An open letter to the brothers and sisters of the NYCDCC

Greg Kelty

Vote for Greg Kelty For EST 

Brothers and Sisters: I have been a member of this District Council for 29 ½ years. I hold a Bachelor degree in Business Administration with a Major in Finance. I am presently the Treasurer of Local Union 157 and Delegate to the DC. I am a strong advocate for our members and work tirelessly to insure the rank and file members are not being taken advantage of by the leadership of the council.

These past two years have been a rude awakening for many of us, this Council has been a ship without a rudder wandering aimlessly from month to month. We have had an absence of vision and leadership at the council for too long. The only objective of this council since the UBC International ended its supervision has been to shove crappy contracts and PLA’s down working carpenter’s throats. Even in light of the news that construction starts may hit or even surpass the highs of 2007 next year, our leadership is still approving PLA wage and benefit concessions.

Our Rep center is a complete failure. Our council reps seem to have little knowledge of the contracts and jurisdictional issues. I have heard from way too many members that council reps don’t represent them, they are there for the contractors and when they should be going to bat for our contractors over jurisdictional issues, they give our work away.

I think most of us will agree the Organizing Department has undoubtedly been the costliest and biggest failure of any department at the DC. The Area Standards Campaign has not produced a single benefit for our members and has been a dismal failure for years. It seems it's only purpose is to give DC reps high paying jobs and members a place to fulfill their annual picket obligation so we don’t lose $500.00. The fact that no one at the Council acknowledges this complete failure shows a complete lack of vision and leadership.

Many of our delegates will tell you our legal counsel at the DC are an embarrassment and a disgrace. From the MWA fiasco to lack of filing legal notices for the strikes in a timely manner is inexcusable.

The most recent embarrassment was at the last court conference, despite assurances from the DC, Judge Berman was shocked to find out that the compliance program and IT systems put in place are not functioning as promised. Judge Berman approved full mobility, at the objection of many members, because of the assurances he received from the DC that its compliance program is 100% functional, and now as a consequence the contracts are in jeopardy of being abolished.

At the conference, Review Officer Dennis Walsh remarked about the failure of leadership at the DC:

"The frustrating thing about the District Council of Carpenters is that it only responds to negative inducement. One would have thought that after all these years of oversight, the pendency of a consent decree since 1994, and the stipulation and order since June of 2010 that the leadership at the union would have decided, finally, we must engage in rigorous self-analysis. We must figure out how to improve this institution so that it is perfected, so that not only is corruption eradicated, but that it functions as the modern, efficient, compliant business that it must be to benefit its 20,000 members and their families."

Brothers and sisters, we need leadership at the council that is willing to take the bull by the horns and engage in rigorous self-analysis. We need a leader with vision and a can do attitude who will step up and say we understand these problems and, with alacrity, we are going to solve them and move this DC into the modern, efficient, compliant business that must benefit our members and their families!

Fraternally,
Greg Kelty

ATTENTION NYCDC MEMBERS

CLICK TO PRINT

On January 6, 2014, American Arbitration Association (AAA) will mail ballots to eligible members for a special election for the balance of the term of the office of District Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer (“EST”) which expires on January 11, 2015. Ballots must be received by 5 p.m. January 23, 2014 in order to be counted. Ballots are tallied by AAA and the results, subject to later certification, announced on January 24, 2014.

ELECT GREG KELTY FOR EST

Joe Geiger voted for: 

• ALL PLA Wage CUTS 
• PLA Benefit cuts 
• FULL MOBILITY 

SAY NO TO RETIREE PREMIUMS
SAY NO TO PLA CUTS
SAY NO TO JOE

STAND WITH THE RANK AND FILE 
ELECT GREG KELTY FOR EST 

You can help Greg win by printing copies of the above flyer and post it on the job site.

Old Local 257 Union Hall

A Message from our Executive Secretary-Treasurer Pro Tem

Steve McInnis

Brothers and Sisters, When I became Executive Secretary Treasurer Pro Tem I stated my first priority was to get all members working under current collective bargaining agreements for the first time in over two years with increased pay and benefit contributions. Working with our Executive Committee and Delegate Body we have made great strides to that end in the past few months. The Delegates have ratified new contracts covering thousands of our members within our largest employer associations. There still are contracts to be done and we are committed to getting them done.

More than a dozen contracts have been negotiated and ratified in 2013 and more are expected before the New Year. Some members are already seeing wage increases, while others will be implemented soon. With the certainty of working under current collective bargaining agreements with wage and benefit contribution increases, workers can once again focus on the job at hand. This is also good for the members and their families because we have made responsible additional allocations to the Welfare Funds and have seen real improvement. With guidance from our actuaries and in cooperation with Management Trustees there is potential for some restoration of benefits lost over the last few years. We know these changes have been a burden on many of our members and look forward to the day when we can make even small positive changes.

Essay Questions for EST Candidates

As part of Review Officer (RO) Dennis Walsh's election schedule, candidates must report to the District Council to write a 500 -word essay on topics related to District Council governance.

The RO asked the following questions to Gregory Kelty (Local 157) and Joseph Geiger (Local 1556).

What is your plan to insure that the DC is: (1) corruption free, (2) complying with Court Orders and its Bylaws, (3) using all appropriate methods to grow man hours, (4) spending all monies in a prudent manner and (5) using modern technology and efficient work flows in accomplishing its daily business?

McCarron directs Local 157 to Rerun Delegate Election

In summary, Local Union 157 is directed to rerun the election for delegates as soon as practical and in accordance with the requirements of the UBC Constitution. Any member who was previously nominated but no longer wishes to be a candidate should withdraw their candidacy. Also the President of the Local Union should exercise the authority provided for under section 33A and "determine all questions of eligibility for office subject to appeal to the General President under section 53G".

THE SIXTH THIRTY-DAY REPORT REGARDING ELECTRONIC JOB REPORTING AND RELATED COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES

(John's note: Can someone try dissecting this report and post what it means, for the life of me I don't understand what this report is trying to say).

The District Council submits this Sixth Thirty-Day Report pursuant to (1)the Decision& Order entered on May 8, 2013 , (2)the Order entered on June 11,2013, (3) the Order entered on July 16, 2013, (4)the Order entered on September 3, 2013 , (5) the Order entered on September 12, 2013, and (6) the Order entered on October 23, 2013 in United States v. District Council, 90 Civ. 5722 (RMB).

This report covers the period from November 1, 2013 to November 30, 2013 and sets forth statistics regarding electronic job reporting and related anti-corruption compliance measures established by the District Council's collective bargaining agreements ("CBAs") with the Wall-Ceiling and Carpentry Industries of New York, Inc. ("WC&C"), the Building Contractors Association, Inc. ("BCA"), the General Contractors Association of New York, Inc. ("GCA"), the Floor Coverers Association of Greater New York, Inc. ("FCA"), the Contractors Association of Greater New York ("CAGNY"), and the Cement League, Inc. ("CLI").

Endorsed Court Order regarding IT at the DC

I write to follow up the letter that Barbara Jones sent to the Court on behalf of the District Council on December 3, 2013 and the parties' discussions with Your Honor during the December 4, 2013 conference related to the District Council's Technology Committee and IT Modernization plan.

Judge Berman sets January 28, 2014 conference to discuss new agreements

District Council is requesting that Your Honor schedule a conference on issuing an Order similar to those earlier Orders with respect to CBAs providing for full mobility, electronic reporting of job sand hours,anti-corruption compliance features for two separate collective bargaining agreements ("CBAs"), between the District Council and the Association of Concrete Contractors of New York, Inc. ("ACCNY”) and CBAs with the General Contractors Association of New York, Inc. ("GCA").

Judge Berman sets status conference for new EST election

We write in accordance with your endorsement of December 11, 2013 on our December 10, 2013 response to the most recent letter of Patrick Nee regarding the Special Election for Executive Secretary-Treasurer ("EST") of the District Council. We set forth below the timeline of the Special Election, pertinent intervening litigation and re-set Special Election,as well as facts and circumstances regarding Mr.Nee not being approved to run for EST,in an effort to fully satisfy the Court's endorsement.

It's Gregory Kelty versus Joseph Geiger for EST

Gregory Kelty (Local 157) and Joseph Geiger (Local 1556) have been interviewed, reviewed by Review Officer (RO) Dennis Walsh and have accepted nominations for a special election for the balance of the term of the office of District Council Executive Secretary-Treasurer (“EST”) which expires on January 11, 2015.

The RO will conduct the remainder of a special election for EST, as follows:

12.18.13 Kelty and Geiger may submit three standard sized pages (8.5 inch by 11 inch) of campaign literature for posting on the District Council web site; candidates must report to the District Council to write a 500 -word essay on topics related to District Council governance.

1.6.14 The AAA mails ballots to eligible members.

1.8.14 A debate for Kelty versus Geiger open to all members and held as a special part of the business of the delegate meeting that day. The debate will be video recorded by District Council personnel and a video of the event will be posted on the District Council web site during the course of the next day.

1.23.14 The AAA must receive ballots by 5 p.m. in order to be counted on 1.24.14.

1.24.14 Ballots are tallied by the AAA and the results, subject to later certification, announced and posted on the District Council web site. The RO will prepare the ballot. The order of candidates on the ballot will be determined by a drawing conducted at the nominations meeting.

1.27.14 Kelty and Geiger submit the second of two campaign financial disclosure forms to the RO. The winning candidate, after certification of the results by the RO, will be installed at the next meeting of the delegate body and will preside upon his or her installation. Any and all protests must be filed directly with the RO at 395 Hudson Street in a timely manner, i.e., within five work days of the time when the complainant becomes aware or reasonably should have become aware of the action under protest. See Section Six, page 11, of the election rule

Local 157 Annual Holiday Meeting

You Entered The Twilight Zone

(John's note: reading the Court Transcripts of December 4, made me feel like I entered the Twilight Zone).

The Obsolete Man is an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone. It deals with themes of Orwellian totalitarianism, euthanasia, collectivism and religion.

"You walk into this room at your own risk, because it leads to the future; not a future that will be, but one that might be. This is not a new world: It is simply an extension of what began in the old one. It has patterned itself after every dictator who has ever planted the ripping imprint of a boot on the pages of history since the beginning of time. It has refinements, technological advances, and a more sophisticated approach to the destruction of human freedom. But like every one of the super states that preceded it, it has one iron rule: Logic is an enemy, and truth is a menace."

Quote of the Day

"I don't get it. You're either at 95 percent compliance or you're in unchartered territory. You can't be in both places at the same time."–– Judge Richard M. Berman

Below is an excerpt from the Court Conference on December 4, 2013 between EST Pro Tem Steve McInnis and Judge Berman.

THE COURT: Do we have present today anybody from the district council, the EST, for example, the interim EST or somebody else who could address that?

MS. JONES: Yes, your Honor.

MR. MURPHY: Yes, your Honor.

THE COURT: Could he address this issue? Nice to meet you. Wherever you're comfortable. At the podium if you like or there.

MS. JONES: Your Honor, I should also tell you that vice president Mike Cavanaugh is here and a number of other representatives from the district council.

THE COURT: Thank you. If you could state your name for the record.

MR. McINNIS: Steven McInnis. How you doing, your Honor.

Currently we have a process for hiring that's required by the bylaws. We have six names that have been sent to the review officer for review to put six more representatives in the field.

When it comes to administrative staff, we've actually added four additional admin staffs temporarily to deal with this issue.

Court Conference on December 4, 2013

Below is an excerpt from the Court Conference on December 4, 2013 between Review Officer Dennis Walsh and Judge Berman.

MR. WALSH: Thank you, your Honor. Dennis Walsh, the review officer.

The frustrating thing about the District Council of Carpenters is that it only responds to negative inducement. One would have thought that after all these years of oversight, the pendency of a consent decree since 1994, and the stipulation and order since June of 2010 that the leadership at the union would have decided, finally, we must engage in rigorous self-analysis. We must figure out how to improve this institution so that it is perfected, so that not only is corruption eradicated, but that it functions as the modern, efficient, compliant business that it must be to benefit its 20,000 members and their families.

We had here this morning because the Sword of Damocles is palpable on the head of this union. Nothing has changed in terms of the quintessential horse who not only will not be led to sweet water, but falls down and says drag me to that sweet water, to valleys of green grass that will make him strong, like a child who won't eat his spinach, and that's all. When is it going to end? When is the district council step up and say we understand these problems and, with alacrity, we are going to solve them?

I think that among the options that the Court to set a rigorous deadline for perfection of this system, no matter how many human beings they have to throw at it, so that they can come back to this Court and say we have 100 percent of the information in this system that the members will need to use Operation Watchdog. And if that is not achieved quickly, I think it's fair to abolish the contracts, to set the parties back to the table, but to hold on to the imperative of --

THE COURT: So abolish --

MR. WALSH: -- electronic reporting.

THE COURT: -- which contracts?

MR. WALSH: All of the contracts previously approved by the Court on the promise that this compliance program would work.

THE COURT: You mean the collective bargaining agreements.

MR. WALSH: Yes, the collective bargaining agreements is what I mean by the contracts.

Transcript of Court Conference on December 4, 2013

THE COURT: So following our last session I was quite concerned about some of the issues that we discussed and that appear to be going on here, and for that reason I issued the November 25, 2013 order and have received some helpful submissions from all of you, including the Mr. Walsh's latest report, the seventh interim report of the review officer, which I think is very helpful. It also raises some issues or perhaps they've been bubbling under the surface which I'm quite concerned about in addition to the issue of the technology and the technology fixes which I want to discuss today.

So I'd like to get right to it. In a subsequent memo endorsement of mine dated November 27, I indicated an order in which I would like to proceed today and I indicated that I'd like to hear from the government first and then the district council and then Mr. Walsh. And let me just tell you why I think that's the appropriate order and mechanism.

So first, obviously, this is the government's case historically and currently. It's U.S. v. District Council, et al., and the origin of the case has to do with, among other things, what were undeniably a history of bad practices and corruption in the union.

So I thought that given that context and given that one of the central problems I'm concerned about now is the implementation, the very belated in my opinion implementation of these electronic reporting systems which were, as I indicated in my order, part and parcel of approval of the collective bargaining agreements going back over the last month, given the fact that those very reporting requirements were presented to me and described by you all -- and by "you all" I mean, for example, Mr. Murphy and others -- as anti-corruption measures, I wanted to start and get the government's take on this particular issue about how these collective bargaining agreement aspects are being implemented from the bigger perspective of what this case has been all about.

And I don't have to remind you as I indicated in the order dated November 25 that there was on my part, and others, as well, there was an enormous change in these collective bargaining agreements which was the implementation of what is described as full mobility. And that was done with considerable thought, but it did represent a sea change in how hiring took place with these contractors. These contractors got a huge benefit in that regard in my opinion. And the quid pro quo for that full mobility was the implementation of -- one of the quid pro quos was implementation of these anti-corruption measures. And so clearly the full mobility was implemented but the measures were not.

And as I read these materials -- by the way, I haven't read all of them in detail, but I've read most of them in the main including the seventh interim report, including Judge Jones' letter dated December 3, and including the additional supplemental letter dated December 3, 2013 from Kauff McGuire & Margolis that has to do with pension issues.

So before I just turn to all of you because I don't want to monopolize the conversation, but there was one other point that I would like to make. And I don't know if it's become obvious, but from my point of view when we have these proceedings and hearings, one of the most beneficial aspects from my point of view is to hear actually from the people who implement whatever it is we're talking about.

So, for example, when we're talking about the benefit funds, you know, we have the most talented lawyers in the world sitting right here in front of us, but sometimes it's preferable to get beyond the lawyers and to hear from the people who are actually doing the work and I would like to continue to do that going forward. We had that experience particularly with the benefit funds, and I think that has worked quite well actually hearing from those people who are in charge of investments and the benefit funds as employees, not just as lawyers.

And I would like -- there's a lot of mention in both Judge Jones' letter and in the seventh interim report of the people who were actually implementing these technology changes. It would be useful and beneficial for me to hear directly from them. And I'm always happy to hear from lawyers as well, but those are the people who really are doing the job and so I would like to hear from them as well.

But anyway, enough said by me. I would start with Mr. Torrance.

Letter to Judge Berman —Objection to EST Election

Dear Judge Berman, I am writing in regards to the election for Executive Secretary Treasurer which the Review Officer has directed to be held, where he holds no authority under the Stipulation and Order to do so. There is nothing in the Stipulation and Order or the court approved election rules which gives the Review Officer the authority which he is now attempting to wield. He has exceeded his authority in this matter, and I am seeking Judicial Review of the Review Officers actions in this matter under section 11 of the Stipulation and Order.

EST Pro Tem November Town Hall

The Seventh Interim Report Of The Review Officer

Review Officer Dennis Walsh has issued his Seventh Interim Report, (with exhibits) the report contains numerous items of interest and is a must read for all members.

Seventh Interim Report Exhibits. 1-10
Seventh Interim Report Exhibits. 11-20

REVISED SCHEDULE FOR SPECIAL ELECTION OF EST

11.8.13 The election notice is mailed to members by the District Council; it includes information on the schedule and related events as well as information required by law.

11.11.13 Petitions are made available to all interested persons; 150 verified signatures must be obtained.

11.22.13 Completed petitions must be filed with the RO at 395 Hudson Street by 6 p.m. Observers must also be named by each candidate.

11.27.13 The RO completes petition review and begins candidate interviews as part of the approval process required by the Stipulation and Order.

12.11.13 The candidate interview and review process is completed; a portion of the regular delegate meeting open to all members will be dedicated to nominations and acceptances of nominations from the RO-approved list of candidates. All nominees will then be eligible to speak at local union meetings occurring thereafter through 1.23.14.

12.13.13 Candidates submit the first of two campaign financial disclosure forms to the RO.

12.18.13 Candidates may submit three standard sized pages (8.5 inch by 11 inch) of campaign literature for posting on the District Council web site; candidates must report to the District Council to write a 500 -word essay on topics related to District Council governance.

1.6.14 The AAA mails ballots to eligible members.

1.8.14 A debate for candidates open to all members is held as a special part of the business of the delegate meeting that day. The debate will be video recorded by District Council personnel and a video of the event will be posted on the District Council web site during the course of the next day.

1.23.14 The AAA must receive ballots by 5 p.m. in order to be counted on 1.24.14.

1.24.14 Ballots are tallied by the AAA and the results, subject to later certification, announced and posted on the District Council web site. The RO will prepare the ballot. The order of candidates on the ballot will be determined by a drawing conducted at the nominations meeting.

1.27.14 Candidates submit the second of two campaign financial disclosure forms to the RO. The winning candidate, after certification of the results by the RO, will be installed at the next meeting of the delegate body and will preside upon his or her installation. Any and all protests must be filed directly with the RO at 395 Hudson Street in a timely manner, i.e., within five work days of the time when the complainant becomes aware or reasonably should have become aware of the action under protest. See Section Six, page 11, of the election rule