No matter how often unions get caught with their hands in the cookie jar, they seemingly cannot stop their pattern of unjust enrichment. This month, several prominent examples include big spenders, and a union officer charged with criminal offenses after a domestic dispute. Automaker-on-automaker accusations receive an update, too, along with multiple instances of unions forcing dues upon workers:
- Teamsters president Sean O’Brien booted a local board after an audit revealed over $1 million in excessive expenses over five years. These purchases included lavish dinners, booze, luxury purses, and self-approved bonuses. O’Brien suggested that much more was afoot while telling members, “The violations and wrongdoing identified above are not a complete list.”
- Amazon Labor Union VP Derrick Palmer has been indicted on multiple counts of aggravated assault following a domestic dispute and claims that he strangled his girlfriend in May 2022. Officer body cam footage reportedly reveals Palmer admitting that he did choke his girlfriend. If convicted, Palmer could be banned from holding union office for 13 years. Questions also surround a GoFundMe that raised $400,000 yet did not surface in financials sent to the NLRB.
- GM isn’t giving up its racketeering allegations against Stellantis, even after the Supreme Court declined to reconsider the case. Previously, GM accused Stellantis of corrupting the UAW bargaining process during the unsuccessful attempt to merge Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and GM, which racked up $1 billion in extra labor costs due to the alleged bargaining shenanigans. Now, dozens of lawyers are gearing up to tackle the case again in Michigan state court.
- A Ford Worker in Kentucky, a Right-to-Work state, recovered union dues that the UAW continued to withdraw after she rescinded her membership.
- A security officer in California, not a Right-to-Work state, is fighting against compulsory SEIU membership under the grounds of a religious objection. National Right to Work attorneys represent the plaintiff pro bono using Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
- A Philadelphia public defender claims she never authorized UAW dues to be automatically withheld from her paychecks. The lawyer claims that a union representative responded by threatening to lower her wages if she refused to pay dues. The “automatic” part of the withdrawal appears to be the critical offense here, given that Pennsylvania isn’t a Right-to-Work state.
