UPDATES

October 19th, 2010

I have been quite busy for months now and have put off writing here for several reasons. One of the reasons is that after the appellate court ruled in Prate’s favor on the underlying case, and vacated everything from 2005 on, I have been preparing to take the Chicago Carpenters Union back to court.

Before I did that though, I exhausted all means I possibly could to work out an amicable settlement. The reasons I tried to resolve the issues were simple, in the end I will prevail again! What I was trying to avoid was the union spending ridiculous amounts of money to defend something that they simply cannot defend. Here is why:

• First, Arbitrator Martin’s ruled I was right. Facts and documents clearly proved that.

Second, Judge St. Eve upheld Arbitrator Martin’s decision to the underlying case but had to rule that after the 2005 contract, there was a new means of grievance resolution. The reason she ruled that way is the union, through its attorneys, in my opinion, deceived Judge St. Eve by misrepresenting that the RCEC agreement contained a provision providing for a permanent arbitration board. The union represented there was a new procedure to settle disputes with a standing panel of 5 arbitrators of which Arbitrator Martin was not one. What the union and Travis Ketterman, their attorney, neglected to tell Judge St. Eve is that the contract was never completed! Section 18-8 clearly spells out “by mutual agreement” and “set forth in a separate document” which never happened! I found this out between Judge St. Eve’s ruling and the decision of the appellate court. My link to oral arguments clearly shows; if you listen to it, that the union and their attorney, Travis Ketterman, continued the apparent, in my opinion, misrepresentation in their oral argument before the appellate court! Listen to Travis; you can clearly hear him after the stammering ends address this issue. Go to:

http://www.ca7.uscourts.gov/fdocs/docs.fwx?caseno=09-2453&submit=showdkt

Click on oral argument and listen to oral argument.

Click on OPINION to view final opinion.

There was not a new panel of arbitrators chosen or any written procedures in a separate document completed. Travis Ketterman and the union, in my opinion, knew this as Travis was standing in front of a 3 panel Federal Appellate hearing, continuing to deceive the court. I have proof Travis knew there was no permanent arbitration board, nor any written arbitration procedures, when he was in court as the RCEC’s attorney, Howard Bernstein, had spoken to Travis and sent e-mails back and forth on this very issue way before the oral arguments ever took place.

So, here we are, back in court and the union once again is spending huge amounts of money to defend what in the end, again, should be a lost cause.

Open Letter to Mr. Libby from Michael Prate,

What I do not understand, Mr. Libby, is why haven’t you publicly addressed items and issues from my last and other previous blogs? Specifically;

• What about the union’s attorneys getting health care benefits through the trust funds? Many of your rank and files benefits have run out, how come they cannot “buy in”?



PLEASE ANSWER!!



• How come, Mr. Libby, you never went after any of the contractors my Most Favored Nations Grievance clearly proved were paying piecework until they owed you huge sums of money they couldn’t pay and then closed their doors owing the funds millions of dollars of which YOU SHOULD HAVE COLLECTED!

• Because you did not collect monies you knew were due the union and funds, you made Prate and ALL OTHER LEGITMATE SIGNATORY CONTRACTORS less competitive in the marketplace as you kept coming back to us for more money for the funds! Maybe, if you would have done your job correctly, you would have collected monies owed the funds and all of our “unfunded liability” would be much less.

• The union has yet to negotiate with RCEC for a new contract. During the last time around the threat from the union was that if RCEC contractors did not sign, we would be non-union and they would come after us for unfunded or withdrawal liability!

• Mr. Libby, I dare you! In my opinion, your union knowingly did not do it’s job and collect huge amounts that were due! The truth will come out. Myself and several other contractors are waiting for the union or funds to “go after” any RCEC contractor like that and then respond with a class action, holding the union responsible, not just the contractor!

• Do not forget, Mr. Libby, you as President of the union and also head of the trust funds, know exactly what is going on and you ultimately make these “business” decisions and are liable.


Michael Prate




I will be addressing more items and issues on a more frequent basis again. I am still in touch with my “inside” contact at the union and have other disgruntled union members providing me information.

The Carpenters Union, while pretending to want to resolve my other issues, keeps ignoring the basic business principle that the rest of us need to practice to survive, which is, a business deal has to be good for both parties! The days of this union’s “one way street” are over. You can see how their financial picture is changing rapidly, look it up. Watch what Frank Libby does in this new case with Prate. I would be willing to bet he makes a big deal out of spending huge amounts of legal dollars to not only fight me again, but to continue to try and break me by going back to harassment, defamation and frivolous legal battles, all to continue to defend something they cannot defend, they deliberately and knowingly wronged Prate. All I want is to be made whole, that is what I fought over 8 years for and I will not quit until that happens! Justice will prevail!

The latest case the union just filed in Federal court is clearly an example, four attorneys are listed, FOUR! How much is that per hour Mr. Libby? Tell us all how much union money you are willing to spend to fight a losing battle while you had to lay off how many union employees? How much money did you pay Whitfield’s office for the Prate’s Most Favored Nations case besides the millions you had to pay Prate?

Thank you all for your ongoing interest and support. Hopefully soon you will be reading more in the press.


Michael