On November 30, the Pittsburgh, (PA) Tribune-Review reported two separate incidents of local union funds being embezzled.
Under the headline, “Woman charged with embezzling from Pitt police union,” they reported the grand jury indictment of Carroll L. Phillips, who allegedly stole $7,300 from the union representing the University of Pittsburgh campus police, while acting as the union’s treasurer.
Under the headline, “Fayette man charged with embezzlement,” the Tribune-Review reported, without saying how much, that Stephen A. Kostelac, of Fayette City, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of embezzling dues payments while serving as secretary/treasurer of Boilermakers Lodge 906, AFL-CIO.
Union coffers, flush with funds gained under federal labor-law provisions that authorize the firing of employees for refusal to pay dues to a union, are often alluring and easy targets for unscrupulous Big Labor officials with access to such funds.
And, Pennsylvania, as a forced-unionism state, denies workers the freedom to decide as individuals whether or not a labor union, like any other private group, deserves their financial support.
Maybe, it’s time for a change.
It defies common sense to claim that people who get the vast majority of their income from their jobs would lopsidedly favor living in states where they are worse off over states where they are better off.
Former UAW Boss, Edward "Nick" Robinson, has been sentences to 1 year in prison for embezzlement and tax evasion, and must pay $342,000 in restitution.
Corruption is a pervasive problem in the UAW, and Organized Labor as a whole. Government policies promoting forced union dues are a principal source of corruption. That’s why the National Right to Work Committee is urging Schneider to make the elimination of the forced-dues privileges a core part of his program to clean up the union.