldeman, filed their charges at National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Region 4 with free legal aid from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation. “The Union’s act of summoning Charging Party to attend an internal Union trial for post-resignation conduct interferes, restrains and coerces Charging Party in the exercise of…[NLRA] Section 7 rights, in violation of Teamsters Local 492 (United Parcel Service)…and Section 8(b)(1),” the employees’ charges explain.
Philly AFSCME President Fired for Getting Caught
March 4, 2024 // Garrett’s $270,000-plus salary during a time when Americans are watching more and more of their budgets eaten up by the cost of groceries, gas, healthcare and household necessities. AFSCME’s national office in Washington, D.C., ordered Garrett’s removal following a hearing about allegations from fellow union officers over his penchant for altering staff salaries, hiring more than a dozen friends as employees, contracting with his sister-in-law for catering services and purchasing union-branded hoodies and other apparel from a union ally’s nephew totaling half a million dollars.
Albany Starbucks Employees Seek Vote to Kick Out SBWU Union
March 1, 2024 // Dowey and her colleagues join Starbucks partners and other coffee company employees across the country in banding together to vote out SBWU union officials. In the past year, Starbucks employees in Manhattan, NY; two Buffalo, NY locations; Pittsburgh, PA; Bloomington, MN; Salt Lake City, UT; Greenville, SC; Oklahoma City, OK; San Antonio, TX; and Philadelphia, PA, have all sought free Foundation legal aid in filing or defending decertification petitions at the NLRB. Foundation attorneys have helped employees at independent Philadelphia coffee shops Good Karma Café and Ultimo Coffee successfully oust Workers United union officials, who are affiliated with SBWU. Many employees of Starbucks or other coffee establishments are requesting decertification votes from the NLRB roughly one year after union bosses attained power in their workplaces, which is the earliest opportunity afforded by federal law to do so.
‘A slap in the face’: progressive anger as Teamsters union chief meets Trump
January 19, 2024 // The Teamsters have put forward an open invitation to presidential candidates to meet with their members and leadership. But Trump is apparently the first real contender to take them up on their offer – prior engagements included the long-shot candidates Asa Hutchinson, Robert F Kennedy Jr, Marianne Williamson, Cornel West and Dean Phillips. The union vote is coveted and can help decide elections, especially in relatively union-dense swing states like Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Trump in 2016 found unexpected support from some Teamsters members whose ranks have historically voted Democratic. Kara Deniz, a spokesperson for the Teamsters, said she had not heard from members concerned about the Trump meeting and said candidate meetings represented a good-faith effort to inform members about candidates for office.