NYCDCC 2008 Election Results

2008-12-13T21:36:00.011-05:00

Preliminary Results

(Not counting the 161 "Challenge" Votes)

Position.......Candidate.Votes...%
Vice President..Musumeci...149...3.7%
...............Davenport...328...8.2%
.................DiLacio...498..12.5%
...................Sheil..2923..73.3%
..............(Withheld).........2.3%

President.........Todman...431..10.8%
...............Thomassen..3326..83.4%
..............(Withheld).........5.8%

EST................Forde..3573..89.6%
..............(Withheld)........10.4%

BREAKDOWN BY LOCAL

Local...........Walk-..Mail-.............%
Union.Eligible.....In.....In..Total..Voted
...20 .....659.....73.....27....100..15.2%
...45.....1898....293.....61....354..18.7%
..157.....3746....492.....70....562..15.0%
..608.....6835....912....169...1081..15.8%
..740......359.....90.....38....128..35.7%
..926.....1870....248.....54....302..16.1%
.1456.....1778....393....256....649..36.5%
.1536.....1118....343.....42....385..34.4%
.2090.....1668....134....106....240..14.4%
.2287.....1119.....90.....50....140..12.5%
.2780.....1544.....35.....12.....47...3.0%

Total....22594...3103....885...3988..17.7%

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2008-12-10T06:51:00.000-05:00

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Quotable

2008-12-10T06:13:00.000-05:00

Quotable

“The district council must demonstrate that the union’s efforts to combat corruption have reduced the frequency and scope of corrupt practices to the extent that this court is convinced that the union and its constituent locals can adequately police themselves, without further government involvement and court supervision, At the present time, the District Council has not made that showing.”--Hon. Charles S. Haight Jr. Federal District Judge Manhattan August 11, 2008

“It was disgraceful — thugs took over the meeting, the group yelled insults at Mr. Davenport and threw a roll of toilet paper at him when he was on the stage, while members of the Unity Team Administration did nothing to stop them.” --Local 608 member Eugene Clarke August 8, 2008

"There seems to be a perception that if you give your name when voicing your opinion that there will be some kind of retribution.”--District Council EST Mike Forde Summer 2007

“The assault last week on the dissident union candidate, William Davenport, undermined the union’s assertions of a change in its internal culture.”--Hon. Charles S. Haight Jr. Federal District Judge Manhattan August 8, 2008

"I urge union leaders to ensure that there would be no more beatings at candidates’ forums."--Hon. Charles S. Haight Jr. Federal District Judge Manhattan August 11, 2008

"The employers wanted the ability to hire whom they want and when they want without restriction.”--District Council Attorney Gary Rothman September 15, 2005

"This new job request system is horrible, It's among the worst things that ever happened to us. They can get guys who work for cash. They can get guys to work for less than the regular rate."--Local 608 member Gregory Butler September 15, 2008

“This internal corruption contributed to the long delay in the discovery of Tri-Built's wrongdoing. At the current stage of the investigation, it is impossible to know how many other contractors were able to cheat the District Council and the Benefit Funds with this crude but effective methodology, but I am certain that others exist.”--Independent Investigator Walter Mack June 3, 2005

“If the system remains as it currently is, I believe that it should be explained clearly to the membership so that they do not operate under the misapprehension that the out-of-work list operates to dispatch people on the basis of how long they have been on the list. The union membership deserves to have this information. I regret that I was not permitted to provide it."--Independent Investigator Walter Mack June 3, 2005

“Yes, your Honor, with the associations, it used to be that if an employee was going to be requested, he had to show that he worked for the contractor in the past six months. We took that away and said you could request a carpenter. He didn't have to work for you in the last six months.”--District Council President Pete Thomassen April 12, 2005

Thomassen testifying before judge Haight about the 2001 contract negotiations ,"We enhanced the request system for the contractors of the association, We gave them what they wanted—the unfettered right to request anyone they want from the out-of-work list.”--District Council President Pete Thomassen April 12, 2005

"The average carpenter earn's $100,000 or more per year."--District Council EST Mike Forde Spring 2007

“The membership was kept in the dark, Thomassen sold-out the carpenters in the 2001 contract negotiations. He fails to realize then and now what every carpenter in this union realizes—by changing the contract and allowing the contractor to request the entire workforce he has transformed the out-of-work list from being a major source of job opportunities for carpenters into a graveyard, where carpenters languish on a meaningless out-of-work list .”--Anonymous UBC member on Local157.blogspot June 12, 2008

"The District Council has not made the fundamental shift it needs to make in order to become an effective anti-corruption force: to change the organizational culture to one that insists on integrity and diligently pursues wrongdoers. This is an issue of leadership, plain and simple."--Independent Investigator Walter Mack October 26, 2005

“We gave ice in the winter to the contractors.” --District Council President Pete Thomassen April 12, 2005

“We find that the district court erred in concluding that the District Council was not in contempt. We remand for the entry of the Order of Contempt, and leave to the district court’s discretion the proper remedy.”--Unites States Court Of Appeals February 20, 2007

“The bribery of shop stewards and off-the-books compensation of Carpenter journeymen are made possible because the District Council has allowed the out-of-work list to be rendered meaningless."--Independent Investigator Walter Mack May 2, 2005

"We have the greatest anti-corruption program there ever was.”--District Council EST Mike Forde August, 2003

"The union’s anti-corruption program is nearly worthless.” --Independent Investigator Walter Mack June 3, 2004

"The anti-corruption committee is composed of members of the district council who do not have any formal investigative training or experience; do not have a handbook of investigative procedures or written guidelines and cannot on its own do much more than inquire into allegations of improper conduct."--Independent Investigator William Callahan December 2007

“The anti-corruption committee is also hampered by its limited resources and a lack of training which restricts its effectiveness, it has increasingly relied on my office to establish and take investigative initiatives.”--Independent Investigator William Callahan December 2007

“Massive fraud was able to continue for many years due to the union's “culture of corruption”--Independent Investigator William Callahan December 2007

“Union officers played vital roles in facilitating, enabling, or abetting the employer's frauds, by failing to supervise the job sites”--Hon. Charles S. Haight Jr. Federal District Judge Manhattan August 8, 2008

“The District Council leadership and the Anti-Corruption Committee have yet to develop fully the will, competence and dedicated perseverance to discover and root out wrongdoing on Carpenter job sites.”--Independent Investigator Walter Mack June 3, 2005

"For 1500 hours, at the new 1% formula, YOU WILL GAIN A BENEFIT."--The Unity Team Summer 2006

“This reallocation of $1 per hour from the welfare fund to the Supplemental Pension Fund is seamless to the membership and only a temporary.”--The Unity Team June 2003

“The $1.00 will be put into a "Supplemental Pension Fund" and "the trustees will monitor the funds closely and move the $1 per hour back to the welfare fund should it become necessary."--The Unity Team June 2003

"Callahan's tenure has been marked by incomplete and slow-moving investigations and virtually no new evidence of corruption.''--United States Attorney Manhattan David N. Kelley September 15, 2007

“If a member has corruption to report he should leave his name.” --District Council President Pete Thomassen May 2005

"Union representatives and officials need to understand that they will go to prison if they show no respect for the law or their duties under the Consent Decree.”--Hon. Barbara S. Jones United States District Judge May 8, 2008

“If The Unity Team can't be trusted to tell the truth about the 2001 contract, how in the world can they be trusted the our Benefit funds?--Independent Candidate for Vice President John Musumeci November 3, 2008

"UBC lawyer Brian Quinn, is drafting an answer to the questions and I should have them in a few days."--UBC Eastern District Vice President Frank Spencer April 11, 2008

“We are doing our best to cut administrative cost.”--District Council President Pete Thomassen Spring 2005

“Our pension fund is doing okay and the fund had double digits returns on its investments.”(really then why was the pension benefit cut by 30 percent in July 2006?)--District Council President Pete Thomassen Spring 2005

"The dreaded request letter which has destroyed the 50/50 provision and led to much malpractice in our industry."--Local 608 President Mike Forde December 1999

“If the members want to fight for 50/50 rights on the job, then we have to convince the contractor that all of the members coming from the out-of-work-list are qualified.”--District Council President Pete Thomassen Spring 2006

“Mr. Forde's conduct was dishonorable and revealed his personal contempt for the job-referral system and the union's agreement with the government”--Hon. Charles S. Haight Jr. Federal District Judge Manhattan September 17, 2007

“The fact that District Council auditors are assigned to determine both wage and benefit deficiencies is yet another indication that the purported distinction between the District Council and the Benefit Funds is an artificial one. It has been invoked, I believe, in order to hinder my ability to determine how and to what extent Tri-Built and possibly other contractors were able to avoid detection of their routine CBA violations for such a long time.”--Independent Investigator Walter Mack June 3, 2005

“Time and time again, when District Council representatives were confronted with their failures to detect, investigate or eradicate job site wrongdoing, their explanations were based on assumptions and investigative methods that are shallow, sloppy and ineffectual.”--Independent Investigator Walter Mack June 3, 2005

"The District Council engaged in, at least, willful ignorance of the corrupt conduct by companies like Tri-Built and On Par, which were notorious among Carpenters as "cash" companies, yet were permitted to work corruptly for years."--Independent Investigator Walter Mack October 26, 2005

2008-08-27T19:22:00.138-04:00

You're Either a Supporter of
Reform and Members Rights
or You're a Defender of
The Status Quo!

Welcome union brothers and sisters and thanks for stopping by my official John Musumeci for Vice President of The New York City District Council of Carpenters campaign blog.

If you have never participated in a union election before and are fed up with business as usual and tired of the good ol’ boy network, I urge you to join me and elect a Independent Candidate with real rank-and-file values who understands your issues, will fight for your rights, be held accountable and WORK FOR YOU!

As an Independent Candidate for Vice President you will be joining me in an historic campaign as we go up against a very formidable opponent, The Unity Team.

The Unity Team has more money, more lawyers (we have none), more resources and more paid employees in their arsenal ready to use against us.

But you know what…We are going to Win!

You know why? Superior ideas, superior issues and thousands of like minded brothers and sisters like you who are ready for change, fed up with the status quo and unafraid to speak out.

There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men armed with virtual clubs will soon be on their way hired to hack into this site in an attempt to silence you.

Why? Because words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth.

And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this Union, isn't there?

The membership has been deceived, corrupted, mislead and denied fundamental democratic rights. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have systems coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission.

So if you've seen nothing, if the crimes of The Unity Team as I have outlined below, remain unknown to you, then I would suggest you allow this Election Day to pass unmarked.

But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, as we spread our message of reform to every member of every local of every background, then I ask you to stand beside me on December 12 and 13, outside the New York City District Council, and together we shall give The Unity Team an Election Day that shall never, ever be forgotten!

Fraternally,

John Musumeci

PS: Help spread the word! Email your friends and co-workers and invite them to visit this site. Explore the links above and below, read my official mail out, campaign speech and check out my videos below. Blogs like this have given union members a voice and the ability to share ideas and make change possible. Check back everyday, comment on the issues and meet with other supporters just like you that are leading the way to an Independent Victory!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

BARGAINED AWAY THE JOB REFERRAL RULES

VIOLATED NYCDC BYLAWS

OBSTRUCTED AN INVESTIGATION

FOUND GUILTY OF CONTEMPT

DEMONSTRATED THEY CANNOT COMBAT CORRUPTION

TRIPLED YOUR ASSESSMENTS

SPENT MILLIONS OF YOUR DOLLARS ON LAWYER FEES

CUT YOUR PENSION BENEFIT BY 26 PERCENT

DECEIVED YOU WITH A SUPPLEMENTAL PENSION FUND

THE CHOICE IS CLEAR

2008-08-27T19:20:00.025-04:00

Supplemental Pension Fund

Unity Team Jaws

Unity Team Contempt Charge

Blue Card - Truth and Lies

Election Message

Fair Deal - Who Are You

Musumeci Gains National Exposure

2008-08-26T21:22:00.016-04:00

***The Choice is Clear!***

If you want change in our union,
if you are tired of the status quo,
if you hope for a better District Council,
then I am asking for your VOTE.

*****ELECT*****

INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE

****JOHN MUSUMECI****

***DISTRICT COUNCIL***

***VICE PRESIDENT***

2008-08-26T20:19:00.064-04:00

A Union is only as Strong as its Members!

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

I want to take this opportunity to let you know why your vote in the 2008 District Council election is crucial to both your future and the future of the NYCDC. It is clear from the Unity Team's actions over the past eight years that they have not told the truth about the 2001 contract negotiations and have not represented the best interest of the hard working carpenters who make up the majority of this union.

The Unity Team sold-out the carpenters in the 2001 contract negotiations when they "bargained away" the job referral rules and gave the contractor what they wanted—The unfettered right to "request" anyone they want from the out-of-work list! The Unity Team negotiated this shocking contract change without notifying or seeking the approval of the 15-member negotiating team, the 88-member elected delegate body, the rank-and-file who were expressly opposed to the "contractor request" and the federal government who has oversight supervision.

The Unity Team clearly violated their oath of office and more importantly the trust of the membership they claim to represent. The NYCDC Bylaws plainly state, the "delegate body" has final approval on all contracts. Yet The Unity Team failed to seek consent and failed to disclose this disastrous contract change, to the elected delegates.

The theft of decision-making power from the elected delegate body that is charged with approving all contracts is unconscionable!

This contract change has rendered the 50/50 rule meaningless and has turned the out-of-work list into an absurd paperwork dance, where "non requested" carpenters languish on a phony out-of-work-list!

The Unity Team's violation of office didn't stop with our contracts. They permitted—even after being informed, the exploitation of carpenters by corrupt contractors, which were notoriously known as "cash" companies to defraud our welfare and pension funds out of tens of millions of dollars for years!

In November of 2004 the Unity Team obstructed an investigation of corrupt district council employees who were destroying shop stewards reports for cash payoffs by corrupt contractors in an effort to defraud our benefit funds. Former Independent Investigator, Walter Mack was hindered (and later fired) in his ability to determine how and to what extent these contractors were able to avoid detection of their routine CBA violations for such a long time. To date the full extent of this corruption is unknown!

More recently, on February 20, 2007 after years of costly ligation, The Unity Team was found GUILTY OF CONTEMPT by the United States Court Of Appeals for violating provisions of the Consent Decree when they eviscerated the job referral rules with the 2001 contract change, which has encouraged job site corruption by "cash" contractors!

Even more recently, on August 11, 2008 citing continued corruption, Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. of Federal District Court in Manhattan wrote, The Unity Team "has not demonstrated they can combat corruption and adequately police themselves without further government involvement and court supervision."

The Unity Team has spent millions of YOUR hard earned dollars on lawyer fees, sucking the lifeblood from our treasury defending their corrupt actions. On their watch, council spending soared some 163 percent, from $19 million in '99 to almost $50 million this year! Outrageous, It’s time we march on the council in protest!

To pay for this massive overspending the Unity Team has TRIPLED our assessments and supports plans to take even more of YOUR hard earn money after the election. Of course denying you a membership vote!

The Unity Team has cut YOUR pension benefit by an astounding 26% as they increased their pension benefit!

In 2003 The Unity Team DECEIVED you and took $1 dollar an hour out of YOUR pocket and put it into a creation they call "a supplement pension fund" that has cost you over $11 thousand in lost wages, money that could have been better used to assist your families as you struggle to pay for rising fuel, food and educational expenses!

Carpenters are working harder and producing more. What did we get for it? Sold-out, zero accountability, less jobs, a phony out-of-work list, more corruption, smaller health care and pension benefits, higher council spending, higher council salaries and the BIGGEST DUES INCREASE in the history of the carpenters union!

Clearly, The Unity Team has abused their office with moral failings, corrupt acts and is out of touch with the middle class working membership they claim to represent.

The Unity Team has forgotten who they work for! They are more in touch with the views of the contractor bosses that they cozy up to at lavish golf outings and expensive dinner parties then the views of the hard working brothers and sisters who strap on the tools every day and make up this union.

The Unity Team thinks they can continue to deceive and pull the wool over our eyes because they thought you wouldn't have a choice in this election cycle… They were wrong!

I am proud to say that you now have a choice. As a UBC member for over twenty years and an elected delegate to the District Council for eight years, I have decided to challenge the Unity Team as an Independent Candidate for the office of Vice President of The NYC District Council of Carpenters.

I, of course, will need your help. Your vote for me on December 12th and 13th, 2008 will send a clear and loud message to the Unity Team that this union belongs to the rank-and-file and,—We will not just pay our dues, be fooled into following their empty campaign promises, back-room deals, dishonesty and just SHUT UP!

You will have the opportunity in the 2008 December election to elect an Independent Candidate with real rank-and-file values who will ensure that your issues are in the forefront of the halls of union policies, including real democratic union reforms (see my official blog for details) that offer an opportunity to all.

If you have never participated in a union election before and you are fed up with "business as usual" and tired of the good ol' boy network, I urge you to join my campaign and come out and vote for an Independent Candidate who understands the issues and will fight for your rights, be held accountable and WORK FOR YOU!

Abraham Lincoln said, "You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time."

My Fellow UBC members our mission is clear. We are going to take our campaign message of reform to every member of every local of every background. If you want change in our union, if you are tired of the status quo, if you hope for a better District Council, then I am asking for your VOTE.

Come join our cause and help elect an Independent Candidate the next Vice President of the District Council. This time, your vote can and will make a real difference. This time don't allow yourself to be intimidated and fooled again. This time do not reward your vote with leaders who violated your trust.

God bless you, and God bless our Union,

John Musumeci

PS: Visit my Official Interactive blog at nycdistrictcouncil.blogspot.com and join the Internet Brigade. It’s time...We The People, Stand up and Fight, you have the power of the vote, USE IT!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

Supplement Pension Fund

2008-08-26T19:14:00.028-04:00

Brothers and Sisters the truth is we are really being misled and not being told the truth about our pension fund. We should demand a Full Independent Investigation and a Full Independent Accounting reported to the membership.

In 2003 The Unity Team DECEIVED you and took $1 dollar an hour out of YOUR pocket and put it into a creation they call "a supplement pension fund" that has cost you over $11 thousand dollars in lost wages, money that could have been better used to assist your families as you struggle to pay for rising fuel and food prices!

The supplemental pension fund should be eliminated and either the $1 dollar an hour is credited to the real “pension fund” or returned back to the membership's pocket!

History Lesson 101

In June of 2003, Unity Team President Peter Thomassen addressed the delegate body on the status of our benefit funds. He told the delegates “our welfare fund was doing so well that the trustees have decided beginning July 1, 2003 to reduced the hourly contributions in the welfare fund by $1 per hour and reallocate the $1 per hour into the pension fund."

Thomassen also stated “this reallocation of $1 per hour from the welfare fund to the pension fund is seamless to the membership and only a temporary measure as a way to infuse some extra money into the pension fund to help build up the pension fund assets.”

He also stated that the $1 per hour increase into the pension fund “will not increase the pension fund pay-out to members."

The $1.00 will be put into a "Supplemental Pension Fund" and "the trustees will monitor the funds closely and move the $1 per hour back to the welfare fund should it become necessary."

Fast Forward to July 2004:

The Unity Team now informs the delegate body the welfare fund surplus is all gone (because $1 was taken out in June 2003). The Unity Team recommends putting $1.00 per hour out of a $2.82 per hour carpenter raise received on July 1, 2004 into the welfare fund to increase funding.

It is at that point, what was said to be "temporary and seamless" to the members in 2003 has now become permanent and seamed in 2004!

Remember the Unity Team said in July of 2003, "the $1 per hour welfare fund surplus that was moved out of the welfare fund and into the supplemental pension fund is temporary and seamless to the members, and we will move the $1 per hour back to the welfare fund should it become necessary."

The $1 dollar an hour supplemental pension benefit is now taken out of your pocket with the pay raise on July 1, 2004, and is costing you thousands of dollars per year in lost wages without any pension benefit!

Question: Why wasn't the $1 per hour moved back to the welfare fund "should it become necessary", as was promised in June of 2003?

Fast forward to April 2005:

Unity Team President Peter Thomassen says “that our pension fund is doing okay and the fund had double digits returns on its investments.”

He also said carpenters hours last year total about 16 million and that although the $1.00 per hour in the “supplemental pension fund” helps ($1 x 16M hours = $16M) it’s “really insignificant when you’re talking about a 1 billion dollar fund.”

Question: If the pension fund is doing “OKAY” in 2005, why was the pension benefit CUT 26 PERCENT in 2006?

Question: If the $1.00 per hour in the “supplemental pension fund” is "really insignificant when you’re talking about a 1 billion dollar fund," why is it still in the supplemental pension fund and not returned to the member's pocket, where it belongs?

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

Union Thugs Beat Member for Disagreeing With Party Line

2008-08-26T19:13:00.004-04:00

August 5, 2008--Members of the carpenters union in New York City have ruined any chance that authorities there will take their union out of government oversight by beating unconscious William Davenport, a union brother running for District Council Delegate.

After an August 5 Local 608 candidates forum, the candidate was beaten by members of the audience outside a church. Outside a CHURCH!

This thuggery along with continued indictments, convictions and corruption convinced Judge Charles S. Haight, Jr. not to release the union from government oversight.

The assault last week on the dissident union candidate, William Davenport, undermined the union’s assertions of a change in its internal culture. Mr. Davenport, according to several accounts, was heckled when he spoke at the union meeting, which was attended by about 500 members. Despite the presence of two retired police detectives hired to maintain order, a group of men stood up in the front rows and screamed, while members of the Unity Teams Administration did nothing to stop them.

“It was disgraceful — thugs took over the meeting,” said the dissident, Eugene Clarke, a member for 49 years. Mr. Clarke, who did not see the assault, said the group yelled insults at Mr. Davenport and threw a roll of toilet paper at him when he was on the stage.

In any case, the carpenters are outta luck to get control of their union back. Judge Haight cited federal criminal cases brought against the construction contractors On Par, Boom Construction and Tri-Built, which prosecutors said had saved on wages and benefit payments by employing carpenters off the books, with shop stewards often being bribed to turn a blind eye to the practice.

Judge Haight wrote that the shop stewards and other union officials “played vital roles in facilitating, enabling or abetting the employers’ fraud” by failing to supervise job sites or keep track of hours worked.

In the meantime, the corrupt, mob infested, thug populated New York City District Council will stay under the control of government watchdogs. Good thing, too.

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

Judge Continues Oversight of the Carpenters’ Union

2008-08-26T19:12:00.009-04:00

The New York Times August 11, 2008--Citing continued corruption, a federal judge has ordered a one-year extension of government oversight of the New York City carpenters’ union, which has spent 14 years under supervision.

Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. of Federal District Court in Manhattan pointed to widespread off-the-books work and the bribery convictions of several shop stewards in ordering the extension in a decision issued on Friday. Under the government’s supervision, Judge Haight and an independent investigator oversee the union.

The union, the New York City District Council of Carpenters, which represents 25,000 carpenters, had asked Judge Haight to end the supervision, saying that the union was no longer under the influence of the Genovese crime family. The union signed a consent decree in 1994 agreeing to court-appointed supervision after federal prosecutors filed a civil racketeering lawsuit alleging that organized crime figures held sway over the union and assigned mob-linked workers to high-paying and no-show jobs at many sites, including the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.

The carpenters’ request to end supervision was undercut last week when a dissident candidate in a union election was harassed and assaulted at a candidates’ forum that was held in the auditorium of a Catholic school in Manhattan.

According to witnesses and accounts provided to the union’s independent investigator, the candidate was beaten unconscious outside after the meeting on Aug. 5 by a group of men who had been yelling during the forum.

On Monday, in response to the assault, Judge Haight issued a memorandum urging union leaders to ensure that there would be no more beatings at candidates’ forums. He also directed the union and the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan to inform him of the results of a Labor Department investigation into the attack.

Judge Haight rejected the union’s assertion that the standard for ending court-ordered supervision should be whether mob control of the union had ended. The judge, accepting the arguments of the United States attorney’s office, instead concluded that the standard should be whether all forms of corruption and labor racketeering had been eradicated.

Judge Haight cited federal criminal cases brought against the construction contractors On Par, Boom Construction and Tri-Built, which prosecutors said had saved on wages and benefit payments by employing carpenters off the books, with shop stewards often being bribed to turn a blind eye to the practice. The contractors paid far less into the health and pension funds than they were supposed to, prosecutors said.

The judge also noted that rank-and-file carpenters had reported serious corruption earlier this decade. Investigators later found that out-of-work political supporters of union leaders were frequently allowed to jump the job-referral line and were assigned jobs before many carpenters who had been out of work longer.

In asking that supervision be continued, the United States attorney’s office cited a “culture of corruption that continues to impede efforts to fight that corruption.”

But Judge Haight accused federal prosecutors of “hyperventilation” about the extent of corruption. He wrote that the “outer and visible signs of organized crime influence have been significantly reduced” and that the union officials and Genovese family members involved in corruption in the early 1990s have “departed.”

He said he took the advice of William Callahan, the union’s independent investigator, who said an important test for ending the supervision was that the union “will be able to police itself without court and government supervision.”

Judge Haight concluded that this was not the case. “The record,” he wrote, “makes clear that massive job-site corruption was taking place from the 1990s through 2006.” He also pointed to a recent indictment alleging that the Genovese family had the ability to manipulate the district council, local unions and certain contractors through early 2004.

While praising the union’s reforms, including changes in the job-referral system, the judge wrote, “It is too early to tell whether recent reforms will achieve the purpose of showing whether the union can police itself without supervision.”

He also asked whether the union’s internal culture could change so that rank-and-file carpenters would no longer be scared to speak out about corruption.

“The district council (Unity Team) must demonstrate that the union’s efforts to combat corruption have reduced the frequency and scope of corrupt practices to the extent that this court is convinced that the union and its constituent locals can adequately police themselves, without further government involvement and court supervision,” Judge Haight concluded. “At the present time, the district council has not made that showing.”

The assault last week on the dissident union candidate, William Davenport, undermined the union’s assertions of a change in its internal culture. Mr. Davenport, according to several accounts, was heckled when he spoke at the union meeting, which was attended by about 500 members. Despite the presence of two retired police detectives hired to maintain order, a group of men stood up in the front rows and screamed, according to one longtime union dissident who was there.

When candidates running on the slate of an incumbent, John Greaney, spoke, the crowd was less raucous, Mr. Clarke said.

In a separate decision issued on Friday, Judge Haight rejected the United States attorney’s request to replace Mr. Callahan as the independent investigator.

The government said that Mr. Callahan had not been aggressive enough in unearthing corruption. But Judge Haight said he was satisfied with Mr. Callahan’s performance saying that Mr. Callahan, like his predecessor, Walter Mack, was working diligently to ferret out job-site corruption.

Judge Haight said corruption had declined, thanks in part to Mr. Callahan and Mr. Mack, but too much remained. For that reason, he chose to extend Mr. Callahan’s term for two years.

In a telephone interview on Tuesday, Mr. Callahan called it “an important decision that reaffirms our credibility.”

Click here to read the full court order.

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

Contractor Sues District Council For $100M

2008-08-26T19:12:00.000-04:00

Here it is for your reading pleasure; members have been emailing me requesting that I post the On Par lawsuit. Click here for PDF file.

On Par Contracting has filed a $100 million dollar lawsuit against the NYC District Council of Carpenters on April 2, 2008 alleging among other things that the District Council has allowed its officers to utilize a corrupt scheme whereby preferential treatment was given to certain companies in exchange for secret payoffs and knowingly permitted its officers to participate in a conspiracy to manipulate and corrupt the job referral system.

Job Rules of Carpenters' Union Encourage Corruption, U.S. Charges

2008-08-26T19:06:00.003-04:00

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE The New York Times
Published: September 15, 2005

Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to hold New York City's carpenters' union in contempt for changing the union's job referral system without government approval, arguing that the changes will encourage more corruption.

The United States attorney in Manhattan, David N. Kelley, said in a motion that in changing the job referral system, the New York City District Council of Carpenters violated a consent decree it signed in 1994 in response to a federal effort to eliminate corruption. Prosecutors said the union was dominated by the Genovese crime family, and it was widely criticized for letting mob bosses pick carpenters to put up and take down displays at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. The consent decree requires the district council, which represents nearly 25,000 carpenters, to obtain federal approval before changing its job referral system.

In court papers made public this week, Mr. Kelley argued that the changes give construction contractors far more leeway to hire whichever carpenters they want, irrespective of length of unemployment. The old system generally required them first to hire the carpenters who had been unemployed the longest.

Prosecutors say corruption will be easier under the new system because contractors will have more power to pressure unemployed carpenters to do their bidding.

"Because contractors can handpick virtually 100 percent of the work force at a job site, carpenters are now beholden to contractors for job opportunities," Mr. Kelley wrote. "Carpenters who are at the mercy of employers for job assignments know that if they stand up for the enforcement of union rules or legal requirements or refuse to work off the books or for cash when asked by a contractor, they run the risk of being laid off."

Many contractors prefer paying workers off the books, he said, to avoid paying fringe benefits and to hide evidence that wages are below those required by the union contract.

Mr. Kelley filed the contempt motion last month with Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. of United States District Court in Manhattan, who oversees the consent decree. The government also wants the district council's president, Peter Thomassen, cited for contempt. The union has until October to file its response.

Gary Rothman, a lawyer for the council, defended the revamped system, saying it was part of a contract, signed in 2001, that is good for the city's carpenters.

"The employers wanted the ability to hire whom they want and when they want without restriction, and the union got a good deal out of it," Mr. Rothman said. "They got a 25¾ percent increase over five years. That was a magnificent contract. The journeyman carpenter makes over $70 an hour with benefits."

Mr. Rothman questioned why prosecutors filed their contempt motion four years after the contract was signed. He defended Mr. Thomassen, saying he was just one member of a 20-person negotiating team.

The United States attorney's office declined to elaborate on the motion.

Many rank-and-file carpenters say the current job referral system is unfair because it has left many of them unemployed for months at a time, while favored carpenters find steady work.

"This new job request system is horrible," said Gregory Butler, a Harlem resident who has been in the union for 13 years. "It's among the worst things that ever happened to us. They can get guys who work for cash. They can get guys to work for less than the regular rate."

Under union rules, companies must hire half of their carpenters from the union's out-of-work list. Before 2001 employers also had the right to give priority to unemployed workers who had worked for them in the previous six months.

But now employers can hire virtually anyone they want off the out-of-work list.

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

Tripled Your Assessment

2008-08-26T19:04:00.028-04:00

To pay for their massive overspending The Unity Team has TRIPLED your assessments and supports plans to take even more of YOUR hard earn money after the election. Of course denying you a membership vote!

History Lesson 101:

In 1977 the membership of the New York City District Council VOTED on and passed a referendum which ask for a $0.15 assessment on hours worked to be payable to the District council.

In December of 1988 the membership of the New York City District Council again VOTED on and passed a referendum which ask for the elimination of the $0.15 assessment on hours worked to be replaced with a 1% assessment on hours you have worked.

A mail out was sent to all members explaining the need for the 1% assessment saying "this will allow us to enter the 21st century as a strong, viable District Council dedicated to improving your standard of living."

This 1% assessment served our District Council well for over twelve years and past administrations were fiscally responsible and held their spending budget to the 1% assessment.

As we all know the revenue the council receives from the 1% assessment, increases their budget each time we receive a wage increase or an increase in hours worked for the year.

In June of 2000 after being in office for only six months--The Unity Team called a special call meeting of the Delegate Body to consider a resolution for a proposed "NEW", $0.30 an hour "working dues" payable to the District Council. The new dues would be in addition to the 1% union assessment on hours worked the district council already collects.

The Unity Team DID NOT seek a VOTE of the membership for their proposed “working dues increase” like past administrations. Instead the Unity Team hires expensive smart lawyers to find loop holes with YOUR money to get around any membership VOTE.

The Unity Team always acting in less than honest ways and always denying the membership any democratic rights called this additional assessment a “working dues increase” which allowed them to bypass the membership VOTE and instead call for a delegate body VOTE, which the outcome can be controlled.

At the time of this new dues increase Unity Team President Peter Thomassen said “This is probably the best thing we have ever done as a membership because we are in a booming economy. Most members are working and we are planning for our future.”

Fast Forward to January 1, 2007:

The Unity Team again called a special call meeting of the Delegate Body to consider a resolution for a proposed $0.60 an hour “working dues” payable to the District Council, doubling the $0.30 per hour increase of 2000 that we were told was "planning for our future!"

Again the Unity Team denied any VOTE by the membership instead telling us that this additional dues money will make us "stronger."

On their watch, council spending soared some 163 percent, from $19 million in '99 to over $50 million this year! This is Outrageous and it’s time we march on the council in protest!

In the past eight years the Unity Team has TRIPLED our assessments with NO membership VOTE or ACCOUNTABILITY, this is not the way our council should be governed!

Balancing the budget and acting fiscally responsible with members money went from a core principle of past administrations to lip service of the tax and spend Unity Team. Its time to cut spending across the board and reduce our budget.

We should demand an end to the system by which Assessments and Dues are imposed on members without their review. We endorse the right of members to vote for or against any assessments or dues proposed. Before any such vote, we propose 1. That the full and accurate terms of any assessments or dues be reported to the membership far enough in advance of the vote to permit intelligent review, and 2. That provisions be made for democratic discussion of the proposed Assessments and Dues.

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

Obstructed An Investigation Of Corrupt Council Employees

2008-08-26T19:01:00.018-04:00

In November of 2004 The Unity Team obstructed an investigation by former Independent Investigator, Walter Mack (pictured) of corrupt district council employees who were destroying shop stewards reports for cash payoffs by corrupt contractors in an effort to defraud our benefit funds.

Walter Mack was hindered (and later fired) in his ability to determine how and to what extent these contractors were able to avoid detection of their routine CBA violations for such a long time. To date the full extent of this corruption is unknown!

On June 3, 2005 Walter Mack filed a report on Tri-Built Construction, Inc. a corrupt drywall contractor that operated in New York City and Long Island. Because of Walter Mack's investigation Tri-Builts owners were each sentenced to five years in federal prison on July 10, 2008 for conspiring to defraud the Carpenters Union benefit funds of millions of dollars.

Patrick Noel McCaul and James Dermot McGonnel were indicted in December 2006 and pleaded guilty on Nov. 20, 2007.

McCaul and McConnel admitted that from 1993 through May 2004, they conspired to defraud the Carpenters Union and its benefit funds by paying workers cash, at non-union rates, without any benefits or tax withholdings. They also employed non-union carpenters in violation of their agreement with the union. These practices enabled McCaul and McGonnell to underbid jobs, knowing that Tri-Built never intended to comply with its collective bargaining and prevailing wage obligations. To avoid detection of their fraud, the defendants bribed Carpenters Union shop stewards to submit false reports, under-reporting the true number of carpenters and hours worked on several Tri-Built jobsites.

McCaul and McGonnell also paid a then-employee of the Carpenters Union benefit funds to destroy internal union records that might reveal the fraud if an audit of Tri-Built were conducted by the union. They diverted at least $6.5 million from the union benefit funds through their fraudulent conduct.

Below are exerts from the Walter Mack's June 5, 2005 report:

The following report to the Court, my fifth report as Independent Investigator ("II") for the District Council of New York City and Vicinity of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners ("the District Council"), summarizes the findings to date of my investigation into one contractor’s practice of paying cash, "off the books," to a large number of Carpenters it employed. It is critical to note that the findings discussed in this report are not complete and it is imperative, in my view, that an outside investigator pursue the subjects raised in this report with vigor and without further delay. I am hopeful that my successor can ascertain the full nature and extent of the corruption that permitted Tri-Built Construction, Inc. (“Tri-Built”) to pay many of its Carpenters off the books for years, evading detection despite a cash payment methodology that invited discovery.

Unlike Boom Construction, Inc., which I examined in a report originally submitted on April 15 Tri-Built did not always bribe Carpenter shop stewards in its employ to omit from the shop steward reports the names and/or hours of Carpenters working for the company. Although Tri-Built's owners did bribe at least three shop stewards to keep some Carpenters' names off shop steward reports, they also paid an estimated $150,000 to a person or persons associated with the District Council's Benefit Funds, to arrange for the removal or modification of shop steward reports from District Council files.

This internal corruption contributed to the long delay in the discovery of Tri-Built's wrongdoing. At the current stage of the investigation, it is impossible to know how many other contractors were able to cheat the District Council and the Benefit Funds with this crude but effective methodology, but I am certain that others exist.

Unfortunately, I have been stymied in my attempts to explore how and with whose assistance a corrupt employee would be able to remove shop steward reports from the District Council’s offices.

The union membership deserves to have this information. I regret that I was not permitted to provide it, and I hope that my successor accepts this responsibility.

To read Walter Mack's full Tri-Built Report click here .

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

Spent Millions Of Your Dollars On Lawyer Fees

2008-08-26T19:00:00.009-04:00

The Unity Team has spent millions of YOUR hard earned dollars on lawyer fees, sucking the lifeblood from our treasury defending their corrupt action's!

On their watch, council spending soared some 163 percent, from $19 million in '99 to over $50 million this year! Outrageous, It’s time we march on the council in protest!

Its time to stop the madness!

The Unity Team has tripled our assessments over the past eight years, and supports plans to take even more of your hard earn money after the election to pay for their over spending. The District Council must learn to live on a budget just like every member in this union. Spending must be cut across the board and a large share of that revenue returned back to where it belongs-- directly to the membership of this union.

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

Excerpts from Mr. Thomassen – Direct Testimony page 287/288 April 12,2005

2008-08-26T18:53:00.003-04:00

Excerpts from Mr. Thomassen – Direct Testimony page 287/288 April 12,2005

Read for yourself what The Unity Team does not want you to know. The following is an exchange of testimony by Judge Haigh and President Thomassen on April 12, 2005. Here we learn for the first time —that the Unity Team “bargained away” the job referral rules and gave the contractor what they wanted—The unfettered right to “request” anyone they want from the out-of-work list!

QUESTION THE COURT: I take it by what you intend to convey by your last answer, that in the most recent negotiation with the association of contractors with whom you negotiate a collective bargaining agreement, you relaxed or gave something up. Did you give something up on the 50-50 rule? Did you grant them greater liberty than they otherwise had had in the past with respect to their ability to request individual carpenters? Is that what was going on?

ANSWER MR.THOMASSEN: Yes, your Honor, with the associations, it used to be that if an employee was going to be requested, he had to show that he worked for the contractor in the past six months. We took that away and said you could request a carpenter. He didn't have to work for you in the last six months.

To read the full transcript click here.

The Unity Team sold-out the carpenters in the 2001 contract negotiations when they "bargained away" the job referral rules and gave the contractor what they wanted—The unfettered right to "request" anyone they want from the out-of-work list! The Unity Team negotiated this shocking contract change without notifying or seeking the approval of the 15-member negotiating team, the 88-member elected delegate body, the rank-and-file who were expressly opposed to the "contractor request" and the federal government who has oversight supervision.

The Unity Team clearly violated their oath of office and more importantly the trust of the membership they claim to represent. The NYCDC Bylaws plainly state, the "delegate body" has final approval on all contracts. Yet The Unity Team failed to seek consent and failed to disclose this disastrous contract change, to the elected delegates.

The theft of decision-making power from the elected delegate body that is charged with approving all contracts is unconscionable!

This contract change has rendered the 50/50 rule meaningless and has turned the out-of-work list into an absurd paperwork dance, where "non requested" carpenters languish on a phony out-of-work-list!

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

IT'S TIME FOR ANGER

2008-08-26T18:43:00.051-04:00

The Unity Team sold-out the carpenters in the 2001 contract negotiations when they "bargained away" the job referral rules and gave the contractor what they wanted—The unfettered right to "request" anyone they want from the out-of-work list!

The Unity Team negotiated this shocking contract change without notifying or seeking the approval of the 15-member negotiating team, the 88-member elected delegate body, the rank-and-file who were expressly opposed to the contractor request and the federal government who has oversight supervision.

The Unity Team had absolutely no constitutional authority to bargaining away the job referral rules.

They have abused their authority, violated their oath of office, violated the 1994 Consent Decree and more importantly violated the trust of the membership they claim to represent.

The NYCDC Bylaws plainly state, the "delegate body" has final approval on all contracts. Yet The Unity Team failed to seek consent and failed to disclose this disastrous contract change, to the elected delegates.

The theft of decision-making power from the elected delegate body that is charged with approving all contracts is unconscionable!

Bargaining away the job referral rules has given rise to the "contractor request" which has caused tremendous damage and corruption. The out-of-work list has been turned into an absurd paperwork dance, where "non-requested" carpenters languish on a phony out-of-work-list and the 50/50 rule as we had known it has been rendered meaningless.

The Unity Team now has the nerve to tell the thousands of "non-requested" carpenters that languish on this phony out-of-work list, to become a "certified worker" so that "you are the union carpenter contractors' request!" It's outrageous!

This "certified worker" nonsense is all showboating and posturing for judge Haight who is being deceived just like the rest of us on what is really going on.

This is not some political theory here—real people are getting hurt, lives are being dramatically affected.

The Unity Team should be held accountable for their abuse of power!

This phony out-of-work list system is a misnomer. This system should be explained clearly to the membership so that they do not operate under the misapprehension that the out-of-work list operates to dispatch people on the basis of how long they have been on the list or what certification’s you have.

In the Unity Team world anyone showing anger and passion is deemed to be "out of control." You must appear to be calm and cool. Sometimes calm and cool doesn't cut it. There is a time for anger. That time is now.

History Lesson 101:

December of 1999, as our council emerged from International supervision, The Unity Team, among other things, campaigns against the "contractor request" promising to eliminated if elected!

May of 2001, John Greaney, Local 608’s President/business manager mailed questionnaires to the Local’s membership to ascertain its views on issues relevant to the collective bargaining. Greaney learned through compiling data from completed questionnaires that the members wanted to “eliminate the contractor request”, Greaney then presented his membership’s “collective sentiment” to The Unity Team, but the change was not made.

June 2001, The Unity Team "bargained away" the job referral rules in the 2001 contract negotiations without notifying or seeking the approval of the 15-member negotiating team, the 88-member elected delegate body, the rank-and-file and the federal government who has oversight supervision.

November 5, 2004, former Independent Investigator, Walter Mack filed a report on the 50/50 Rule and Request System. Mack concluded that the “current request system reduces the out-of-work-list into a paperwork dance with little value to anyone but the contractors who can select the Carpenters they want to work for them.”

April 12, 2005, we learn for the VERY FIRST TIME, the disastrous 2001 contract change made by The Unity Team. Unity Team President Peter Thomassen, testifying before judge Haight (click to read testimony) about the 2001 contract negotiations said "we enhanced the request system for the contractors of the association". We gave them what they wanted—the unfettered "right to request" anyone they want from the out-of-work list.

July 2005, After learning the truth about the 2001 contract negotiations, a member of the 2001 negotiating committee commented "no one ever informed me about the change in the job referral rules, I was shocked to find out about it."

September 15, 2005, Federal prosecutors ask judge Haight to hold The Unity Team in contempt for changing the union's job referral system without government approval, arguing that the changes will encourage more corruption.

December 2005, As The Unity Team campaigns for re-election and as the truth about the 2001 contract becomes more know to the membership, The Unity Team promises to fix the job referral rules and address the "contractor request" issue.

February 20, 2007, after years of costly ligation, The Unity Team was found GUILTY OF CONTEMPT by the United States Court Of Appeals for violating provisions of the Consent Decree when they eviscerated the job referral rules with the 2001 contract change, which has encouraged job site corruption by "cash" contractors!

August 11, 2008, citing continued corruption, Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. of Federal District Court in Manhattan wrote, The Unity Team "has not demonstrated they can combat corruption and adequately police themselves without further government involvement and court supervision."

October 24, 2008, Federal District Judge Charles S. Haight has scheduled a hearing. The Court will hear oral arguments on the issue of remedy for the contempt charge against The Unity Team. Click for transcript of hearing

For more read Independent Investigator Walter Macks November 5, 2004 report about the 50/50 rule and the request system.

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

Transcript Speech

2008-08-26T18:11:00.116-04:00

Thank you Mr. Chairman, Brothers and Sisters

Tonight I will be telling you a story of

Abuse of power,

violation of office,

violation of a court ordered Consent Decree

and betrayal of trust of the membership

(pause)

I am in favor of the membership voting on all contracts and assessments.

(pause)

Every major union in the country has this fundamental democratic right written into their by-laws.

My opponent is opposed to a membership vote.

My opponent will tell you we have a representative democracy,

a system where the membership elects delegates to speak and vote for you.

Having been an elected delegate for eight years,

I am here to tell you that the system has failed you.

(pause)

In the 2001 contract negotiations The Unity Team "bargained away" the job referral rules.

For those of you that don't know

our union has been under government oversight since 1994

The job referral rules is a court ordered reform to

implement a fair hiring system which distributes job

opportunities to carpenters from the out-of-work-list

on the basis of how long they are unemployed.

(pause)

The Unity Team had absolutely no constitutional or legal authority to bargain the job referral rule away.

(pause)

Our Bylaws plainly state, the "delegate body" has final approval on all contracts.

Yet your elected delegates never voted for this contract change.

(pause)

Why? Because The Unity Team stole the Vote from the delegates.

It was not until September 15, 2005 in a NY Times article that we learned of this unconscionable deceit.

(pause)

Now my opponent is going to tell you

that what I am saying never happened, never existed.

He is going to tell you

everything was "explained and spelled out."

(pause)

I have challenged my opponent ten times to show us the Carpenter Magazine

where you clearly explained and spelled out to the membership that the job referral rules were bargained away

and replaced with a "new system" where contractors handpick 100 percent of the work force.

(pause)

On February 20, 2007 after years of costly litigation The Unity Team was found GUILTY OF CONTEMPT by the United States Court Of Appeals for illegally bargaining away the job referral rules.

(pause)

Last month The Unity Team was in court arguing that bargaining away the job referral rules was

"Good for the Carpenters... but was bad in its execution."

(pause)

The consequence of their willful deceit is still to be determined by federal judge Haight.

(pause)

The Unity Team has spent millions of YOUR dollars defending their corrupt actions.

To pay for their deceit they Tripled Your Assessments giving you the BIGGEST DUES INCREASE in the history of the carpenters union,

and they support plans (anyone say Blue Card) to take even more of YOUR money after the election.

Of course denying you a membership vote!

(pause)

My opponent is going to tell you

they did nothing wrong,

(pause)

Yet they were found guilty of contempt

for illegally bargaining away the job referral rules.

Judge Haight is charged by the court of appeals

to find a remedy to the action

the Unity Team says does not exist.

(pause)

On July 1, 2006 The Unity Team CUT the Carpenters pension benefit by 26% and told them it was an increase!

(pause)

My opponent has now admitted

that your pension was cut,

because I raised the issue.

He will say of course we cut the pension.

As "trustees it’s our job to make tough decisions.

“And when we make those tough decisions

We are going to be honest and tell you.”

(pause)

I challenged my opponent, ten times

Don’t just tell us…show us the Carpenter Magazine (hold up)

Right here Right now,

For the record

where you

honestly and clearly explained

those tough decisions

to the membership of this union.

(pause)

Sadly You cannot, because in both of these examples

you have misled and deceived the membership.

(pause)

If The Unity Team can't be trusted to tell the truth about the 2001 contract and the 2006 Cut in our pension,

how in the world can they be trusted with two billion dollars in assets?

(pause)

Because my opponent cannot defeat the facts of what i am saying

he has raised a false issues

in an attempt to mislead and distract you

which I would like to address

(pause)

You will hear that the General President removed me from office.

This is Nonsense

My opponent likes to use the word removed to imply some type of wrong doing on my part.

For the record

No allegations or charges of wrong doing were ever made against me.

The fact is Local 157 was placed under trusteeship

As a result of being under trusteeship

all local meetings even our Christmas party was suspended,

all elected officers were suspended.

(pause)

EST Forde confirms what I am telling you

in a letter dated December 5, 2007 to the membership of Local 157.

Let me quote from that letter

“There are normal procedures applied by the UBC in cases of trusteeship. To stabilize the situation and enable the supervisors to fully evaluate the locals state of affairs. All officers of the executive board and the local’s delegates to the district council have been suspended.”

end quote

My opponent obviously didn't read that letter.

(pause)

I am going to use the rest of my time

to talk about the trusteeship of local 157

Because President Thomassen said something
very interesting and revealing the other night.

(pause)

Indulge me as I give you the stated facts of the trusteeship

which happened one year ago to this day.

(pause)

The independent Investigator Bill Callahan found telephone, timesheet, and other records showing that three council employees, specifically business representatives in Local 157

had not completed their activity sheets as required;

had not conducted regular job site visits

and were not even at work when they reported themselves as working.

(pause)

The Independent Investigator's written evidence obligated the Unity Team to respond.

On November 17th the Unity Team reached a consensus to end the three business representatives employment.

On Monday November 19th, each man was given an option to resign from their elected office or be fired.

On November 21, two of the three council employes signed resignation papers.

(pause)

George Dilacio

Who was one of the three men and also here

as a candidate for

District Council Vice President

did not appear and was fired.

(pause)

On November 21, 2007 the General President sent a letter

to the Recording Secretary of local 157

giving formal notice

Local 157 is being placed under trusteeship.

The letter from McCarron said among other things that

quote

“it appears that the affairs of Local Union 157 are being conducted in a manner detrimental to the welfare and best interest of Local Union 157 and that the continue operation of Local Union 157 is in jeopardy.”

end quote

Speaking about the trusteeship of Local 157 the other night President Thomassen said

quote

“I was in the office with Mike when McCarron called, He Asked, what is going on with the local?

We said George was fired as a business agent but he is staying as a vice president,

He is elected and we can’t take him out of that position and he is going to become the president.

“McCarron said no way

PUT THE LOCAL UNDER SUPERVISION.”

end quote

(pause)

What President Thomassen just described and admitted

is an unlawful trusteeship

established in bad faith

in order to stop George Dilacio from becoming president.

(pause)

Under federal rules governing trusteeships (section 302 of the LMRDA)

“a trusteeship should be assumed for the purpose of correcting corruption or financial malpractice.

The telephone conversation that President Thomassen

described did not state any corruption or financial malpractice,

(pause)

President Thomassen said “He (meaning George) is staying as a vice president,

He is elected and we can’t take him out of that position and he is going to become the president.

“McCarron said no way

PUT THE LOCAL UNDER SUPERVISION.”

(pause)

That would make the official reason given for the trusteeship by the General President a fraud.

(pause)

The Unity Team unrestrained and armed with all the

internationals levers of money and power,

employ fear, propaganda and fraud

by requesting a trusteeship be place on local 157.

(pause)

They abused their power

and used the weapon of trusteeship

to stifle democracy

deny members their legally protected rights

and remove the locals leadership.

(pause)

The trusteeship left 4500 members and their families

in the dark, without a voice in union affairs

for almost a year.

(pause)

By his own words President Thomassen has admitted the trusteeship of local 157 was unlawful.

(pause)

I cannot give you a better example

Why this union desperately needs an Independent voice at the district council

who is not part of the unity team

to act as a "check and balance" to prevent abuse of power.

Thank you

Go to my website

nycdistrictcouncil.blogspot.com

_______________________________________old speech
Thank you Mr. Chairman, Brothers and Sisters

Nine years ago you put your trust in the Unity Team and elected them to lead this union.

On my campaign website I have outlined in great detail how the Unity Team has betrayed that trust.

(pause)

I urge all of you to go to my website.

Tonight, I will be addressing two issues.

I am in favor of the membership voting on all contracts and assessments.

(pause)

Every major union in the country has this fundamental democratic right written into their by-laws.

My opponent is opposed to a membership vote.

My opponent will tell you we have a representative democracy,

a system where the membership elects delegates to speak and vote for you.

Having been an elected delegate for eight years,

I am here to tell you that the system has failed you.

(pause)

In the 2001 contract negotiations The Unity Team "bargained away" the job referral rules.
The Unity Team had absolutely no constitutional or legal authority to bargain this rule away.

(pause)

The Unity Team has abused their power,

violated their oath of office,

violated the Consent Decree

and more importantly betrayed the trust of the membership.

(pause)

Our Bylaws plainly state, the "delegate body" has final approval on all contracts.

Yet your elected delegates never voted for this contract change.

(pause)

Why? Because The Unity Team stole the Vote from the delegates.

It was not until September 15, 2005 in a NY Times article that we learned of this unconscionable deceit.

(pause)

Now my opponent is going to tell you

that what I am saying never happened, never existed.

He is going to tell you

everything was "explained and spelled out."

(pause)

I have challenged my opponent five times to show us

where the negotiating committee recommended bargaining away the job referral rules,

and replacing it with a "new system" where contractors handpick 100 percent of the work force.

(pause)

I have challenge my opponent five times to show us the Carpenter Magazine

where you clearly explained this "new system" to the membership.

(pause)

On February 20, 2007 after years of costly litigation The Unity Team was found GUILTY OF CONTEMPT by the United States Court Of Appeals for illegally bargaining away the job referral rules.

(pause)

Last month The Unity Team was in court arguing that bargaining away the job referral rules was

"Good for you... but bad in its execution."

(pause)

The consequence of their willful deceit and corruption is still to be determined by judge Haight.

(pause)

The Unity Team has spent millions of YOUR dollars defending their corrupt actions.

To pay for their deceit they Tripled Your Assessments giving you the BIGGEST DUES INCREASE in the history of the carpenters union,

and they support plans (anyone say Blue Card) to take even more of YOUR money after the election.

Of course denying you a membership vote!

(pause)

My opponent is going to tell you

they did nothing wrong,

(pause)

Yet they were found guilty of contempt

for illegally bargaining away the job referral rules.

Judge Haight is charged by the court of appeals

to find a remedy to the action

the Unity Team says does not exist.

(pause)

On July 1, 2006 The Unity Team CUT your pension benefit by 26% and told you it was an increase!

(pause)

My opponent has now admitted

that your pension was cut,

because I raised the issue.

He will say of course we cut the pension.

As "trustees its our job to make tough decisions to make sure that when you retire you have a pension."

And when we make those tough decisions

We are going to be honest and tell you.

(pause)

I think we can all agree with that.

I am not challenging the judgment of those tough decisions.

(pause)

I challenged my opponent, five times now

to show us the Carpenter Magazine (hold up)

where you

honestly and clearly explained

those tough policy decisions

to the membership of this union.

(pause)

With all your resources and 100 year combined experience,

It should be easy enough, to prove me wrong.

(pause)

You cannot, because in both these examples

you have misled and deceived the membership.

(pause)

At the last meeting the Unity Team again

deceived the membership

saying that when they took office

our pension benefit credit was worth $80.00.

(pause)

The International union change the benefit formula in 1998

one year before the Unity Team took office.

(pause)

If The Unity Team can't be trusted to tell the truth about the 2001 contract and the 2006 Cut in our pension,

how in the world can they be trusted with two billion dollars in assets?

(pause)

There is a debating tactic that says,

if you cannot defeat the facts

of what your opponent is saying

invent false issues

in an attempt to mislead and distract the audience.

Sadly that is the path my opponent has chosen.

(pause)

You will hear I didn't do picket duty.

This is a silly issue

they made a bookkeeping error, I get fined,

they tell me it will be corrected... end of story

You will hear that the General President removed me from office.

This is Nonsense, more deception and he knows better.

I was not removed from office.

The General President has no authority to remove elected officers from office.

Local 157 was placed under trusteeship, which I exposed as phony.

As a result of being under trusteeship

all local meetings even our Christmas party was suspended,

all elected officers and activities were suspended

No allegations or charges of wrong doing were ever made against me.

I did not seek re-election...end of story.

You will hear I have no accomplishments

Ridiculous, I have more important things to say to you in ten minutes.

Go to my website to read my accomplishments... end of story

You will hear I have no experience.

This is where they got me and I plead guilty.

I have absolutely no experience

at misleading and deceiving the membership.

(pause)

Let me give you an example of their experience.

On-Par, Boom, Tri-Built, L&D

These companies were notoriously known as cash companies

and defrauded our union out of tens of millions of dollars for years

under their watch.

(pause)

That's what they call leadership!

(pause)

Let me add one more thing about On-Par

On April 2, 2008 On-Par filed a 100 million dollar lawsuit

against the district council

alleging among other things

the district council engaged in a conspiracy to utilized a corrupt scheme

to manipulate the job referral rules

in exchange for secret payoffs.

(pause)

Let me quote two Independent Investigators and a federal judge

On the Assessment of the Unity Teams

Anti-Corruption program

quote

"The union’s anti-corruption program is nearly worthless.” --Walter Mack June 3, 2004

quote

"The anti-corruption program is composed of members of the district council who do not have any formal investigative training or experience; do not have a handbook of investigative procedures or written guidelines and cannot on its own do much more than inquire into allegations of improper conduct."--William Callahan December 2007

quote

“The district council has not demonstrated they can combat corruption and adequately police themselves without further government involvement and court supervision.”--Judge Haight August 11, 2008

(pause)

The other night my opponent said "the government is not our friend and isn't there to help us."

If it wasn't for government oversight On-Par, Boom, Tri-Built and L&D would still be defrauding our pension and welfare funds out of tens of millions of dollars right under his experience trustee nose.

(pause)

The membership expects us to seek elected office for the right reasons, and

The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good,

and to leave this union better than we found it.

No one expects us to agree on everything.

But we are expected to govern with integrity, honesty, good will and clear convictions.

(pause)

Change is going to come by having an

Independently elected voice at the district council,

who is not part of the unity team

to act as a "check and balance" to prevent abuse of power.

(pause)

There is a famous quote by a 19th century historian.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

(pause)

This union needs an Independent voice at the district council

Fighting for and looking out for, We the people...

(pause)

On election day

I ask that you do one thing.

(pause)

Ask yourself.

Are you better off Voting for three leaders all singing from the same song book?

Leaders who betrayed your trust!

Leaders who mislead you!

Or are you better off Voting to challenge the status quo?

(pause)

This is your moment

This is your moment to question authority and challenge the status quo

This is your moment to agitate, speak up and lead.

This is your union

Thank you

God bless you

Vote John Musumeci on Election Day

Go to my blog at nycdistrictcouncil.blogspot.com and join me.

___________________________________________speech 4
Thank you Mr. Chairman, Brothers and Sisters

Nine years ago you put your trust in the Unity Team and elected them to lead this union.

On my campaign website I have outlined in great detail how the Unity Team has betrayed that trust.

(pause)

I urge all of you to go to my website.

Tonight, I will be addressing two issues.

I am in favor of the membership voting on all contracts and assessments.

(pause)

Every major union in the country has this fundamental democratic right written into their by-laws.

My opponent is opposed to a membership vote.

My opponent will tell you we have a representative democracy,

a system where the membership elects delegates to speak and vote for you.

Having been an elected delegate for eight years,

I am here to tell you that the system has failed you.

(pause)

In the 2001 contract negotiations The Unity Team "bargained away" the job referral rules.
The Unity Team had absolutely no constitutional or legal authority to bargain this rule away.

(pause)

The Unity Team has abused their power,

violated their oath of office,

violated the Consent Decree

and more importantly betrayed the trust of the membership.

(pause)

Our Bylaws plainly state, the "delegate body" has final approval on all contracts.

Yet your elected delegates never voted for this contract change.

(pause)

Why? Because The Unity Team stole the Vote from the delegates.

It was not until September 15, 2005 in a NY Times article that we learned of this unconscionable deceit.

(pause)

Now my opponent is going to tell you

that what I am saying never happened, never existed.

He is going to tell you

everything was "explained and spelled out."

(pause)

Well, I challenge my opponent to show us

where the negotiating committee recommended bargaining away the job referral rules,

and replacing it with a "new system" where contractors handpick 100 percent of the work force.

(pause)

I challenge my opponent to show us the Carpenter Magazine

where you clearly explained this "new system" to the membership.

(pause)

On February 20, 2007 after years of costly litigation The Unity Team was found GUILTY OF CONTEMPT by the United States Court Of Appeals for illegally bargaining away the job referral rules.

(pause)

Last month The Unity Team was in court arguing that bargaining away the job referral rules was

"Good for you... but bad in its execution."

(pause)

The consequence of their willful deceit and corruption is still to be determined by judge Haight.

(pause)

The Unity Team has spent millions of YOUR dollars defending their corrupt actions.

To pay for their deceit they Tripled Your Assessments giving you the BIGGEST DUES INCREASE in the history of the carpenters union,

and they support plans to take even more of YOUR money after the election.

Of course denying you a membership vote!

(pause)

My opponent is going to tell you

they did nothing wrong,

(pause)

Yet they were found guilty of contempt

for illegally bargaining away the job referral rules.

Judge Haight is charged by the court of appeals

to find a remedy to the action

the Unity Team says does not exist.

(pause)

On July 1, 2006 The Unity Team CUT your pension benefit by 26% and told you it was an increase!

(pause)

My opponent has now decided to tell you

that your pension was cut

because I have raised the issue.

He will say (said) of course we cut the pension

As trustees we have to make tough decisions

to keep our pension sound.

(pause)

I am not debating the policy decision

of cutting the pension 26% or implementing new job rules

whether they were right or wrong.

(pause)

I have challenged my opponent, four times now

to show us the Carpenter Magazine (hold up)

where these policy decisions

were clearly explained to the membership of this union.

(pause)

That should be easy enough.

(pause)

You cannot, because in both these examples

you have misled and deceived the membership.

(pause)

Last night the Unity Team again

deceived the membership

they said that when they took office

our pension benefit credit was worth $80.00.

(pause)

The International union change the benefit formula in 1998

one year before the Unity Team took office.

(pause)

If The Unity Team can't be trusted to tell the truth about the 2001 contract and the 2006 Cut in our pension,

how in the world can they be trusted with two billion dollars in assets?

(pause)

There is a debating tactic that says,

if you cannot defeat the facts

of what your opponent is saying

invent false issues

in an attempt to mislead and distract the audience.

Sadly that is the path my opponent has chosen.

(pause)

1. You will hear i didn't do picket duty.

This is a silly issue

they make a bookkeeping error, I get fined,

they tell me it will be corrected... end of story

2. You will hear that the General President removed me from office.

Nonsense, The General President has no authority to remove elected officers from office at will.

Local 157 was placed under trusteeship, which I exposed as phony.

As a result of being under trusteeship

all local meetings even our Christmas party was suspended,

all elected officers and activities are suspended

until the trusteeship is lifted.

I did not seek re-election...end of story.

3. You will hear I have no accomplishments

Ridiculous, I have more important things to say to you,

go to my website to read my accomplishments... end of story

4. You will hear I have no experience.

This is where they got me and I plead guilty.

I have absolutely no experience

at misleading and deceiving the membership.

(pause)

Let me give you an example of their experience.

On-Par, Boom, Tri-Built, L&D

These companies were notoriously known as cash companies

and defrauded our union out of million of dollars for years

under their watch.

(pause)

That's what they call leadership!

(pause)

Let me add one more thing about On-Par

On April 2, 2008 On-Par filed a 100 million dollar lawsuit

against the district council

alleging among other things

the district council engaged in a conspiracy to utilized a corrupt scheme

to manipulate the job referral rules

in exchange for secret payoffs.

(pause)

Let me quote two Independent Investigators and a federal judge

Assessment of the Unity Teams

Anti-Corruption program

quote

"The union’s anti-corruption program is nearly worthless.” --Walter Mack June 3, 2004

quote

"The anti-corruption program is composed of members of the district council who do not have any formal investigative training or experience; do not have a handbook of investigative procedures or written guidelines and cannot on its own do much more than inquire into allegations of improper conduct."--William Callahan December 2007

quote

“The district council has not demonstrated they can combat corruption and adequately police themselves without further government involvement and court supervision.”--Judge Haight August 11, 2008

(pause)

The membership expects us to seek elected office for the right reasons, and

The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good,

and to leave this union better than we found it.

No one expects us to agree on everything.

But we are expected to govern with integrity, honesty, good will and clear convictions.

(pause)

Wouldn't our membership be better served by having an

Independently elected voice at the district council,

who is not part of the unity team

to act as a "check and balance" to prevent abuse of power?

(pause)

There is a famous quote by a 19th century historian.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

(pause)

This union needs an Independent voice at the district council

Fighting for and looking out for, We the people...

(pause)

On election day

I ask that you do one thing.

(pause)

Pause, Ask yourself.

Are you better off Voting for three leaders all singing from the same song book?

Leaders who betrayed your trust!

Leaders who mislead you!

Or are you better off Voting to challenge the status quo?

(pause)

This is your moment

This is your moment to question authority and challenge the status quo

This is your moment to agitate, speak up and lead.

This is your union

Thank you

God bless you

Vote John Musumeci on Election Day

Go to my blog at nycdistrictcouncil.blogspot.com and join me.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Speech 2

Thank you Mr. Chairman, Brothers and Sisters

Nine years ago you put your trust in the Unity Team and elected them to lead this union.

On my campaign website I have outlined in great detail how the Unity Team has betrayed that trust.

(pause)

I urge all of you to go to my website, its been called the most informative website you will ever see.

Tonight, I will be addressing two issues.

I am in favor of the membership voting on all contracts and assessments.

(pause)

Every major union in the country has this fundamental democratic right written into their by-laws.

My opponent is opposed to a membership vote.

My opponent will tell you we have a representative democracy,

a system where the membership elects delegates to speak and vote for you.

Having been an elected delegate for eight years,

and the only opposition candidate with real experience, who has spoken out on this issue,

I am here to tell you that the system has failed you.

(pause)

In the 2001 contract negotiations The Unity Team "bargained away" the job referral rules.

The Unity Team had absolutely no constitutional or legal authority to bargain this rule away.

(pause)

The Unity Team negotiated this contract change without

seeking the approval of your president (John Greany) and your elected delegates

(pause)

The Unity Team has abused their power,

violated their oath of office,

violated the Consent Decree

and more importantly betrayed the trust of the membership.

(pause)

Our Bylaws plainly state, the "delegate body" has final approval on all contracts.

Yet your elected delegates never voted for this contract change.

(pause)

Why? Because The Unity Team stole the Vote from the delegates.

It was not until September 15, 2005 nearly four years later in a NY Times article that we started to learn and become aware of this unconscionable deceit.

(pause)
Now my opponent is going to tell you that what I am saying never happened, never existed.

He is going to tell you everything was "explained and spelled out."

(pause)

Well, I challenge my opponent to show us the delegate body minutes, where it was clearly explained and spelled out.

I challenge my opponent to show us where the negotiating committee recommended bargaining away the job referral rules,

and replacing it with a "new system" where contractors handpick 100 percent of the work force.

(pause)

I challenge my opponent to show us the Carpenter Magazine where you clearly explained this "new system" to the membership.

and I challenge my opponent to show us the Headline that read:

Good News: Carpenters no longer dispatched on the basis of how long they are on the out-of-work-list.

(pause)

On February 20, 2007 after years of costly litigation The Unity Team was found GUILTY OF CONTEMPT by the United States Court Of Appeals for illegally bargaining away the job referral rules.

(pause)

Last month The Unity Team was in court arguing that bargaining away the job referral rules was

"Good for you... but bad in its execution."

(pause)

The consequence of their willful deceit and corruption is still to be determined by judge Haight.

(pause)

The Unity Team has spent millions of YOUR dollars defending their corrupt actions.

To pay for their deceit they Tripled Your Assessments giving you the BIGGEST DUES INCREASE in the history of the carpenters union,

and they support plans to take even more of YOUR money after the election.

Of course denying you a membership vote!

My opponent had his moment to speak up and raised his voice over this deceit, corruption and violation of office.

He had his chance. He has not led. We will.

(pause)

On July 1, 2006 The Unity Team CUT your pension benefit by 26% and told you it was an increase!

(pause)

In the 2006 Summer Issue of the Carpenter Magazine,

The Unity Team wrote

Listen carefully, I am quoting:

“The current pension contribution rate for an outside journeyman is $7.81, so, for 1500 hours, at the new 1% formula, you will gain a benefit of $117.15 for the year."

End Quote

Notice how they deliberately use language to mislead you.

"you will gain a benefit"

(pause)

Using their 1500 hour example your old benefit credit was worth $158.15.

After the new 1% formula your new benefit credit was worth $117.15

Clearly $158.15 is more than $117.15

How did you gain a benefit?

(pause)

YOUR pension benefit was CUT by 26 percent!

(pause)

The Unity Team does not speak in clear straight talk that we can understand.

Their mantra is, How can we fool the membership today!

(pause)

Again I challenge my opponent to show us the Carpenter Magazine

where you clearly explained to the membership

their pension benefit was cut 26% and the reason for it.

(pause)

In both examples I am not challenging the merits of the policy decision.

I am not debating whether they were right or wrong.

(pause)

What I am challenging my opponent is to show us where these policy decisions were clearly explained to the membership of this union.

(pause)

You cannot, because in both these examples you have misled and clearly deceived the membership.

(pause)

If The Unity Team can't be trusted to tell the truth about the 2001 contract and the 2006 Cut in our pension,

how in the world can they be trusted with two billion dollars in assets?

(pause)

Let me say one more thing

my opponent gave you (is going to give you) numbers on the rising hours worked

over the last four years, taking credit for the natural business cycle

as evidence of their leadership asking you to judge them on that record.

Using that logic if work hours are down over the next few years

you should throw them out of office!

(pause)

Let me give you a better example of how you can judge their record.

On-Par, Boom, Tri-Built, L&D

These companies were notoriously known as cash companies

and defrauded our union out of million of dollars for years

and they did noting to stop them

(pause)

That's what they call leadership!

(pause)

My opponent had his moment to speak up and raised his voice over this deceit and violation of office.

He had his chance. He has not led. We will.

(pause)

The membership expects us to seek elected office for the right reasons, and

The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good,

and to leave this union better than we found it.

No one expects us to agree on everything.

But we are expected to govern with integrity, honesty, good will and clear convictions.

(pause)

Sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests.

That's why true reform is so hard to achieve.

(Pause)

That's why we need an Independent voice up at the district council

(pause)

Wouldn't our membership be better served by having an independently elected

voice at the district council, who is not part of the unity team?

(pause)

Wouldn't it be beneficial to the membership to have a

a distinct Independently elected vice president

to act as a "check and balance" to prevent abuse of power?

(pause)

There is a famous quote by a 19th century historian.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

(pause)

This union needs an Independent voice at the district council

Fighting for and looking out for, We the people...

(pause)

My opponent had his moment.

He had his chance. He has not led.

And now my opponent comes asking for another chance, another shot.

Our answer?

Not this time.

Not this year.

This is not a time for a third chance;

it is a time for new beginnings.

(pause)

On election day you as you find yourself alone in the voting booth.

I ask that you do one thing.

(pause)

Pause, Ask yourself.

Are you better off Voting for three leaders all singing from the same song book?

Leaders who betrayed your trust!

Leaders who mislead you!

Or are you be better off Voting to challenge the status quo?

(pause)

When I announced my candidacy for Vice President,

I did so to remind this Union of what it has forgotten.

More than one hundred years ago a great labor leader,

the founder of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters of America,

Peter J. McGuire wished to embed his wisdom

of questioning authority,

challenging the status quo

and being an agitator forever in our memory.

His hope was to remind future generations of union brothers and sisters

that fairness, justice, and freedom

are more than words, they are perspectives.

This is your moment

This is your moment to question authority and challenge the status quo

This is your moment to agitate, speak up and lead.

This is your union

Thank you

God bless you

Vote John Musumeci on election day

Go to my blog at nycdistrictcouncil.blogspot.com and join me.

-------------------------------------------------------------old speech 1
Thank you Mr. Chairman, Brothers and Sisters

Nine years ago you put your trust in the Unity Team and elected them to lead this union.

On my campaign website I have outlined in great detail how the Unity Team has betrayed that trust.

(pause)

I urge all of you to go to my website.

Tonight, I will be addressing two issues.

I am in favor of the membership voting on all contracts and assessments.

(pause)

Every major union in the country has this fundamental democratic right written into their by-laws.

My opponent is opposed to a membership vote.

My opponent will tell you we have a representative democracy,

a system where the membership elects delegates to speak and vote for you.

Having been an elected delegate for eight years,

and the only opposition candidate with real experience, who has spoken out on this issue,

I am here to tell you that the system has failed you.

(pause)

In the 2001 contract negotiations The Unity Team "bargained away" the job referral rules.

The Unity Team had absolutely no constitutional or legal authority to bargain this.

(pause)

The Unity Team negotiated this contract change without

seeking the approval of your president (Jack Cavanaugh) and your elected delegates

they certainly didn't seek the approval of the membership of the Best Millwright Local in the country Local 740

and they didn't seek the approval of the federal government who has oversight supervision.

(pause)

The Unity Team has abused their authority,

violated their oath of office,

violated the Consent Decree

and more importantly betrayed the trust of the membership.

(pause)

Our Bylaws plainly state, the "delegate body" has final approval on all contracts.

Yet your elected delegates never voted for this contract change.

(pause)

Why? Because The Unity Team stole the Vote from the delegates.

It was not until September 2005, nearly four years later that we started to learn and become aware of this unconscionable deceit.

(pause)

On February 20, 2007 after years of costly litigation The Unity Team was found GUILTY OF CONTEMPT by the United States Court Of Appeals for bargaining away the job referral rules.

(pause)

Bargaining away the job referral rules has given rise to the “contractor request”

which has destroyed the out-of-work-list.

Bargaining away the job referral rules has deprived carpenters of jobs and a fair out-of-work-list system.

Bargaining away the job referral rules has caused tremendous damage and corruption which is to lengthy to discuss here tonight.

(pause)

Last month The Unity Team was in court arguing that bargaining away the job referral rules was

"Good for you... but bad in its execution."

(pause)

The consequence of their willful deceit and corruption is still to be determined by judge Haight.

(pause)

On August 11, 2008 citing continued corruption, Judge Haight wrote, The Unity Team

Quote,

"has not demonstrated they can combat corruption and adequately police themselves without further government involvement and court supervision"

end quote.

The Unity Team has spent millions of YOUR dollars defending their corrupt actions.

To pay for their deceit they Tripled Your Assessments giving you the BIGGEST DUES INCREASE in the history of the carpenters union,

and they support plans to take even more of YOUR money after the election.

Of course denying you a membership vote!

My opponent had his moment to speak up and raised his voice over this deceit, corruption and violation of office.

He had his chance. He has not led. We will.

(pause)

On July 1, 2006 The Unity Team CUT your pension benefit by 26% and told you it was an increase!

(pause)

In the 2006 Summer Issue of the Carpenter Magazine, The Unity Team wrote:

Listen carefully, I am quoting:

"Although there is a small reduction in the formula, the net benefit is still greater than what it was under the old benefit credit formula."

"Example: The current pension contribution rate for an outside journeyman is $7.81, so, for 1500 hours, at the new 1% formula, you will gain a benefit of $117.15 for the year."

End Quote

Notice how they deliberately use language to deceive and mislead you.

“the net benefit is still greater”

“you will gain a benefit”

It's all lies.

Using their 1500 hour example your benefit credit was worth $158.15 on June 30.

After the reduction your new benefit credit is worth $117.15

Clearly $158.15 on June 30, is more than $117.15 on July 1, the very next day.

Unless you are in Unity Team land where $117.15 is greater than $158.15

(pause)

YOUR pension benefit was CUT by 26 percent!

The Unity Team does not speak in clear straight talk that we can understand.

Their mantra is, How can we fool the membership today!

(pause)

If The Unity Team can't be trusted to tell the truth about the 2001 contract and the 2006 Cut in our pension,

how in the world can they be trusted with a billion dollar Benefit Fund or anything else they tell you?

My opponent had his moment to speak up and raised his voice over this deceit and violation of office.

He had his chance. He has not led. We will.

The membership expects us to seek elected office for the right reasons, and

The right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good,

and to leave this union better than we found it.

No one expects us to agree on everything.

But we are expected to govern with integrity, honesty, good will and clear convictions.

(pause)

Sudden and relentless reform never sits well with entrenched interests.

That's why true reform is so hard to achieve.

(Pause)

That's why we need an Independent voice up at the district council

Fighting for and looking out for, We the people...

(pause)

My opponent had his moment.

He had his chance. He has not led.

And now my opponent comes asking for another chance, another shot.

Our answer?

Not this time.

Not this year.

This is not a time for a third chance;

it is a time for new beginnings.

The rising generation of this union has its own appointment with greatness.

(pause)

On election day as you make your way toward the district council,

you are going to be bombarded by

Unity Team signs,

Unity Team balloons

Unity Team tents

I even heard a rumor that

The Unity Team is going to bring in circus animals

and have a petting zoo for the kids!

(laugh)

As you walk down the block,

High Five The Unity Team.

Cheer them on,

Wish them good luck.

Don't look for me standing on the opposite side of the street,

I'll be at the petting zoo feeding the animals.

(laugh)

As you navigate your way past the supporters,

Pass the election committee staff,

You will eventually find yourself alone in the voting booth.

I ask that you do one thing.

(pause)

Pause, Ask yourself.

Are you better off Voting for three leaders all singing from the same song book?

Leaders who betrayed your trust!

Leaders who lied to you!

Or are you be better off Voting to challenge the status quo?

Your vote has tremendous power.

Your Vote for me will send a shock wave throughout the UBC.

(pause)

And will keep the Unity Team up all night!

(laugh)

When I announced my candidacy for Vice President,

I did so to remind this Union of what it has forgotten.

More than one hundred years ago a great labor leader,

the founder of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters of America,

Peter J. McGuire wished to embed his wisdom

of questioning authority,

challenging the status quo

and being an agitator forever in our memory.

His hope was to remind future generations of union brothers and sisters

that fairness, justice, and freedom

are more than words, they are perspectives.

This is your moment

This is your moment to question authority and challenge the status quo

This is your moment to agitate, speak up and lead.

This is your union

Thank you

God bless you

Vote John Musumeci on election day

Go to my blog at nycdistrictcouncil.blogspot.com and join me.

Judge Urged to Replace A Union Investigator

2008-08-26T09:11:00.001-04:00

By STEVEN GREENHOUSE The New York Times
New York--September 21, 2007, Frustrated by enduring corruption, prosecutors have asked a federal judge in Manhattan to replace the independent investigator in charge of rooting out mob involvement and other problems in the carpenters' union in New York.

In a scathing petition, federal prosecutors called for ousting the investigator, saying he had done far too little to clean up a union known for helping mobsters get lucrative jobs at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center and for taking payoffs so that nonunion employees could be hired.

The United States attorney in Manhattan, Michael J. Garcia, filed a 25-page petition last Friday that repeatedly belittled the investigator, William Callahan, saying his ''tenure has been marked by incomplete and slow-moving investigations'' and ''virtually no new evidence of corruption.''

Mr. Garcia, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, accused Mr. Callahan of failing to follow up on strong investigative leads, not telling federal officials the truth about his investigations and betraying the anonymity of union members who confided to him about corruption.

Two years ago, the union, the New York District Council of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, persuaded a federal judge to let it name Mr. Callahan to replace a highly aggressive independent investigator whom the United States attorney wanted to keep.

In his court papers, Mr. Garcia said the former investigator, Walter Mack, did a far better job than Mr. Callahan, saying Mr. Mack had found ''voluminous evidence of both corruption and the union's inability or unwillingness to detect or stop it.''

Mr. Garcia made his request to replace Mr. Callahan in papers filed with Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. of Federal District Court in Manhattan.

Judge Haight helps oversee the carpenters' district council as part of an agreement that the 25,000-member union signed with the federal government in 1994 after prosecutors accused it of being a morass of mob influence, payoffs and off-the-books work.

Mr. Callahan's two-year term officially expired on Aug. 26, but Judge Haight provisionally extended it after the government said it would file papers seeking to have him replaced.

In a telephone interview, Mr. Callahan vowed to fight the government's request. ''Certainly this will be litigated before Judge Haight,'' he said. ''The only comment is we totally disagree with all their conclusions. There have been many accomplishments, but that will be spelled out in our response to this petition.''

Mr. Garcia asserted that Mr. Callahan had failed to pursue evidence that Mr. Mack had developed about off-the-books work, fraud against the union and organized crime involvement in construction at the Cipriani banquet hall at 200 Fifth Avenue at 23rd Street. Among the evidence given to Mr. Callahan, federal prosecutors said, were firsthand reports that two convicted felons, ''known labor racketeers,'' were at the construction site.

The United States attorney said that Mr. Callahan's follow-up report reflected no further investigation and no indication that he had interviewed witnesses or took depositions.

Mr. Mack had found many job sites where companies had paid off union officials so that carpenters could be employed off the books, enabling companies to avoid paying benefits or overtime.

Mr. Garcia also attacked Mr. Callahan for not pursuing an investigation of On Par Contracting even though Mr. Mack had given him voluminous evidence of fraud, including omissions of workers from shop steward reports, unreported overtime and jobs where there were no shop stewards to make sure union rules were followed.

Mr. Garcia said rank-and-file carpenters had lost confidence in Mr. Callahan to such a degree that the number of calls to the anticorruption hot line had plummeted.

Charles Stillman, a lawyer for Mr. Callahan's company, Unitel, said, ''From everything I've heard, they've done a first-rate job, and there is no reason for them not to continue.''

On Monday, Judge Haight issued a contempt citation against Michael Forde, the top carpenters' official in New York. Judge Haight fined Mr. Forde $10,000 in ruling that he had rigged the job-referral system in favor of a friend. Judge Haight found that Mr. Forde had told his friend to list certain specific skills that a contractor was looking for, enabling him to jump the line to get a carpenter's job.

Judge Haight wrote that Mr. Forde's conduct was ''dishonorable and revealed his personal contempt'' for the job-referral system and the union's agreement with the government.

Judge Haight cited a report by Mr. Callahan that stated that ''violations routinely occur'' in the job-referral system.

Mr. Forde and the district council's lawyer, Gary Rothman, did not respond to several voice mail messages.

On Nov. 26, Mr. Forde faces a retrial on bribery charges in state court in Manhattan. In 2005, a state judge overturned his conviction and that of a union business agent, Martin Devereaux, finding that jury misconduct had skewed the trial in favor of the prosecution. The two had been convicted of taking payoffs in connection with the use of nonunion workers at a renovation job at the Park Central Hotel.

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

2001 Contract Negotiations

2008-08-26T08:46:00.000-04:00

As suspected by many rank and file members union politics played a role in the November 21, 2007 International Union Trusteeship of Local 157.

Knowledgeable union sources confirm that the outing of President/business manager Bill Hanley, Vice President/business representative George Dilacio, Financial Secretary/business representative Fred Kennedy and Trustee/business representative Danny Demorato was nothing more than dirty tricks, union politics and acts of betrayal by a trusted friend.

In mid 2006 District Council President Peter Thomassen worried about being challenged for re-election in 2008 by leaders of local 157 sources say. Thomassen’s concerns stem from the knowledge that in the December 2005 district council elections, leaders of local 157 were seriously considering challenging Thomassen’s re-election bid, but backed off at the last minute when a secret back door deal was reached. Thomassen ran unopposed in 2005.

Thomassen also worried that embattled council leader Michael Forde, who was convicted in 2004 of taking a $50,000 bribe from a mobster's son-in-law and facing retrial may be forced out of the 2008 council elections.

Fordes conviction in 2004 was set-aside in April, 2005 after the judge determined that members of the jury had spoken disparagingly of union officials during the trial. Forde's retrial which has been put off repeatedly started on June 2, 2008, a verdict is expected this week.

A source familiar with the situation said there is an alleged dirty-tricks operation within the district council and a central figure in the suspected shadowy operation is President Thomassen.

In late 2006 Thomassen was so worried about the upcoming 2008 council election he joked to an operative that it wouldn’t be a bad idea if the Independent Investigator William Callahan, investigated local 157. Thomassen had long known about the attendance record and work habits of the local officials. It was that comment sources say triggered the anonymous tipster telephone call to Callahan’s hotline complaining about local 157 officials not at work and leaving early.

Thomassen is no stranger to dirty tricks; in a secret backdoor deal in 2001, Thomassen bargained away the job referral rules without ever having the approval from the delegate body or telling the membership or advising the government.

Thomassen’s decision to negotiate the job referral rules contradicted the wishes of the rank-and-file membership. Not only were Local 157’s rank and file carpenters universally opposed to the request system as implemented prior to 2001, but also the expansion of the request practice affected by the 2001 bargaining negotiations was expressly opposed by the membership of Local 608.

John Greaney, Local 608’s President/business manager mailed questionnaires to the Local’s membership to ascertain its views on issues relevant to the bargaining. Greaney learned through compiling data from completed questionnaires that the members wanted to “eliminate the contractor request”, Greaney then presented his membership’s “collective sentiment” to the District Council negotiating committee, but the change was not made.

A former member of the 2001 negotiating committee told me "no one ever told me about the change in the job referral rules, I was shocked to find out about it." Think about all the "members hard earn money wasted on legal fees over this issue."

On April 12, 2005 Thomassen testifying before judge Haight about the 2001 contract negotiations said "we enhanced the request system for the contractors of the association". We gave them what they wanted—the unfettered "right to request" anyone they want from the out-of-work list.

The membership was "kept in the dark," Thomassen "sold-out the carpenters" in the 2001 contract negotiations. He fails to realize then and now what every carpenter in this union realizes—by changing the contract and allowing the contractor to request the entire workforce he has "transformed the out-of-work list from being a major source of job opportunities for carpenters into a graveyard, where carpenters languish on a meaningless out-of-work list with little if any hope of job opportunities" another informed source said.

"The 50/50 rule is meaningless; it only exists on paper," Thomassen has undercut and turned the “out-of-work list into nothing more than an absurd paperwork dance.” He is "delusional and out of touch with reality," he still believes he gave "ice in the winter" to the contractors. He "violated his oath of office and more importantly the trust of the entire membership." By his actions Thomassen has "defrauded the membership, he should be held accountable and be brought up on charges and kicked out" an angry veteran carpenter said.

In 2005 the government learned of the change and federal prosecutors asked judge Haight to hold President Thomassen in contempt of the consent decree for changing the union’s job referral system without government approval.

On January 12, 2006 judge Haight denied the governments motion to hold Thomassen in contempt, the government appealed and on February 20, 2007 the Court of Appeals agreed with the government’s position and held that in entering into the 2001 collective bargaining agreements without first advising the government, the district council had breached the consent decree and held President Thomassen in contempt of it. The appeals court sent the case back to district judge Haight for fashioning an appropriate remedy for the contempt charge, which is pending before the court.

Thomassen who is a strong advocate for Callahan is currently in federal court arguing to extend Callahan's term as independent investigator.

Callahan’s two-year term officially expired on August 26, 2007 but judge Haight provisionally extended it pending his decision.

Many rank and file members have lost trust and confidence in Callahan believing that he is to cozy with the district council.

In 2005 Thomassen, persuaded judge Haight to let him name Mr. Callahan to replace the highly aggressive Independent Investigator Walter Mack whom the United States attorney wanted to keep.

Thomassen desperately fought to have Mack terminated say sources because Mack had found voluminous evidence of both corruption and the union's inability or unwillingness to detect or stop it.

In November 2004 Walter Mack was investigating a company called Tri-Built, the owners of Tri-Built told Mack they paid a council employee to remove and alter shop steward reports. The union’s auditors rely on shop steward reports to be accurate when they audit contractors to ensure that all benefit contributions have been paid. Mack shared this information at a confidential anti-corruption meeting; Mack then discovered that someone on the anti-corruption committee leaked the information to one of the benefit fund trustees. Six days later the district council hired the firm Kroll to do an independent audit and take over the investigation. Mack believes, this action was taken in order to hinder his team’s ability to determine how and to what extent Tri-Built and possibly other contractors were able to avoid detection of their routine collective bargaining agreement violations for such a long time.

In May of 2005 at a delegate meeting Thomassen informed the delegates about terminating Walter Mack. Thomassen said we are very unhappy with the “run away cost and the abuse” from Mr. Mack. Thomassen also chastised the frivolous anonymous callers to the hotline, “If a member has corruption to report he should leave his name.” Thomassen didn’t mention Tri-Built or the Knoll investigation to the delegates.

On September 21, 2007, Mr. Garcia, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan filed a 25-page petition asking judge Haight to replace Callahan saying his ''tenure has been marked by incomplete and slow-moving investigations'' and ''virtually no new evidence of corruption.''

Garcia also accused, Mr. Callahan of failing to follow up on strong investigative leads, not telling federal officials the truth about his investigations and betraying the anonymity of union members who confided to him about corruption.

On April 21, 2008 the district council was once again in federal court arguing to have the 1994 consent decree vacated. Federal judge Haight is expected to decide on the motion in the fall along with a motion by the government replacing Callahan and a remedy for the contempt charge against Thomassen.

There is a smart guy I know, a union insider who goes way back with Thomassen and who hasn’t been wrong yet about the district council. He told me six months ago, "you have not heard the real story about the Carpenters Pension Fund", Let’s hope he’s wrong, this time.

Series at a glance:

Two Get 5 Years For Defrauding Carpenters Union

2008-08-26T08:31:00.035-04:00

July 10, 2008-- NEW YORK—The owners of a drywall contracting business have each been sentenced to five years in federal prison for conspiring to defraud the Carpenters Union benefit funds of millions of dollars by using non-union labor, paying union carpenters off-the-books and bribing shop stewards and an employee of the benefit funds to assist in the fraud.

Patrick Noel McCaul and James Dermot McGonnel were indicted in December 2006 and pleaded guilty on Nov. 20, 2007.

Prosecutors said the pair owned Tri-Built Construction Inc., a drywall contractor that operated in New York City and Long Island. Between 1993 and 2004, Tri-Built, holding itself out as a union contractor, was hired for numerous construction projects in New York City, including public projects financed by the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York – such as a large construction project at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn.

During that time, Tri-Built was a party to a collective bargaining agreement with the District Council of New York City and Vicinity of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. Under the collective bargaining agreement, Tri-Built was obligated to use union labor and pay union wages and benefits to all carpenters employed on TriBuilt’s jobsites. In addition, as contractors on state projects, Tri-Built was obligated to pay its employees a state-mandated prevailing wage.

McCaul and McConnel admitted that from 1993 through May 2004, they conspired to defraud the Carpenters Union and its benefit funds by paying workers cash, at non-union rates, without any benefits or tax withholdings. They also employed non-union carpenters in violation of their agreement with the union. These practices enabled McCaul and McGonnell to underbid jobs, knowing that Tri-Built never intended to comply with its collective bargaining and prevailing wage obligations. To avoid detection of their fraud, the defendants bribed Carpenters Union shop stewards to submit false reports, under-reporting the true number of carpenters and hours worked on several Tri-Built jobsites.

McCaul and McGonnell also paid a then-employee of the Carpenters Union benefit funds to destroy internal union records that might reveal the fraud if an audit of Tri-Built were conducted by the union. They diverted at least $6.5 million from the union benefit funds through their fraudulent conduct.

In addition to their five year prison terms, they were each sentenced to two years of supervised release. As part of their sentence, McCaul and McGonnell were ordered to forfeit $1.3 million, which will be paid to the Carpenters Union benefit funds. They have already forfeited $200,000, pursuant to their agreement with the Government to forfeit the total sum of $1.5 million.

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

Election Speech

2008-08-26T07:46:00.010-04:00

Transcript Speech:

Thank you Mr. Chairman, Brothers and Sisters.

Nine years ago you put your trust in the Unity Team and elected them to lead this union.

On my campaign website I have outlined in great detail how the Unity Team has betrayed that trust.

I urge all of you to go to my website.

I am in favor of the membership voting on all contracts and assessments.

Every major union in the country has this fundamental democratic right written into their by-laws.

My opponent is opposed to a membership vote.

My opponent will tell you we have a representative democracy, a system where the membership elects delegates to speak and vote for you.

Having been an elected delegate for eight years, I am here to tell you that the system has failed you.

In the 2001 contract negotiations The Unity Team "bargained away" the job referral rules. The Unity Team had absolutely no constitutional or legal authority to bargain this rule away.

The Unity Team has abused their power, violated their oath of office, violated the Consent Decree and more importantly betrayed the trust of the membership.

Our Bylaws plainly state, the "delegate body" has final approval on all contracts. Yet your elected delegates never voted for this contract change. Why? Because The Unity Team stole the Vote from the delegates.

It was not until September 15, 2005 in a NY Times article that we learned of this unconscionable deceit.

Now my opponent is going to tell you that what I am saying never happened, never existed.

He is going to tell you everything was "explained and spelled out."

I have challenged my opponent twelve times to show us where the negotiating committee recommended bargaining away the job referral rules, and replacing it with a "new system" where contractors handpick 100 percent of the work force.

I have challenge my opponent twelve times to show us the Carpenter Magazine where you clearly explained this "new system" to the membership.

On February 20, 2007 after years of costly litigation The Unity Team was found GUILTY OF CONTEMPT by the United States Court Of Appeals for illegally bargaining away the job referral rules.

Last month The Unity Team was in court arguing that bargaining away the job referral rules was "Good for you... but bad in its execution."

The consequence of their willful deceit and corruption is still to be determined by judge Haight.

The Unity Team has spent millions of YOUR dollars defending their corrupt actions.

To pay for their deceit they Tripled Your Assessments giving you the BIGGEST DUES INCREASE in the history of the carpenters union, and they support plans (anyone say Blue Card) to take even more of YOUR money after the election.

Of course denying you a membership vote!

My opponent is going to tell you they did nothing wrong. Yet they were found guilty of contempt for illegally bargaining away the job referral rules. Judge Haight is charged by the court of appeals to find a remedy to the action the Unity Team says does not exist.

On July 1, 2006 The Unity Team CUT your pension benefit by 26% and told you it was an increase!

My opponent has now admitted that your pension was cut, because I raised the issue.

He will say of course we cut the pension. As "trustees its our job to make sure that when you retire you have a pension." Our job is to "make tough decisions" to protect our benefit funds. And when we make those tough decisions, we are going to be honest and tell you.

No argument there, I think we all agree with that.

I am not challenging the judgment of those tough decisions.

I challenged my opponent, twelve times, Don’t just tell us…show us the Carpenter Magazine.

Right here Right now, for the record where you explained those tough decisions to the membership of this union.

With all your resources and 100 year combined experience, It should be easy enough, to prove me wrong.

Sadly you cannot, because in both these examples you have misled and deceived the membership.

At the last meeting the Unity Team again deceived the membership saying that when they took office our pension benefit credit was worth $80.00. The International union change the benefit formula in 1998 one year before the Unity Team took office.

If The Unity Team can't be trusted to tell the truth about the 2001 contract and the 2006 Cut in our pension, how in the world can they be trusted with two billion dollars in assets?

Let me add one more thing about the pension fund .

We were told…the trustees decided beginning July 1, 2003 to reduced the hourly contributions in the welfare fund by $1 per hour and reallocate the $1 per hour into a creation they call a supplemental pension fund."

“This reallocation of $1 per hour was said to be seamless to the membership and only a temporary measure.”

"The trustees will move the $1 back to the welfare fund should it become necessary."

Fast Forward one year later to July 1, 2004:

We receive a $2.82 per hour raise the trustees recommend putting $1.00 per hour into the welfare fund to increase funding.

It is at that point, what was said to be "temporary and seamless" to the members in 2003 has now become permanent and seamed.

Question: Why wasn’t the $1.00 per hour put back like the trustees said?

Question: We never had a supplemental pension fund before why do we have one now?

We are not being told the truth!

The $1 dollar an hour has cost you thousands of dollars in lost wages with no benefit credit to your pension.

My opponent is going to say we have hard times ahead and now is not the time to change experience trustees with someone new.

I could not disagree more.

The board of directors of Citigroup were all experienced men and they nearly destroyed that once great company.

There are twelve trustees and not one of them told you your pension was cut by 26 percent until I raised the issue.

This is exactly why we need an Independent Voice at the district council.

There is a debating tactic that says, if you cannot defeat the facts of what your opponent is saying invent false issues in an attempt to mislead and distract the audience.

Sadly that is the path my opponent has chosen.

You will hear that the General President removed me from office.

This is nonsense, more deception and he knows better.

I was not removed from office.

The General President has no authority to remove elected officers from office. Local 157 was placed under trusteeship, which I exposed as phony. As a result of being under trusteeship all local meetings even our Christmas party was suspended, all elected officers and activities were suspended not removed.

EST Forde confirms what I am saying in a letter dater December 5, 2007 to the membership of local 157.

No allegations or charges of wrong doing were ever made against me. I did not seek re-election...end of story.

Let me add one more thing about the trusteeship of Local 157, last week President Thomassen said:

“I was in the office with Mike when McCarron called, He Asked, what is going on with the local?

We said George was fired as a business agent but he is staying as a vice president, He is elected and we can’t take him out of that position and he is going to become the president.

“McCarron said no way PUT THE LOCAL UNDER SUPERVISION.”

What President Thomassen just described and admitted is an unlawful trusteeship established in bad faith in order to stop George Dilacio from becoming president.

At last nights meeting I repeated what President Thomassen said, He did not deny saying it and he added “McCarron wanted to disband the local.”

There are federal laws to protect the rights of members and their local.

The General President cannot just disband a local at will.

The fact is the trusteeship of local 157 was unlawful and the constitution was not followed.

The Unity Team unrestrained and armed with all the Internationals levers of money and power, employ fear, propaganda and fraud by requesting a trusteeship be place on local 157.

They abused their power, and used the weapon of trusteeship to stifle democracy and deny members their legally protected rights.

The trusteeship left 4500 members and their families in the dark, without a voice in union affairs for almost a year.

You will hear I have no accomplishments ridiculous, I have more important things to say to you in ten minutes. Go to my website to read my accomplishments... end of story

You will hear I have no experience. This is where they got me and I plead guilty. I have absolutely no experience at misleading and deceiving the membership.

Let me give you an example of their experience. On-Par, Boom, Tri-Built, L&D, these companies were notoriously known as cash companies and defrauded our union out of million of dollars for years under their watch.

That's what they call leadership!

Let me add one more thing about On-Par, on April 2, 2008, On-Par filed a 100 million dollar lawsuit against the district council alleging among other things, the district council engaged in a conspiracy to utilized a corrupt scheme to manipulate the job referral rules in exchange for secret payoffs.

Let me quote two Independent Investigators and a federal judge on the assessment of the Unity Teams Anti-Corruption program.

"The union’s anti-corruption program is nearly worthless.” --Walter Mack June 3, 2004

"The anti-corruption program is composed of members of the district council who do not have any formal investigative training or experience; do not have a handbook of investigative procedures or written guidelines and cannot on its own do much more than inquire into allegations of improper conduct."--William Callahan December 2007

“The district council has not demonstrated they can combat corruption and adequately police themselves without further government involvement and court supervision.”--Judge Haight August 11, 2008

The other night my opponent said "the government is not our friend and isn't there to help us."

If it wasn't for government oversight On-Par, Boom, Tri-Built and L&D would still be defrauding your benefit funds out of tens of millions of dollars right under their 100 year experience trustee nose.

The membership expects us to seek elected office for the right reasons, and the right reason is to challenge the status quo, to serve the common good, and to leave this union better than we found it.

No one expects us to agree on everything. But we are expected to govern with integrity, honesty, good will and clear convictions.

Change is not going to come from within, Change is going to come from having an Independently elected voice at the district council, who is not part of the unity team to act as a "check and balance" to prevent abuse of power.

There is a famous quote by a 19th century historian. "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

This union needs an Independent voice at the district council, fighting for and looking out for, We the people...

On election day, I ask that you do one thing.

Pause, Ask yourself.

Are you better off Voting for three leaders all singing from the same song book?

Leaders who betrayed your trust!

Leaders who mislead you!

Or are you better off Voting to challenge the status quo?

This is your moment.

This is your moment to question authority and challenge the status quo.

This is your moment to agitate, speak up and lead. This is your union.

Thank you

God bless you

2008-08-26T07:21:00.008-04:00

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

BARGAINED AWAY THE JOB REFERRAL RULES

VIOLATED NYCDC BYLAWS

OBSTRUCTED AN INVESTIGATION

FOUND GUILTY OF CONTEMPT

DEMONSTRATED THEY CANNOT COMBAT CORRUPTION

TRIPLED YOUR ASSESSMENTS

SPENT MILLIONS OF YOUR DOLLARS ON LAWYER FEES

CUT YOUR PENSION BENEFIT BY 26 PERCENT

DECEIVED YOU WITH A SUPPLEMENTAL PENSION FUND

THE CHOICE IS CLEAR

Carpenters Union Leader Gets 5 Years For Fraud

2008-08-26T07:20:00.002-04:00

September 12, 2008, NEW YORK—A former shop steward and executive delegate for the Carpenters Union was sentenced Friday to five years in prison.

Michael Annucci, also known as “Mickey” Annucci of Local 157 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, was convicted following an eight-day trial in February for conspiracy, wire fraud, aiding and abetting the embezzlement of funds from employee benefit plans, and receipt of bribes by a labor representative.

Annuncci served as a shop steward for the District Council, an executive delegate to the District Council representing Local 157 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, and a member of the District Council’s trial committee – which imposed discipline on carpenters who broke union rules.

U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said for five years Annucci ripped off workers causing many to lose pension credits and health care coverage. Judge Barbara Jones said the 5-year sentence is meant to "send a message to other union members and executives that this type of conduct will not be tolerated."

From July 2001 through February 2006, Annucci was the shop steward for a Manhattan jobsite of L&D Installers, Inc., a furniture installation and construction contractor. L&D was a party to a collective bargaining agreement with the District Council, pursuant to which L&D was obligated to pay all of its workers at a specified hourly rate and to make contributions for each hour worked to District Council benefit funds, which provide life insurance, hospitalization, medical care, pension and vacation benefits to union members.

As a shop steward, Annucci was required to enforce the CBA by submitting weekly reports to the District Council setting forth the hours worked by each of carpenters assigned to the jobsite. The union’s auditors rely on the accuracy of shop steward reports in auditing contractors to ensure that all benefits contributions have been paid.

Annucci, however, omitted more than 22,000 hours from his shop steward reports, thereby enabling L&D to cheat the benefit funds out of hundreds of thousands of dollars it owed. Annucci submitted false shop steward reports to the union, on a weekly basis, for nearly five years. As a result, carpenters got paid lower wages and lost credit towards pension, vacation and retirement benefits, and some lost their health care coverage. At the same time, L&D paid Annucci for hundreds of overtime hours and at least 80 days that Annucci did not work.

In sentencing Annucci, Judge Barbara S. Jones stated that “this is a very serious offense,” and that the length of the sentence is necessary.

In addition to the prison term, Annucci was sentenced to two years supervised release. He is to surrender to begin serving his sentence next month.

Related Articles:

Annucci Sentencing
Annucci Found Guilty

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

Cut Pension Benefit By 26 Percent

2008-08-26T07:12:00.026-04:00

On July 1, 2006 The Unity Team CUT your pension benefit by an astounding 26% but failed to mention the word CUT!

Instead the Unity Team misled and deceived you by referring to the pension benefit "CUT" as a "Material Modification" for the change in the benefit formula!

In the Summer Issue of the Carpenter Magazine 2006, The Unity Team actually had this pull quote:

"For 1500 hours, at the new 1% formula, YOU WILL GAIN A BENEFIT."

This is DISHONESTLY at its BEST!

Let me quote from the full article on page 32:

"You all should have received the Summary Material Modification for the change in the pension plan benefit formula by now. Although there is a small reduction in the formula, the net benefit is still greater than what is was under the old benefit credit formula."

"Example: prior to 1999 fifteen hundred hours gave you one benefit credit, which was worth $80.00. The current pension contribution rate for an outside journeyman is $7.81, so, for 1500 hours, at the new 1% formula, you will gain a benefit of $117.15 for the year."

That is just plain BULLSHIT!

That would be like me cutting your salary by $5 an hour today and telling you its an increase because you are still making more money than you did 7 years ago!

Unity Team, NEW MATH: 2 + 2 = 5

Let me explain, on June 30, 2006 your pension benefit formula was:

Pension rate x hours x .0135 = benefit credit

Using their example your benefit credit would be worth $158.15

$7.81 x 1500 x .0135 = $158.15

After the benefit "CUT" on July 1, 2006 or the “Material Modification” as the Unity Team calls it, your new pension benefit formula is:

Pension rate x hours x .0100 = benefit

Using their example your benefit credit would be worth $117.15

$7.81 x 1500 x .0100 = $117.15

Clearly $158.15 on June 30, 2006 is more than $117.15 on July 1, 2006, the very next day working the same hours.

So YOUR pension benefit was CUT by 26% or $41.00

In the Unity Team world of deception your new July 2006 pension benefit of $117.51 is more than your old pension benefit of 1999 which was $80.00, so in the Unity Team world of deception your pension benefit has Increased on July 1, 2006!

Brothers and Sisters the truth is we are really being misled and not being told the truth about our pension fund. We should demand a Full Independent Investigation and a Full Independent Accounting reported to the membership.

PS: As the Unity Team "CUT" your pension benefit by 26% they INCREASED their pension benefit! Where is the Outrage!!!

Click here to read mail out

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

The Unity Teams Record

2008-08-26T06:01:00.000-04:00

FACT— The Unity Team sold-out the Carpenters in the 2001 contract negotiations when he “bargained away” the job referral rules and gave the contractor what they wanted The unfettered right to “request” anyone they want from the out-of-work list!

FACT— The Unity Team negotiated this shocking contract change without notifying or seeking the approval of the 20-member negotiating team, the 88-member elected delegate body and the rank-and-file who were expressly opposed to the contractor request!

FACT— The Unity Team violated his oath of office and more importantly the trust of the membership he claims to represent by failing to disclose this contract change!

FACT— The Unity Team has rendered the 50/50 rule meaningless and has undercut and turned the out-of-work list into nothing more than an absurd paperwork dance!

FACT— The Unity Team has transformed our union from being a major source of job opportunities for Carpenters into a graveyard, where Carpenters with no “contractor connections” languish on a meaningless out-of-work list for months at a time!

FACT— The Unity Team has allowed the exploitation of Carpenters by contractors who pay cash and defraud our benefit funds out of millions of dollars every year!

FACT— The Unity Team used his position to cover-up and obstruct an investigation by the Independent Investigator, Walter Mack of corrupt district council employees who were destroying shop stewards reports for cash payoffs by corrupt contractors in an effort to defraud our benefit funds. To date we still don't know the extent of this corruption!

FACT— Mr. Thomassen is the only union leader in the history of the Carpenters to be held in civil contempt by the federal government for violating provisions of the consent decree when he unilaterally eviscerated the job referral rules!

FACT— We will not be Fooled by your Dishonesty and Empty Promises!

Found Guilty Of Contempt

2008-08-26T05:28:00.011-04:00

On February 20, 2007 after years of costly litigation, The Unity Team was found GUILTY OF CONTEMPT by the United States Court Of Appeals for violating provisions of the Consent Decree when they eviscerated the job referral rules with the 2001 contract change, which has encouraged job site corruption by "cash" contractors!

Exerts from United States Court Of Appeals Order:

Paragraph 11 further requires the Union to make the Job Referral Rules part of the District Council By-Laws. Thus, the Paragraph 12 requirement that “the District Council shall give prior written notice to the Government . . . of any proposed changes to the By-Laws” was violated when the Union entered into the 2001 CBAs that made it impossible to comply with the Job Referral Rules incorporated into both the Consent Decree and the Union By-Laws.

Proof of noncompliance is clear and convincing. We reject the Union’s claim that Rule 5(B) permitted the job referral practices in the 2001 CBAs, and the Union has offered no other argument that the terms of the CBAs were otherwise consistent with the Consent Decree’s requirements. Finally, the Union did not claim that it diligently attempted to comply with the Decree.

As a result, we find that the district court erred in concluding that the Union was not in contempt. We remand for the entry of the Order of Contempt, and leave to the district court’s discretion the proper remedy.

Read the Full court order click here.

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

Violated NYCDC Bylaws

2008-08-26T05:12:00.011-04:00

It is clear from the Unity Team's actions over the past eight years that they have not told the truth about the 2001 contract negotiations and have not represented the best interest of the hard working carpenters who make up the majority of this union.

The Unity Team sold-out the carpenters in the 2001 contract negotiations when they "bargained away" the job referral rules and gave the contractor what they wanted—The unfettered right to "request" anyone they want from the out-of-work list!

The Unity Team negotiated this shocking contract change without notifying or seeking the approval of the 15-member negotiating team, the 88-member elected delegate body and the rank-and-file who were expressly opposed to the contractor request.

They have abused their authority, violated their oath of office, violated the 1994 Consent Decree and more importantly violated the trust of the membership they claim to represent.

The NYCDC Bylaws plainly state, the "delegate body" has final approval on all contracts (see below). Yet The Unity Team failed to seek consent and failed to disclose this disastrous contract change, to the elected delegates. The theft of decision-making power from the elected delegate body that is charged with approving all contracts is unconscionable!

NYCDC Bylaws COLLECTIVE BARGAINING Section 17:

The Executive Committee shall have the exclusive power and authority to negotiate, the Delegate Body to consider and finally approve, and the Executive Secretary-Treasurer to execute Collective Bargaining Agreements for and on behalf of its affiliated Local Unions and as per the Constitution of the United Brotherhood.

To read the full NYCDC Bylaws click here.

This is why you cannot trust anything The Unity Team says!

THE REAL UNITY TEAM RECORD

photos

2008-07-24T16:10:00.006-04:00

John

Dennis

2008-07-24T14:12:00.027-04:00

Job Site Posters

Thank you for your interest in helping my Independent Campaign for District Council Vice President. Please click on the posters below and print it out to post on your job site. Help us spread the word about our campaign and message of reform to every member of every local of every background throughout the NYCDC and get John Musumeci elected.

Supporters just like you will make change possible and lead the way to an Independent Victory!

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2008-07-24T10:57:00.028-04:00

NEWS THE UNITY TEAM
DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW!

Carpenters Union Leader Gets 5 Years For Fraud

September 12, 2008—A former shop steward and executive delegate for the Carpenters Union was sentenced Friday to five years in prison.

Michael Annucci, also known as “Mickey” Annucci of Local 157 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, was convicted following an eight-day trial in February for conspiracy, wire fraud, aiding and abetting the embezzlement of funds from employee benefit plans, and receipt of bribes by a labor representative.

Annuncci served as a shop steward for the District Council, an executive delegate to the District Council representing Local 157 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, and a member of the District Council’s trial committee – which imposed discipline on carpenters who broke union rules.

Click to read more...

Judge Continues Oversight of District Council Cites Continued Corruption

August 11, 2008--Citing continued corruption, a federal judge has ordered a one-year extension of government oversight of the New York City District Council.

Judge Charles S. Haight Jr. of Federal District Court in Manhattan pointed to widespread off-the-books work and the bribery convictions of several shop stewards in ordering the extension.

Judge Haight cited federal criminal cases brought against the construction contractors On Par, Boom Construction and Tri-Built, and wrote that the shop stewards and other union officials “played vital roles in facilitating, enabling or abetting the employers’ fraud” by failing to supervise job sites or keep track of hours worked.

Click to read more...

Union Thugs Beat Member for Disagreeing With Party Line

After an August 5 Local 608 candidates forum, the candidate was beaten by members of the audience outside a church. Outside a CHURCH!

This thuggery along with continued indictments, convictions and corruption convinced Judge Charles S. Haight, Jr. not to release the union from government oversight.

The assault last week on the dissident union candidate, William Davenport, undermined the union’s assertions of a change in its internal culture. Mr. Davenport, according to several accounts, was heckled when he spoke at the union meeting, which was attended by about 500 members. Despite the presence of two retired police detectives hired to maintain order, a group of men stood up in the front rows and screamed, while members of the Unity Teams Adminstration did nothing to stop them.

Click to read more...

Corrupt Contractor Sues District Council For $100M

April 2, 2008--On Par Contracting has filed a $100 million dollar lawsuit against the NYC District Council of Carpenters alleging among other things that the District Council has allowed its officers to utilize a corrupt scheme whereby preferential treatment was given to certain companies in exchange for secret payoffs and knowingly permitted its officers to participate in a conspiracy to manipulate and corrupt the job referral system.

Here it is for your reading pleasure; The On Par lawsuit. Click here for PDF file.

Job Rules of Carpenters' Union Encourage Corruption, U.S. Charges

September 15, 2005-- Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to hold New York City's carpenters' union in contempt for changing the union's job referral system without government approval, arguing that the changes will encourage more corruption.

The United States attorney in Manhattan, David N. Kelley, said in a motion that in changing the job referral system, the New York City District Council of Carpenters violated a consent decree it signed in 1994.

In court papers made public this week, Mr. Kelley argued that the changes give construction contractors far more leeway to hire whichever carpenters they want, irrespective of length of unemployment. The old system generally required them first to hire the carpenters who had been unemployed the longest.

Click to read more...

Unity Team Obstructed An Investigation Of Corrupt Council Employees

In November of 2004 the Unity Team obstructed an investigation of corrupt district council employees who were destroying shop stewards reports for cash payoffs by corrupt contractors in an effort to defraud our benefit funds. Former Independent Investigator, Walter Mack was hindered (and later fired) in his ability to determine how and to what extent these contractors were able to avoid detection of their routine CBA violations for such a long time. To date the full extent of this corruption is unknown!

Click to read more...

Judge Urged to Replace A Union Investigator

September 21, 2007, Frustrated by enduring corruption, prosecutors have asked a federal judge in Manhattan to replace the independent investigator in charge of rooting out mob involvement and other problems in the carpenters' union in New York.

Click to read more...

Two Get 5 Years For Defrauding Carpenters Union

July 10, 2008 The owners Tri-Built Construction Inc. a drywall contracting business have each been sentenced to five years in federal prison for conspiring to defraud the Carpenters Union benefit funds of millions of dollars by using non-union labor, paying union carpenters off-the-books and bribing shop stewards and an employee of the benefit funds to assist in the fraud.

Patrick Noel McCaul and James Dermot McGonnel were indicted in December 2006 and pleaded guilty on Nov. 20, 2007.

Click to read more...

Excerpts from Mr. Thomassen – Direct Testimony

Read for yourself what The Unity Team doesn't want you to know.

The following is an exchange of testimony between Judge Haigh and President Thomassen on April 12, 2005. Here we learn for the first time —that the Unity Team “bargained away” the job referral rules and gave the contractor what they wanted—The unfettered right to “request” anyone they want from the out-of-work list!

QUESTION THE COURT: I take it by what you intend to convey by your last answer, that in the most recent negotiation with the association of contractors with whom you negotiate a collective bargaining agreement, you relaxed or gave something up. Did you give something up on the 50-50 rule? Did you grant them greater liberty than they otherwise had had in the past with respect to their ability to request individual carpenters? Is that what was going on?

ANSWER MR.THOMASSEN: Yes, your Honor, with the associations, it used to be that if an employee was going to be requested, he had to show that he worked for the contractor in the past six months. We took that away and said you could request a carpenter. He didn't have to work for you in the last six months.

To read the full transcript click here.

Click to read more...

The Unity Teams 2001 Contract Change

The Unity Team sold-out the carpenters in the 2001 contract negotiations when they "bargained away" the job referral rules and gave the contractor what they wanted—The unfettered right to "request" anyone they want from the out-of-work list! The Unity Team negotiated this shocking contract change without notifying or seeking the approval of the 15-member negotiating team, the 88-member elected delegate body and the rank-and-file who were expressly opposed to the contractor request.

The Unity Team clearly violated their oath of office and more importantly the trust of the membership they claim to represent. The NYCDC Bylaws plainly state, the "delegate body" has final approval on all contracts. Yet The Unity Team failed to seek consent and failed to disclose this disastrous contract change, to the elected delegates. The theft of decision-making power from the elected delegate body that is charged with approving all contracts is unconscionable!

Click to read more...

2008-07-24T10:49:00.021-04:00

Tale Of The Tape

	John Musumeci	Dennis Sheil

Local	Carpenters Local 157	Timbermen Local 1536
Office being sought	DC Vice President	DC Vice President
Current job	On-the-tools carpenter	DC Vice President
Age	51	54
Member opinion	Integrity, outspoken critic	Tows Party Line
Affiliation	Independent	Unity Team
Accountability	Rank and File	Unity Team
Theme:	Reform and Members Rights	Maintain status quo
What they've done to live that theme:	Stood up to the old politics as usual; Created member website; Created member newsletter; Created member message board; Challenge the status quo and to serve the common good	Praise Unity Team
Support members right to vote on contracts and assessments	Yes	No
Voted to raise assessments	No	Yes
End contractor request	Yes	No
Support job stewards from home local	Yes	No
Supports full disclosure of all union finances	Yes	No
Cut District Council spending	Yes	No
Eliminate triple assessments	Yes	No
Eliminate Supplemental Pension Fund	Yes	No
Freedom from Corruption	Yes	No
Remove Incompetent Officers	Yes	No
Interactive Website	Yes	No
Most Courageous Moment in Union Service	Exposed phony trusteeship placed on Local 157 and UBC Constitutional violations.	None

**The Choice is Clear!**

If you want change in our union,
if you are tired of the status quo,
if you hope for a better District Council,
then I am asking for your VOTE.

*****ELECT*****

INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE

****JOHN MUSUMECI****

***DISTRICT COUNCIL***

***VICE PRESIDENT***

2008-07-24T08:27:00.117-04:00

Compare the Candidates

ON THE ISSUES

Musumeci
vs
Sheil
Favor

Oppose

Dennis Sheil believes that our District Council does not need any reforms. John Musumeci believes members must reclaim their fundamental democratic rights and supports reforms. Sheil is opposed to each and everyone of these reforms. Musumeci favors everyone of these reforms. Regardless of what Sheil or the Unity Team say now, they have not advocated any democratic reforms since being in office and have denied you your democratic rights!

*****The Right To Vote On All Contracts*****

We demand an end to the system by which collective bargaining contracts are imposed on members without their review. We endorse the right of members to vote for or against proposed contracts. Before any such vote, we propose (1.) That the full and accurate terms of any contract be reported to the membership far enough in advance of the vote to permit intelligent review, and (2.) That provisions be made for democratic discussion of the contract provisions.

*****Vote On All Assessments and Dues *****

We demand an end to the system by which Assessments and Dues are imposed on members without their review. We endorse the right of members to vote for or against any assessments or dues proposed. Before any such vote, we propose (1.) That the full and accurate terms of any assessments or dues be reported to the membership far enough in advance of the vote to permit intelligent review, and (2.) That provisions be made for democratic discussion of the proposed Assessments and Dues.

*****End The Contractor Request*****

Nothing has hurt our membership more than this phony out-of-work-list, Its time to end it now! Carpenters should have the right to work in dignity and with a high standard of living. We insist upon the implementation of a fair hiring system which distributes job opportunities for all dues-paying members without fear or favor.

*****Stewards From The Home Local*****

To better assist our shop stewards on the job, all shop stewards should be appointed by a business agent and come from that home local. This will ensure accountability, business agents will be held accountability for the actions of shop stewards.

*****Freedom From Corruption*****

Let all trustees do their job with full access to the union books and provide the membership with full and accurate reports on all union finances. Also we should adopt a zero-tolerance policy for all forms of corruption and cut off all money for the indicted. Union service should be about serving a cause greater than self-interest

*****Fiscal Discipline*****

The Unity Team has spent millions of your hard earn dollars on lawyer fees, sucking the lifeblood from our treasury defending corrupt action's. On their watch, council spending soared some 163 percent, from $19 million in '99 to almost $50 million this year! Balancing the budget and acting fiscally responsible with members money went from a core principle of past administrations to lip service of the tax and spend Unity Team. Its time to cut spending and reduce our budget. The Unity Team should show it's serious about real spending cuts and reduce spending.

*****Eliminated Triple Assessments*****

The Unity Team has tripled our assessments over the past eight years, and supports plans to take even more of your hard earn money after the election to pay for their over spending. The District Council must learn to live on a budget just like every member in this union. Spending must be cut across the board and a large share of that revenue returned back to where it belongs-- directly to the membership of this union.

*****Pension Fund*****

The Unity Team has misled and deceived us. We are not being told the truth about our Pension Fund. We demand a Full Independent Investigation and a Full and Complete Accounting reported to the membership on the Pension Fund. The" supplemental pension fund" should be eliminated and either the $1 dollar an hour credited to the real “pension fund” or returned back to the memberships pocket!

***** Welfare Fund*****

Today, we face a great challenge: At a time when we have fewer resources, a membership that is aging, and a deficit that while much improved, still plagues us, we must come together to balance the budget and truly reform our Welfare Fund, while still keeping our promises to the membership and our retirees.

Our Welfare Fund has provided a blanket of health security for our members and retirees. It has helped change what it means to be old in America; what it means to be sick in America; what it means to be disabled in America. The gift that our Welfare Fund has given to those who came before us must be preserved for those who come after us -- That is our moral responsibility.

*****Interactive Websites *****

It’s a sad fact the membership has no voice at all on the NYCDC web site, which is installed as one-way communication system: from leaders to members, but not the reverse. Our leaders tell us about specific labor campaigns they want us to support, but are not interested in our comments or suggestions. Any forum where members can speak freely makes them nervous. The technology is available to allow members to have their say on the Web through the use of “message boards” and “chat rooms” that also serve to stimulate discussion groups. The NYCDC websites must allow union members to talk to each other and their officers on the issues.

*****Remove Incompetent Officers*****

When we elect our officers, we expect them to live up to their promises and our expectations, to behave with honesty and integrity, and to run the union in a democratic manner, with due regard for our rights. But once elected, far too many officers act as though the union is their personal property. They make important decisions without asking our approval. They hand out cushy jobs to their cronies. They spend union funds lavishly on themselves and don’t report their expenses to the members. They try to adopt a lifestyle that is more like the employers they deal with than ours. We need the right to hold a referendum to remove incompetent and corrupt officers from office. Many democratic organizations have a provision in their constitutions giving members the power to recall their officers by a referendum under specified conditions.

*****Employers Right To Reject*****

Virtually all construction contracts give employers the right to reject any carpenter for employment without explanation or justification. With that right, employers are free to take action against union activists, to blacklist union stewards, and to discriminate against any worker who files a grievance to enforce the terms of a union contract. The District Council should insist that employers show good cause before rejecting a carpenter, that they be required to explain and justify any such rejection, and that procedures be established for enforcing the new rule.

*****Protection From Retaliation*****

Once employers lose that unconditional right to reject, union stewards can be protected against retaliation and will be free to fulfill their responsibility for enforcing the provisions of our union contract, It will be possible to implement an effective grievance procedure to protect our members rights to safe and decent working conditions.

*****Let Our Members Know*****

Automatic distribution to all members, copies of the collective bargaining contract and union constitutions and bylaws.

**The Choice is Clear!**

If you want change in our union,
if you are tired of the status quo,
if you hope for a better District Council,
then I am asking for your VOTE.

*****ELECT*****

INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE

****JOHN MUSUMECI****

***DISTRICT COUNCIL***

***VICE PRESIDENT***

2008-07-24T08:27:00.107-04:00

An Independent Voice Ready From Day One

John Musumeci started his career in the UBC in 1987. John Musumeci has a remarkable record of leadership and experience that embodies his unwavering commitment to the membership of the NYCDC.

First elected as a Delegate to the New York City District Council of Carpenters in 1999 as our council emerged from International supervision, John has fought for reforming our District Council, eliminating wasteful spending and strengthening our shop stewards. John Musumeci was re-elected to this position by the membership of Local 157 in 2003 and 2005. In 2005 John was elected Delegate to the 39th UBC General Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. John was also a three term elected officer of Local 157.

John has two children and lives in Brooklyn with his wife Dolores.

I didn't get involved in union politics to do the safe and easy things. A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not why the ship is built. Politics isn't just a game of competing interests and clashing ideas. The membership of our union expect us to seek office and to serve for the right reasons. And the right reason is to challenge the status quo and to serve the common good, and to leave this union better than we found it.

In 2000 as a rank and file carpenter on his tools, I started and created Local Connection 157, a union newsletter to keep the membership of Local 157 better informed. Later I expanded the audience and created Local157.com a website dedicated to keeping the membership informed on District Council news. More recently I created Local157.blogspot.com and exposed the phony trusteeship placed on Local 157 and UBC Constitutional violations.

Carpenters are ready for a positive change and tired of the good ol’ boy network which has caused apathy and many members to lose faith in their union.

No one expects us to agree on everything. But we are expected to lead with integrity, good will and clear convictions.

In the Delegate Body, I have been on the front lines for the fight for change and members rights. I have stood up to the old politics as usual and the good-old-boy network and was one of the first to expose the phony out-of work-list system.

**The Choice is Clear!**

If you want change in our union,
if you are tired of the status quo,
if you hope for a better District Council,
then I am asking for your VOTE.

*****ELECT*****

INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE

****JOHN MUSUMECI****

***DISTRICT COUNCIL***

***VICE PRESIDENT***

2008-07-24T08:26:00.007-04:00

Speak Out On The Issues!

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2008-07-24T03:43:00.034-04:00

Internet Brigade Contact Form

To contact or volunteer to join my Independent Campaign for District Council Vice President, please fill out the form below.

As an Internet Brigade member you will be joining me in an historic campaign as we go up against a very formidable opponent, The Unity Team.

The Unity Team has more money, more lawyers (we have none), more resources and more paid employees in their arsenal ready to use against us.

But you know what…We are going to Win!

You know why? Superior ideas, superior issues and thousands of like minded brothers and sisters like you who are ready for change and fed up with the status quo and unafraid to speak out.

I ask you to volunteer your help in this cause so we can carry our message to every member of every local throughout the NYCDC and get John Musumeci elected.

Sign up Today! Together we can make change possible!

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