Carpenter Union Update

April 18, 2010
Blog #8

It has been a while since my last blog. I have a great one ready for the day the appellate court rules on Prate Installations vs. Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters.

In the meantime I have something to share with you. Several months ago, the carpenters union laid off many of its employees. Evidently many of these former union employees are disgruntled by this union’s leadership and its current state of affairs. Since the lay off, I have received numerous phone calls from “anonymous” past union employees. These people have all shared with me some of the “wrong doings”, as they see it, that the CRCC has done and is still doing. They are asking for help. They want the union leadership to stop what they feel are actions detrimental to their union and trust funds.

I have been diligently researching and investigating all charges. I intend to come up with the facts and proof of these allegations and then confront the union leadership and see if they will “right the wrongs” amicably before I proceed to legal remedies.

I have also received several “anonymous” letters addressed to me; these letters have outlined, in detail, situations the writer thinks are wrong if not illegal.
I am including in this blog a copy of a letter I sent to CRCC President Frank Libby. Read the letter and ask Frank Libby about this as I have. I will keep you posted as to his response. In my letter, I am asking him for details about allegations a former union employee has made about the union giving preferential treatment to, what the writer of the letter refers to as the, “scumbag law firm” of Collins, Whitfield, McGann & Ketterman. This alleged special treatment has to do with medical benefits that are supposed to be for card holding members of the union or signatory employers who have non-union employees listed monthly and pay in 175 hours per month for this benefit.

In the meantime, I thank all of you that have shared with me information and ammunition to go after this union and its leadership to correct the wrongs they might be doing. Keep the information coming. I will respect your desire to remain anonymous! I hope to build a large enough case that I can convince our government to step in and protect our pension funds and oversee this union’s daily activities. Considering all the things this union has done in the past, I would be willing to bet that there are still things going on that are wrong and possibly illegal. Please help me change this.

Enclosed is my letter to Frank Libby. Let’s see if we get honest forthright answers to the questions I post.
To view the document click this link:

http://home.comcast.net/~carpenterwatch/BLOG8DOCS.pdf


Thank you,

Michael