Union Corruption Update
Recent Developments in Union Corruption Cases
For your edification, from the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Labor-Management Standards come the following updates on union corruption investigations in Michigan:
On March 8, 2010, in the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan, David Miller, former Treasurer of Litchfield Independent Workers Union Local 373 (located in Litchfield, Mich.), pled guilty to one count of embezzling union funds in the amount of $50,501.99. On January 6, 2010, Miller was indicted on one count of embezzling union funds in the same amount. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Detroit District Office.
On March 4, 2010, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, an information was filed charging Jerrold King, former President of Steelworkers Local 842 (located in Detroit, Mich.), with one count of concealing union records. The information follows an investigation by the OLMS Detroit District Office.
On March 2, 2010, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Brenda Bywater, former Treasurer of American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 100 (located in Pontiac, Mich.), pled guilty to one count of making false entries in union records. On December 16, 2009, an information was filed charging Bywater with the same offense. The plea follows an investigation by the OLMS Detroit District Office.
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Again...
In answer to your question - yes. The gross misuse (blatant theft) of taxpayer monies and private funds is news worthy. I would welcome your response to how exposing graft, felonious activity and theft is partisan?
If you research this group and the others of the same ilk(The Heritage Foundation, Imprimis ect), you will find critical posts of anyone that is fiscally irresponsible or who has breached the public trust. Of late, (while) I would agree that the majority of the negative news appears to revlove around the more liberal of the two parties, it is stil factual.
Also, your off hand comment that "And this isn't my union"(sic) is a sad commentary that speaks volumes regarding the current moral decay and unethical status of our world. In other words, if it doesn't directly impact me now, there is no harm done. Only when the impact touches close to a personal nerve do we sit up and become indignant. As a society, we have lost a key virtue - compassion.
I am sincere when I say that I hope "your union" leadership never indulges in this behavior for the sake of the rank and file. I also hope that if they do, and this group exposes the criminal behavior, there will be someone to reach out a hand of compassion to those affected. God Bless.
Not okay
But is this really "the" biggest news to blog about? It's the selective exposure this "non partisan" site engages in. That's the point.
And this isn't my union.
Interesting
Wow...the execs did it so it's OK for a brother to do it. I love the rationale. Almost. Worker Bees? From my experience, most fellas down at the Hall haven't been worker bees in decades.
NEWS FLASH! It's criminal activity. As a member YOU should be most outraged. It's odd that you aren't...the money was stolen directly from us, the members.
Interesting
Did you also run Enron stories? Wall Street stories? No, because you were too busy bashing worker bees. So the entire country got blindsided by the corporate greed and corruption.
But you keep being a watchdog for the union stuff.
Lol...
In reply to Mr. Billy Mill,
To obviscate the truth is to condone and promulgate further, that which is the ruination of our society; chronic relativism. Currently, you would be hard pressed to find anyone that could answer questions regarding ethical and moral behavior. Why? If you need to ask you are clearly part of this group. Unions are not inherently bad, nor are guns or religoin(s). They (and everything else along with it) become(s) corrupted when truth is ingored and the line between right and wrong are not just blurred but erased. We have become so tolerant in the interest of what I call the "Kumbyah Effect" that we now will tolerate everything. "If someone else did it, how can I be held accountable for this action?" There are examples too numerous to list here which underscore this sad tale of humanity however, for the record, here is a fresh one.
Monica Conyers. Pled guilty to "plea bargained" felony charge(s) which were dramatically less punitive in return for becoming a "friend of the FBI". Sentenced to far less than the maximum with a strict legal proviso that there is no appeal for this. Not only did Ms. Conyers attempt to renege on her plea during sentancing, but she has now (illegally) filed for an appeal as well as claiming poverty. This will necessitate a court appointed lawyer along with significant time and tax payer funding to even have this addressed let alone heard.
Indeed the line is gone...
Curruption is wrong. Stealing is wrong. Lying is wrong. Gossip(slander for all the nit pickers) is wrong. These basic lessons used to be taught from the beginning. No longer. Now we cannot utter these for fear of retribution. Now we teach that CO2 is poison and two men should couple without repisal. (not in the colloquial sense for all the nit pickers). For the record, tolerance is not acceptance. There will always be behavior that is abhorent and degenerative and it cannot be accepted. If these lines of thought are followed to their logical conclusion, armed robbery will become an issue for the ACLU and become a protected behavior.