Midwest Regional United Workers Comptroller Sentenced

On July 15, Robert Kurtycz, former comptroller for Workers United’s Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to one day in prison (suspended) and three years of supervised release, including one year of home confinement, for conspiracy to commit commercial bribery and wire fraud in relation to his receipt of $85,962 in unauthorized expense reimbursements. He also must pay full restitution and a $200 special assessment. The Chicago-based Joint Board, like Workers United, is an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. He had pleaded guilty this February after being indicted in May 2019. The actions follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, Office of Inspector General and Employee Benefits Security Administration.   … Read More ➡

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from National Legal & Policy Center https://nlpc.org/2020/08/14/midwest-regional-united-workers-comptroller-sentenced/
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Janus, Two Years On: More Necessary Than Ever

This June 27 marked the second anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling in Janus v. AFSCME Council 31, a pivotal event in labor relations whose potential long-run impact is only beginning to be felt. The High Court’s upholding by a 5-4 margin of the constitutional right of Mark Janus, an Illinois state civil servant, to withhold dues from an affiliate of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees has enabled numerous nonmembers across a wide range of public-sector jobs to decline to pay without worrying about losing their jobs. In response, unions and their political allies are going to great lengths to circumvent the ruling. They know what is at stake. Their actions unintentionally underscore why the Court made the right call. And Mark Janus isn’t quite done yet.  

Government employee unions, especially at the state and local levels, have become a dominant force in collective … Read More ➡

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from National Legal & Policy Center https://nlpc.org/2020/07/30/janus-two-years-on-more-necessary-than-ever/
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Dissenting Employees in Seattle Sue SEIU Locals for Beck Violations

For more over three decades, union leaders have done everything possible, legal or not, to skirt the Supreme Court’s Beck decision. Some very recent examples come from Seattle. Last Wednesday, June 17, Daniel Dalison, an employee of a building maintenance contractor, filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board against a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) local for misleading him about his right to withhold dues for functions unrelated to union business. Two months earlier, Dalison, formerly an employee at a local hospital, along with a fellow hospital employee, Roger White, had filed separate NLRB complaints against another Seattle-area SEIU local on similar grounds. Under Beck, a union must inform employees of this “opt-out” right. The dissenters appear to have a strong case, too.

Under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, a labor union has the right of exclusive representation. That is, if a majority of workers … Read More ➡

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from National Legal & Policy Center https://nlpc.org/2020/06/23/dissenting-employees-in-seattle-sue-seiu-locals-for-beck-violations/
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Workers United Midwest Board Comptroller Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy, Wire Fraud

On February 27, Robert Kurtycz, former comptroller for Workers United’s Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to one count of conspiracy to commit commercial bribery and one count of wire fraud in relation to his receipt of unauthorized expense reimbursements totaling $85,962. The Chicago-based joint board, like Workers United, is an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union. He had been indicted last May on the conspiracy count plus six counts of wire fraud. The actions follow a joint probe by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, Office of Inspector General and Employee Benefits Security Administration.… Read More ➡

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from National Legal & Policy Center https://nlpc.org/2020/03/24/midwest-workers-united-board-comptroller-pleads-guilty-to-conspiracy-wire-fraud/
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Chicago-Area SEIU Benefits Consultant Indicted for Bribery

On October 17, Rebecca Hedman, an agent for three Chicago-area health care providers, was indicted in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on one count of conspiracy to commit commercial bribery via cellphone in an unspecified sum. The charge follows a probe by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, Office of Inspector General and Employee Benefits Security Administration. The action against Hedman follows the indictment in May of Robert Kurtycz, former comptroller of the Chicago chapters of Workers United and the Midwest Regional Joint Board, each an affiliate of the Service Employees International Union, on one count of bribery conspiracy and six counts of wire fraud, one of which involved his receipt of $85,962 in union assets for fake reimbursements.… Read More ➡

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from National Legal & Policy Center https://nlpc.org/2019/12/09/chicago-area-seiu-benefits-consultant-indicted-for-bribery/
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SPFPA President in Detroit Sentenced for Larceny

On August 23, Esper Alexander, former president of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America Local 1111, was sentenced in Wayne County (Michigan) District Court for the State of Michigan to six months of probation and three days of community service for larceny by conversion of funds from the Detroit union in a sum of at least $200 but less than $1,000. He had pleaded guilty in July. The actions follow an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡

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from National Legal & Policy Center https://nlpc.org/2019/09/06/spfpa-president-in-detroit-sentenced-for-larceny/
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Security and Fire Professionals President in Detroit Pleads Guilty

On July 19, Esper Alexander, former president of Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America Local 1111, pleaded guilty in Wayne County (Michigan) District Court to one count of larceny by conversion of funds from the Detroit-based union in a sum of at least $200 but less than $1,000. The plea follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.… Read More ➡

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from National Legal & Policy Center https://nlpc.org/2019/07/23/security-and-fire-professionals-president-in-detroit-pleads-guilty/
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