Monday, August 1, 2011

Ex-union member fights hefty Carpenters fine

By Katie Drews

Union members better think twice before working for a non-union company — it could cost them.

The Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters imposed a $300,900 fine on a former union member who crossed a picket line and went to work for a non-signatory contractor while he was still part of the union, court documents show.

The individual, Nathaniel Musser, who was a member of Waukegan-based Local 250, has filed charges of unfair labor practices against the union with the National Labor Relations Board. A hearing is set for mid-August.

Musser, described as a young man, could not find employment through the union, said his lawyer, Stanley Niew. He eventually found a job through a non-union company that has since gone out of business and performed work on various dates in April and May of 2009.

Once the union learned of Musser’s employment, Local 250 filed internal charges against him in June of 2009 and the Regional Council imposed the fine in June 2010.

Musser appealed the fine, which was then reduced to $200,850.

According to court documents, Musser alleges that the Carpenters Union has maintained a policy that precluded members from resigning from the union.

“If he would have known about a way to resign, he would have resigned before he worked for a non-union employer,” Niew said.

Joe Heilgeist, identified in court papers as a business representative and organizer of Local 250, declined to comment and the attorney representing the union did not return phone calls.

Frank Libby, president of the Regional Council, said he was unfamiliar with this particular case but said the situation was common.

“It makes sense,” Libby said. “He went to work with a non-union contractor while he held membership. You can’t do that. . . . He made a conscious decision apparently to say the hell with the union.”

6 comments:

  1. DROP DEAD UNITY TEAM !

    ReplyDelete
  2. Old Doug and the UBCJA are not the Judiciary in the USA. They cannot hold a mock Court session, a Kangaroo Court - where the "fix is in", as in "the fix is always in" to Punish, Fine, Coerce, Threaten or intimidate members.

    This is a joke. There is much more to this case than meets the eye.

    Mcarron doesn't have the means to enforce this either.

    What - does the UBCJA now have Police Powers? Are they gonna come over and serve a no Knock Warrant, (you're under arrest - UBC Secret Police)charge you with resisting the Supreme Dictators commands and decrees - get serious.

    The purpose of these actions are to scare the rest of the rank & file members into falling in line and to get you to drink the Kool-Aid dispensed from one of his 35 remaining Czars (sorry, I meant EST's).

    Heil Doug!

    Hey, how come ole Douggie is so special he gets to ignore every order to appear in Court? It ain't a criminal trial yet? What's to worry, huh?

    Kinda arrogant not to show up - but, then, he does have that disgraced former federal judge as his lead counsel - the one who plays the game so well. Just goes to show, you can buy anyone and pay them to say anything.

    The next 25-Years of the Consent Decree ought to be a real blast.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Union Bosses Forced to Drop $200,000 Lawsuit against Unemployed Carpenter

    Union officials failed to find work for carpenter, then retaliated against him for working to support his family without paying tribute to union bosses

    Chicago, IL (December 10, 2010) – Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters (CRCC) union bosses have dropped a lawsuit against an unemployed carpenter for working to provide for himself and his family after union officials had no work for him.

    After he lost his full-time job, Richard Crenshaw – who specializes in door carpentry – was hired by a friend who was a contractor. Up until then, Crenshaw was working as a handyman to make ends meet.

    A CRCC union official discovered Crenshaw was working at his friend’s jobsite and union officials initiated internal disciplinary proceedings against him. The union hierarchy levied a fine of $201,250 and filed a civil lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County.

    CRCC union bosses dropped the lawsuit after attorneys from the National Right to Work Foundation took up the case for Crenshaw providing free legal representation.

    “It is unconscionable for union bosses to attempt to drive unemployed workers into the poorhouse in vicious retaliation for providing for their families,” said Patrick Semmens, Legal Information Director of the National Right to Work Foundation. “Confiscatory fines and kangaroo courts are just some of the disturbing, yet increasingly-used tactics of union boss intimidation that are all too common in states like Illinois where there is no Right to Work law on the books.”



    Union Corruption, Violence and Intimidation

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    The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, is assisting thousands of employees in over 200 cases nationwide.

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  4. Is there anything that can be done against Carpenter's Union thugs in Chicago...my son is being threatened with bodily harm if he does not move out of Chicago within 24hrs because he does not want to belong to the Carpenter's Union. If the Carpenter's Union was so great...why the need to coerce, threat, and intimidate people into joining?

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  5. There are various online sources to provide you informative details on this topic,
    but this is one is very helpful.
    Chicago Home Rehab

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  6. This comment has been removed by the author.

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