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Federal District Court

UDR Story

  • Remembering Machinists’ Lodges 701 and 113



  • After 20 years, federal prosecutors convince the judge -- Drastic new move vs. NYC Carpenters corruption

    In June, upon application of Federal prosecutors, Judge Charles Haight appointed a new Review Officer to monitor the New York City Carpenters District Council and invested him with sweeping powers in the hope of ridding the union of corruption and restoring democracy.

  • Moving slowly while opportunity knocks at IUOE L. 14

    It was back in July 2008 that the government settled its civil RICO lawsuit against International Union of Operating Engineers Local 14, the 1,600-member union of heavy construction equipment and crane operators in New York City. The government charged that Local 14 had been dominated by organized crime; the consent decree that settled the case provides for two court-appointed monitors armed with wide-ranging powers to eradicate corruption, establish a fair job referral system, require fair elections, and promote union democracy.

  • IAM Maine shipyard local reminds us: It’s hard to resist a repressive trusteeship

    A Federal judge peremptorily dismissed the complaint filed by members of Machinists Local S6 and upheld the trusteeship imposed by the IAM international on this 3,400-member local of shipyard workers at the Bath Iron Works in Maine. The decision is a blunt reminder of how difficult it is to resist an arbitrary trusteeship imposed by an authoritarian international upon a dissident local union; and it reveals a serious flaw in the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act.

$100 Plus Story

  • New Independent Investigator Appointed as Former Leader Convicted in The New York Carpenters District Council

    Ace reporter Tom Robbins' Village Voice article (see next page) deftly sums up the sordid history of Michael Forde's corrupt career. While under the influence of cocaine, drugs, and booze, he brazenly avoided ouster as the top officer of the huge Carpenters union until he pled guilty in July 2010. Back in 1998 and again in 2002, Forde was fined for violating the union's job referral rules. Designed to give first priority to out of work members, Federal Judge Charles S. Haight wrote that Forde's conduct "was dishonorable and revealed his personal contempt" for the job referral system.

  • Appeals Court upholds member’s right to file pre- & post-election complaint with DOL

    In Solis v. Transportation Workers Union (TWU) Local 234, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit decided in November of 2009 to overthrow a Federal District Court decision in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that had dismissed an enforcement action by the Secretary of Labor based on her finding of probable cause that Local 234 of the Transport Workers Union had violated the LMRDA in disqualifying a slate of candidates for election to union offices.

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