13, 2020). In 2017 Cox raised her pay to $102,000 a year. [3] Between May 10, 2012, and May 10, 2022, the Office of Labor-Management Standards records a total of 619 union officers or employees were convicted of criminal offenses. Civil Action No. AFGE accounts for over 1-in-10 federal union corruption convictions. Annette Wells, John Doe #1s mother, is a long-time AFGE member in good standing. Bloomberg News reports that: Staff say Coxs conduct was well-known within the union. An internal AFGE investigation found many of these allegations highly credible. Recent revelations also suggest that AFGEs corruption problems extend to the unions national leadership. Regional offices carried only records relating to union affiliates in their geographical area. (, Plaintiff John Doe #1 was employed with Capitol Chauffeur Services (CCS)a limousine contracting serviceas a professional driver for President Cox. - Contractor Reporting. AFGE does not appear to have deeply investigated its internal corruption either. She told reporters that this was their way of tainting Alex, to get him out of office and to get him out of the way so he doesnt become a competitor (Wagner, 2017). RE: Freedom of Information Act request 2023-F-01252. AFGE accounts for more than 1-in-10 union corruption convictions over the past decade, despite representing just 2% of all unionized workersthe highest rate of corruption of any union. AFGE Local 12 represents Department of Labor employees in the Washington, D.C. region. AFGE Presidents Alleged Sexual Harassment, Abuse, and Racism. The investigators did not examine Kelleys reported knowledge of the alleged San Juan hotel incident why he would continue to believe Coxs denials after two alleged incidents, the witness statement that Kelley admitted to knowing about Coxs behavior, or the large raises and promotions Kelleys assistant received after taking the Myrtle Beach complaint. Limousine Driver It was supposed to be investigated. Former AFGE District 5 Office Manager Andrea Bentley, former District 5 Office Manager Kathrina Suarez, and Local 4056 Secretary-Treasurer Martha Perez allegedly filed sexual harassment charges against Kelley when he was District 5 vice president. Former Local 12 Vice President Eleanor Lauderdale alleged AFGE National put the local into trusteeship because Cox feared Bastani would win reelection and, with the settlement victory, be in a stronger position to challenge Cox in AFGEs 2018 election. Rocha is allegedly close friends with Cox (Doe #1 v. Am. Takeaways from AP's investigation of a Texas sheriff's history of AFGE employees and officers also testify that Cox regularly used racial and religious slurs. Although immediate effects of the federal departure will be largely symbolic, it opens the door to potentially significant adjustments in how the Teamsters union investigates . The AFGE-sponsored investigation focused only on allegations related to Coxs conduct, not misconduct they uncovered by other AFGE officials. Fedn of Govt Emps, 2019, pp. UAW union settles corruption probe with Justice Department [13] Every NEC member present except Hudson voted to remove him. In several cases, local AFGE officials have accused the unions national leaders of consolidating their local or putting it into trusteeship to sideline political opponents. June. 14.0 million workers report being members of a labor union (. It was supposed to be investigated. [16] The jury concluded that AFGEs decision to remove the Human Resources and Information Services departments from the NSTs supervision were racially discriminatory, but the decision to withdraw his authority to approve expense vouchers was not. [23] The Department of Labor revealed this information through a Freedom of Information Act request. Fedn of Govt Emps, 2019, pp. U.S. Department of Labor. Federal employees must be alerted immediately that they have no protection from corrupt unions when reporting allegations to the Department of Labor (Dinan, 2022b). (2022f, Oct. 13). Neither did he interview any of the affected employees, file a complaint about Coxs behavior, or take any disciplinary action. Civil Action 20-1558 (JDB), (D.D.C. In both capacities, he worked to crack down on organized crime. The NEC allegedly convened a secret meeting in July 2016 at the request of then-District 5 Vice President Everett Kelley (AFGEs current national president). (n.d.). Eidelson, J. Doe #1 et al. AFGE officer elections also suffer from a surprising number of irregularities. The woman allegedly complained to AFGE, sharing the pictures he sent. AFGE has 282,000 members who are active workers2% of all workers who belong to a union. Improper collective bargaining agreements. 3d 75 (D.D.C. (2019a, Oct. 27). The AFGE-sponsored investigation focused on determining Coxs guilt and identifying AFGEs structural shortcomings. We were supposed to be protected. Most of Hudsons charges have similarly been dismissed, aside from his claim that AFGE racially discriminated against him (Hudson v. Am. [18] In addition to allegations that Kelley helped cover up Coxs corruption, Kelley has also been accused of misconduct in his own right. (2019b, Nov. 14). These allegations are outside the specific scope of this report, which focuses on Coxs conduct (Working IDEAL, 2020, p. 19). Why was his assistants salary nearly tripled in the years immediately following the alleged Myrtle Beach incident? When memberships dues money is available to [National Executive Council] members in furtherance of attending strip clubs, pursuing prostitutes, and funding unauthorized settlements involving their own misconduct, etc., it is evident that sufficient monetary protections and oversight are not in place atAFGE (Dinan, 2022a). Cox did not deny these allegations during a sworn deposition. (n.d.) List of labor organization records based on their latest trusteeship report filed. [1] AFGE represents 775,000 of the federal governments 1.22 million unionized employees. 4-6).[14]. https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/olms/regs/compliance/foia/2019/trustee/03mar/afge_lu12_3-5-19_redacted.pdf, Office of Labor-Management Standards. https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgReport.do?rptId=813655&rptForm=LM2Form. Fedn of Govt Emps, Second Am. Fedn of Govt Emps, 2019; Hudson v. Am. A member of AFGEs human rights committee has testified under oath that Kelley told her he knew about Coxs actions at San Juan, agreed they were problematic but could not do anything about it because it was Cox, Kelley is currently AFGEs national president and earns a salary of $236,000 a year (, Interestingly, Kelleys administrative assistantwho allegedly received the initial report about Coxs misconduct at the Myrtle Beach hotelsubsequently received a series of large promotions and raises. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Civil Action 20-1558 (JDB), (D.D.C. Over the past decade, 64 AFGE officers and employees were criminally convicted on federal union corruption charges, the second most of any union during this period (Office of Labor-Management Standards, 2022b). Cox denied the allegations, but in February 2020, he resigned as AFGE president shortly before the investigators released their report (Russell, 2020). Chris Crane, the former president of the ICE Council, accused AFGE of retaliating against his union: We did what we were supposed to do. What complaints (if any) have been filed against other AFGE NEC members and senior staff? AFGE accounts for over one-tenth of all criminal federal union corruption convictions over the past decade, despite representing just 2% of all unionized workers. The investigators explained that [d]uring our investigation, witnesses also reported a range of past incidents at AFGE concerning inappropriate conduct by other individuals besides Cox, including sexual comments and conduct, allegations of racial and religious bias, and inappropriate and offensive social media postings, among other concerns. Copeland resigned two days later (, Kabiralso a plaintiffclaims that Cox routinely sexually harassed him during his tenure at the union. Table 1. [1] Approximately 280,000 workers in the federal government and the District of Columbia are dues-paying AFGE members (Office of Labor-Management Standards, 2022a). Did AFGE National President Everett Kelley, as alleged, persuade hotels in both San Juan and Myrtle Beach to allow AFGEs delegations to stay despite Coxs alleged misconduct? They cover the period between May 10, 2012, and May 10, 2022. AFGE showed no leniency and swiftly fired Johnson, despite her denying making the minor contribution. Kabir reports he told AFGE Executive Secretary Denene Colbert about Coxs actions, but she took no action (Doe #1 v. Am. The lawsuit alleges that Borer did not do so. The FBI's Albuquerque Office has set up a public corruption hotline for reporting tips at (505) 889-1580. . Dinan, S. (2022a, June 21). Between May 10, 2012, and May 10, 2022, the Office of Labor-Management Standards records a total of 619 union officers or employees were convicted of criminal offenses. [23], ICE Council Dissolved After Requesting AFGE Investigation, In June 2022, the National ICE Council, an AFGE Council representing about 7,600 U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) employees, filed a complaint against AFGE with the Department of Labor. Under AFGEs constitution the NST becomes president when the office becomes vacant. Thursday, October 1, 2020 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Defendants Allegedly Agreed to Accept Dozens of Bribes to Corruptly Influence the Construction Industry At the Expense of Labor Unions and Their Members 2). Approximately 280,000 workers in the federal government and the District of Columbia are dues-paying AFGE members, Office of Labor-Management Standards, 2022a, Federal law prohibits unions like AFGE from engaging in corrupt or undemocratic practices (, It also requires union officials to solely use their positions to benefit their members, not themselves, AFGE has fallen so far short of these standards that it has been described as the most corrupt union in the U.S.A. (. Westbrook subsequently ran against and defeated Rocha in the election for the presidency of their union local. Fedn of Govt Emps Amended Complaint, 2020, 127-136). (2022e, Sept. 29). He was also ordered to pay $29,664 in restitution (, Rocky Gannon, former president of AFGE Local 2302 (Fort Knox, Kentucky), pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and nine counts of forged securities. [22] Bastani was a high-profile critic of Cox within AFGE, running against him in the unions 2012 and 2015 presidential elections. These promotions and pay raises were allegedly given to purchase her silence about the Myrtle Beach incident (, Copeland reports that he filed a complaint about Coxs harassment to Corey Bythrow, the deputy to AFGEs Chief of Staff. The complaint also accused AFGE of supporting politicians who sought to abolish ICE and disparaged ICE employees. The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)the largest and most influential federal em-ployee unionhas a serious corruption problem. Union leaders like John L. Lewis, Walter Reuther, George Meany, and Jimmy Hoffa were well-known national figures. Cox allegedly subsequently forced John Doe #1 to allow Cox to perform oral sex on him on multiple occasions. The D.C. In another case, an AFGE member[19] alleges that senior staff in AFGEs National Headquarters ignored serious sexual harassment complaints: In 2015, Amber Westbrook, an AFGE member at the time, saysthat Rosendo Rocha, the president of her local chapter, told her that sex was theway for women to get ahead at the union and demanded to haveadjoining hotel rooms at a conference. A year laterin August 2017the AFGE NEC overwhelmingly voted to remove Hudson from office. Fedn of Govt Emps, 2019, p. U.S . Fedn of Govt Emps Amended Co, 2020, 88-101; Hudson v. Am. AFGE represents two-thirds of unionized federal employees (U.S. Office of Personnel Management, n.d.). Senior AFGE Officer Fired After Questioning Expenses, AFGE members elected Eugene Hudson, Jr., their national secretary treasurer (NST), in 2012 and reelected him in 2015. More important, the Bush administration used its authority to issue regulations to alter a variety of reporting requirements. Under federal law, unions represent all workers in a bargaining unit, but workers are not required to join the union or pay dues. However, AFGE allegedly took no action against AFGE employees who violated the No Politics rule to support incumbent AFGE leaders (, Similar concerns have been raised about abuses of the trusteeship process. https://www.workingideal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Working-IDEAL-Report-for-AFGE.pdf, Wagner, E. (2017, Oct. 12). AFGE has particularly high concentrations of membership in the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, the Social Security Administration, and the Department of Justice (. The complaint accused AFGEs national leadership of corruption and mismanagement: TheICE Counciland its Locals allege thatAFGEis stealing, wasting, grossly mismanaging, and engaging in illegal acts with its memberships money. How strong is the evidence that they received reports of his misconduct but ignored it or helped cover it up? How many of those complaints has AFGE National ignored or taken no substantive action on? Civil Action 20-1558 (JDB), (D.D.C. J. David Cox Sr., Everett Kelley, Jeremy Lannan elected national officers. For example, they report that Kelley knew of the Myrtle Beach hotel incident, but simply noted that Kelley said he believed Coxs subsequent denial. Fedn of Govt Emps Amended Co., 2020, 124-128, 338-344; Doe #1 v. Am. Hudson v. American Federation of Government Employees, Complaint. Monday, December 14, 2020 For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Michigan DETROIT - United States Attorney Matthew Schneider announced that an agreement has been reached with the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) to resolve the office's findings of fraud and corruption within the UAW. Fedn of Govt Emps, 2019, p. The investigators further reported that: Witnesses reported multiple incidents of Cox talking about soliciting sex workers and/or being asked to procure a sex worker for him We learned through multiple sources of an incident in which Cox allegedly propositioned a member of hotel staff, and hotel management expressed concern to their contacts at AFGE Multiple witnesses described hearing Cox use racial and religious slurs (, The investigators also found that Cox would bring AFGE officials to and conduct union business at strip clubs (, ). Hudson v. American Federation of Government Employees, Civil Action No. Hudson shortly thereafter announced his intention to run against Cox in AFGEs 2018 presidential election (Hudson, 2016). https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgReport.do?rptId=810943&rptForm=LM2Form. The Department of Labors Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) details many of these convictions: Michael Oldham, former president of AFGE Local 1900 (Taunton, Massachusetts), pleaded guilty on April 13, 2022, to 26 counts of wire fraud for $35,900 in checks written from the unions bank account, one count of false statements for filing a false LM-3 report, and three counts of filing false tax returns in the amount of $233,970 (, Office of Labor-Management Standards, 2022d, Donnell Owens, former secretary to the Communications Director of the AFGE National Union, pleaded guilty on October 20, 2021, to embezzling $275,524 from the union (, Office of Labor-Management Standards, 2022e, Michael Wood, former treasurer of AFGE Local 3957 (Grant, Louisiana), pleaded guilty to criminal forgery. Simon allegedly responded that Cox just needs some sex. This move disbanded the ICE Council. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/aug/11/biden-administration-abolishes-ice-labor-union/. Office of Labor-Management Standards. Over the next two years, her salary was raised to $116,000. She testified under oath that Everett Kelley told her the hotel nearly kicked the entire AFGE delegation out after Cox sexually harassed and attempted to touch a pool attendant inappropriately. Now, more than 30 years later, that oversight is about to end. https://olmsapps.dol.gov/query/orgReport.do?rptId=810943&rptForm=LM2Form, Office of Labor-Management Standards. Currently, 80% of the WHO budget relies on earmarked donations; primarily from the U.S. government, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Big Pharma. The relevant AFGE officials subsequently reimbursed AFGE for manybut not allof these expenses. They did not do more to determine whether, as alleged, one of AFGEs most senior officials told a victim of Coxs alleged predations to endure his abuse. AFGE allegedly took no remedial or disciplinary action against him (Doe #1 v. Am. AFGE has fallen so far short of these standards that it has been described as the most corrupt union in the U.S.A. (Gilson, 2017). (2022). The judge held that the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA) did not require them to do so. Cox resigns as AFGE president amid controversy. Several of Coxs alleged victimsincluding Copeland, Kabir, and John Doe #1have sued members of AFGEs National Executive Council and AFGE senior staff for failing to report, document, or investigate complaints of Coxs alleged misconduct (Doe #1 v. Am. Local 12 held new officer elections in 2018, and AFGE ended the trusteeship shortly after Bastani and his fellow former officers lost that vote. The financial categories and definitions remained the same, as did the level of required financial detail, except form reductions for smaller unions. An AFGE Trustee testified that this behavior led her to remove Dukes from his position and that she forwarded Kelley the pictures Dukes had sent. Dinan, S. (2022a, June 21). First of Three Parts This would cost John Doe #1 the job that was the sole source of income for his wife, their six children, and himself. In 1957, congressional hearings chaired by Senator John L. McClellan (D-Ark.) Use of union funds or property for acts of violence. Right to Work Laws Protect Workers from Union Corruption Does any evidence suggest AFGE NEC members or headquarters employees were aware of Rosendo Rochas alleged misconduct? 500-002. The WHO revenue in 2016-2017 was $5, 139 Billion, of which only $927 million came from assessed contributions by . This abuse may take AFGE officials also allege troubling undemocratic practices within the union. David P. Berry, Inspector General. [16] The D.C. 2021). He's charged with . (2022d, Nov. 8). The hotel wanted Cox to leave immediately. https://www.afge.org/article/congratulations-to-president-j.-david-cox-on-being-re-elected-for-your-third-term, Cox, J.D. 17-18). Kelley has also been accused of covering for other AFGE officials who engaged in sexual misconduct. Harassment, culture of fear flourished at federal workers union, staff say. Former UAW President Gary Jones pleaded guilty to helping divert over $1 million from the UAW for his own personal use and the use of senior UAW officials. Sep. 12, 2021). Sep. 1, 2021). (n.d.). From 2001 to 2006 the Bush administration dramatically increased funding to the Labor Department office that administers the disclosure system (while reducing budgets in much of the rest of the Labor Department), expanding the number of full-time equivalent staff from 290 in FY 2001 to 384 in its proposed FY 2006 budget, and raising overall funding from $30.5 million in FY2001 to $48.8 million in its proposed FY 2006 budget. She told reporters that this was their way of tainting Alex, to get him out of office and to get him out of the way so he doesnt become a competitor (, Local 12 held new officer elections in 2018, and AFGE ended the trusteeship shortly after Bastani and his fellow former officers lost that vote. Union Leader Fraud AFGEs national president recently resigned amid allegations of misappropriating funds, racial bias, sexual harassment, and sexual abuse. pension plan,) Over the past 10 years, restitution of $102,615,236 has been paid or ordered to be paid to defrauded unions and other parties. In 2016 Kelly recommended her for another promotion to a position paying $88,000 a year. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/union2.pdf. Last Updated On: June 11th, 2018 Robert Kennedy, shown here in 1963, served as chief counsel for the U.S. Senate's Rackets Committee and then as U.S. attorney general. What evidence suggests AFGEs General Counsel had other motives for ignoring Copelands complaint of sexual harassment? The Office of Special Counsel formally determined that Hudsons message did not violate the Hatch Act (Hamrick, 2017). 2018). Alleged Undemocratic Practices June. Cox also appears to have spent AFGE funds lavishly on these private limousine services. Fedn of Govt Emps Second Am. The penalties associated with failing to provide timely and accurate reports were significant. Has AFGE settled any other complaints of misconduct against Kelley? Dinan, S. (2022b, August 11). Status data: employment cubes. Federal law requires unions to select their leaders through democratic elections. How much (if any) did AFGE pay to settle those alleged complaints? No. AFGE responded by disclaiming interest in representing ICE employees. v. American Federation of Government Employees, Amended Complaint. Existing legal protections against union corruption appear to have failed, but it is not clear how deep corruption runs in AFGE. Defendant Kelley responded that he had asked Cox about it; Cox denied it, and Kelley believed him. Youll have your freedom after the [2018 AFGE presidential] election (, Kabir further alleges that [n]early everybody at AFGE headquarters knew about Coxs sexually predatory habits and saw his job as running interference for them. The investigators did not examine John Doe #1s complaint and thus did not make any judgment as to whether those allegations were true or if Cox misused AFGE funds (, AFGE Leadership Allegedly Ignored, or in Some Cases, Covered Up Coxs Behavior. v. American Federation of Government Employees, Second Amended Complaint. Principals' union accuses CPS of unfairly firing Black principals https://casetext.com/case/hudson-v-am-fedn-of-govt-emps-5, Hudson v. American Federation of Government Employees, Civil Action No. The NEC allegedly chastised Hudson for questioning expense vouchers. . The fourth ICHA meeting, co-hosted by the World Bank . Allegedly, the hotel management informed an administrative assistant for Everett Kelleythen the AFGE national vice president for District 5that Cox had sexually harassed and propositioned an employee. Kelley allegedly subsequently directed subordinates to reappoint Dukes as vice president. https://fcw.com/workforce/2020/02/cox-resigns-as-afge-president-amid-controversy/195997/. Inspector General Investigations | Oversight.gov https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2017/10/ousted-local-officials-accuse-largest-federal-employee-union-sloppy-coup/141707/, Wagner, E. (2022, July 14). When memberships dues money is available to [National Executive Council] members in furtherance of attending strip clubs, pursuing prostitutes, and funding unauthorized settlements involving their own misconduct, etc., it is evident that sufficient monetary protections and oversight are not in place atAFGE (. CLRP combats police corruption on a case-by-case basis. In one case, Jamie Dukes, then the vice president for AFGE Local 2017, a unit representing civilian Army personnel within District 5allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct, including sending pictures of his genitals to a woman. AFGE reportedly hired CohnReznik to forensically audit Coxs expense vouchers, including his spending on limousine services (, The Working IDEAL report noted [a]ccounts differ on what Kabir told Simon and that there is conflicting evidence about what information [Simon] shared with [Borer] about Kabirs complaints (. Employers, too, rarely used the information from the disclosure system to discredit unionsthey had more effective tools at hand. Improper Labor Management Relations Bribery Payoffs from management to corrupt union officials Former UAW President Dennis Williams has also pleaded guilty to his role in the scandal. Copeland resigned two days later (Working IDEAL, 2020, pp. Bastani was particularly critical of how Cox and the NEC made exorbitant expenditures on themselves, such as spending $650,000 for NEC to travel to Israel for Cox to receive an award (Lauderdale, 2017). Nonetheless, the Federal Labor Relations Authority upheld AFGEs actions and decertified the ICE union (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and American Federation of Government Employees, 2022). The costs of disclosing and particularly of using information, however, fell substantially when Congress appropriated funds in fiscal years 1998 and 1999 to develop and implement electronic filing and dissemination of reports. The penalties associated with failing to provide timely and accurate reports were significant. RE: Freedom of Information Act request 2022-F-05258. President of major U.S. union accused of sexual harassment. Russell, L. (2020, Feb. 28). In addition to allegations that Kelley helped cover up Coxs corruption, Kelley has also been accused of misconduct in his own right. (Working IDEAL, 2020, p. 14). In late 2019 Bloomberg News reported that multiple AFGE employees had accused Cox of sexual harassment. As part of its effort to protect and safeguard union funds and assets, OLMS investigates possible embezzlement from unions and other violations of criminal laws. U.S. Department of Labor. Pam Espinoza attended the training. Cox later kissed John Doe #1 on the mouth without his consent (, Cox allegedly subsequently forced John Doe #1 to allow Cox to perform oral sex on him on multiple occasions. AFGE has 282,000 members who are active workers2% of all workers who belong to a union. Hudson claims the NEC actually wanted to remove him for challenging AFGEs financial practices and for planning to run against Cox. Fedn of Govt Emps Second Amended Complaint, 2020, 656-684). [8] The Department of Labors Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) details many of these convictions: Over the past decade, 44 AFGE local unions have been placed in trusteeship because of corruption or financial malpractice.
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