Teamster Boss Busted in Old Pay-to-Play Bribe Scheme
by Don LoosJust when the Obama Administration eliminates union boss disclosure that exposed union officer perks and self-dealing, a union boss has to get busted for demanding bribes from a trial lawyer. His actions certainly do not argue for the Administration’s ongoing effort to roll back union disclosure.
The Associate Press reports:
The president of a national railroad employees union was arrested at his Ohio home on Tuesday and charged with bribery.
Edward Rodzwicz, who heads the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, is accused of soliciting and accepting $20,000 in bribes from a St. Louis lawyer. In exchange, prosecutors say, Rodzwicz allowed the lawyer to remain on a list of attorneys approved to handle injury cases for union members.
But wait a minute, we’ve seen this type of bribe before! On the undercover video provided on the National Right To Work Committee’s YouTube channel embedded below, a different railroad union official accepted a bribe from a trial lawyer. This videotape was part of an investigation that put two former union presidents in jail:
The Obama Administration has loaded the U.S. Department of Labor with Big Labor cronies whose central mission appears to be hiding union boss perks and conflicts of interests from rank-and-file workers who pay their salaries.
About the time the Justice Department put together the sting operation using investigators from the Department of Labor and the FBI (shown in video above); several trial lawyers began to meet to decide how to avoid reporting their payments to union officials in this pay-to-play scheme. Two lawsuits were eventually filed against Secretary Elaine Chao in an attempt to stop the Labor Department’s enforcement of this conflict-of-interest reporting requirements.
More shocking is that the Obama Labor Department cited these lawsuits as part of the reason for its decision not to enforce conflict-of-interest disclosure for union bosses:
“Fundamental questions regarding the scope and extent of the reporting obligations are unanswered, and litigation challenging some aspects of the form remains pending. Yet, by March 31, 2009, reports for calendar year 2008 must be filed. In light of this uncertainty, the pending regulatory action, the pending litigation and the rapidly approaching filing deadline, OLMS has determined that it would not be a good use of resources to bring enforcement actions based upon a failure to use a specific form to comply with the statutory obligation to report certain financial information.”
The lawyers lost their appeal, but there is still hope for these train-chasing trial lawyers that Labor Secretary Hilda Solis and her big labor insiders will rewrite this disclosure to the trial lawyers’ liking as she began last Friday to do for union bosses by rescinding meaningful union financial disclosure.
It appears that the Obama Administration has chosen to play Chicago-style insider politics rather than protect rank-and-file workers. They continue to completely ignore the real burdens placed on workers by union officials who have the power to fire workers for failure to pay union dues as a condition of getting and keeping a job. Then, they use this power to force workers to pay for union bosses’ perks.
Solis’ excuse for rescinding important union financial disclosure was that the rule put a “burden” on union officials who failed to file required reports. In other words, she did not want to burden union officials who were ignoring the law. Further, she also stopped enforcement of union officer conflict-of-interest disclosure reporting requirements.
Under this Administration, we should expect to see many more of these pay-to-play deals with union bosses.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Big Government, Big Government. Big Government said: Teamster Boss Busted in Old Pay-to-Play Bribe Scheme: Just when the Obama Administration eliminates union boss d.. http://bit.ly/twSVs [...]
God Bless our military and service men and women who will uphold our Constitution. Really good video if you haven't watched it yet
http://myfreepress.net/2009/oath-keepers-declarat...
Nice work FBI! Can't deny this one it's on video!
As Congress and our "Pay Czar" scheme to find ways to limit executive compensation, it has occurred to me that they ought also look at limiting Union Boss compensation. Most of the arguments offered to justify limiting the compensation at a Goldman Sachs are equally valid. Do the deals forged place the company in an overly risky situation? Is there too much emphasis placed on short-term gain as opposed to long term viability? Is it fair to reward the bosses at a much greater rate than the low-level workers?
The bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler are often blamed on the medical insurance liabilities of those companies. Obviously the unions which demanded those benefits are partly to blame. And since the taxpayer has had to step in to bail them out, I think we have the right to limit the compensation.
(Sorry if this is slightly off topic.)
Why should anyone be surprised by what Solis did? Our wimpy AG Eric Holder refused to "inconvenience" the Black Panthers and dropped the charges when they failed to show up in court.
"The bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler are often blamed on the medical insurance liabilities of those companies. Obviously the unions which demanded those benefits are partly to blame."
A little further off topic, but we must understand that the current push for so-called "health care reform" is highly motivated by the need to support union officiated insurance liabilities. The "progressives" demand that all citizens be taxed in order to pay off the same unions that bankrupted two out of the Big Three.
We are quickly approaching the tipping point, where people completely loose all faith in their elected officials, in their government. Once tipped, anarchy will ensue, at which point, I'd rather be a well armed Conservative than a passive Liberal.
I gain more respect for the Second Amendment every day Cowboy.
John,
You are absolutely correct. What broke the Auto Industry, GM and Chrysler is the same thing that broke the Railroads in the 70.s and the Steel Industry in the 80's: UNIONS. The legacy costs of retired employees, medical and perks are always unsustainable. UNIONS are nothing more than a PONZI scheme. There is nothing different in UNIONS, as there is in Social Security and Medicare. Now they want to step it up a notch, and introduce Socialized Medicine? It will never work. It is an inverted PONZI Scheme. Those at the bottom, carry those at the top. It defies the laws of physics, gravity and economics. One cannot balance an elephant on a pin………
Never forget; the Second Ammendment was written for you, and me. For US. Right now, that is the only thing holding "them" at bay………
Leave them alone. The union corruption is bleeding the unions dry. They can learn the hard way. GM turned over Health benies to the UAW to administrate. When the UAW runs out, it is not a GM problem.
The next part is bankruptcy and liquidation for Chrysler. Chrysler is the closest to gone. When it does finally die, the Pension Insurance coverages are lump sum payoffs. They have been running if i remember 24,000 dollars a head. Non negotiable. Airline pilots are torqued. But is is less than 1,000 a month for 30 years.
Imagine that!
Catching something on video. Refresh me, isn't that what James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles did with ACORN?
Which also helps to support my original suggestion. Although it will never happen.
Your point, though, also helps to illustrate why Big Labor is in bed with the Administration on immigration. There was a time, not too long ago, when Labor would have been all over government to get rid of people taking jobs illegally when unemployment was at 10%. Now though, the need is to swell the ranks of the bottom rungs of the ladder. It's so much easier to use people when you claim with a straight face that you are being "compassionate."
Thank you for this! I have forwarded it to my son in the US Army, and my nephew about to start basic in the US Navy and all my friends. I know my son will forward it to all his buddies in the Army.
http://myfreepress.net/2009/oath-keepers-declarat...
The problem is that they completely ignore any dissent and opposing views and WORSE, they go on the attack to stifle it!
Yes, the Democrats are holding all the cards, they refuse to proscecute. They're breaking laws right and left, and arrogantly ignore and do whatever they want. As Obama and Pelosi and how many of them have said, we won, you lost, so shut up and get out of our way.
Mom,
Your damned video made me cry.
Now I'm really pissed.
Did you notice at the end, the flag was upside down…………..
Yes…..Now I am waiting to see if Pelozi will say, "The FBI Lied to Congress"
Yes, it's a great video isn't it? I know my son will really appreciate it, he is such the Patriot!
http://www.oathkeepers.org
Yes, it's a great video isn't it? I know my son will really appreciate it, he is such the Patriot!
http://www.oathkeepers.org
Cowboy,
You have the right perspective here. But I keep considering how we can eviscerate the culture of corruption in Washington that facilitates the fleecing of the American people. And no matter how I look at it, it seems the only way we can clear out the corruption is to decentralize the power of the Federal government. In another string I put it like this:
It's obvious that we need to begin deconstructing the power of the Federal government. This system has become so corrupt that it is no longer enough just to replace the players on the field, we need to end the game.
Remember that "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." It's high time we strip all unjust authority away from Washington, and redistribute that power to the States or to the people. Each State then can choose, by referendum, what type of "EPA"
it needs, how to handle its energy resources, how best to serve the people's health care needs, what the best approach to education is, how to expand its agricultural or industrial capacity, and how to protect the freedom of its People. The Feds should still maintain our military. They should establish Post Offices. They should protect patents and copyrights. They should take back the authority to coin money, and remove that responsibility from the Federal Reserve. These and a few others are the enumerated powers delegated to the Federal government. All other powers must be delegated back to the States, to be maintained or abolished according to the will of the People of those States. No other treatment will ever cure the cancer that is DC corruption.
[...] Seems the Teachers Union puts its interests ahead of the nations schoolchildren as usual. The complete article is HERE. What kind of future are the nations schoolkids going to have if the Teachers Unions are more interested in engorging themselves on the taxpayers wallet rather then teaching our children? What kind of economy and country are we going to have if our schoolkids can’t read or write because Teachers Unions are more interested in fleecing taxpayers rather then educating the nations schoolchildren? Our public schools are already an expensive joke compared to the rest of the industrialized nations thanks to Teachers Union Greed. Isn’t it time to say enough and dump these rotten Teachers Unions for the sake of our kids and future? Is Union greed and arrogance more important then the nations schoolchildren? Just when the Obama Administration eliminates union boss disclosure that exposed union officer perks… [...]
[...] Seems the Teachers Union puts its interests ahead of the nations schoolchildren as usual. The complete article is HERE. What kind of future are the nations schoolkids going to have if the Teachers Unions are more interested in engorging themselves on the taxpayers wallet rather then teaching our children? What kind of economy and country are we going to have if our schoolkids can’t read or write because Teachers Unions are more interested in fleecing taxpayers rather then educating the nations schoolchildren? Our public schools are already an expensive joke compared to the rest of the industrialized nations thanks to Teachers Union Greed. Isn’t it time to say enough and dump these rotten Teachers Unions for the sake of our kids and future? Is Union greed and arrogance more important then the nations schoolchildren? Just when the Obama Administration eliminates union boss disclosure that exposed union officer perks… [...]
Really? You think so? Who are "they"? Please say the government, I would love that. Who exactly in the government will be coming for you? Oh, it's "them"! And if "they" wanted to come down on you, who exactly are "they" going to send? You act as if all of a sudden "they" will appear and bring….what down upon you? The military? Guess again. So who? That's right, nobody. No president, whether on the left or on the right can destroy this nation, and if you honestly believe that one can, well where have you been for the past 250+ years? When exactly has this nation just rolled over? Oh, that's right, never. We've survived a civil war, numerous world wars and many other catastrophes…and guess what, we are still here. We survived the disaster that was Bush, and guess what, still here. Regardless of whether you agree with the politics, the country has barely changed in the past year, why the hell do yoy think so many of us lefties are pissed. You are here saber rattling about wanting your country back when most of us are asking where the fuck is the change. So please stop being so damn afraid of your shadow, it won't get you.
[...] Know About October 16, 2009 Posted by taoist in Obama. Tags: Corruption, Unions trackback Pay-to-play politics. Aren’t you glad Obama is eliminating the branch of the Department of Labor that investigates [...]
[...] put two former union presidents in jail: [There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.] The Obama Administration has loaded the U.S. Department of Labor with Big Labor cronies whose [...]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Dave Johnson, jenkerr1. jenkerr1 said: Teamsters Boss busted- thx @biggovt for reporting news http://bit.ly/1vCKZz #tcot [...]
When I worked for a personal injury law firm, specializing in railroad injuries, the SOP (standard operating procedure) was pay to play. The law firms paid the union officials to represent the union in injury cases. The law firms paid in cash, lavish entertainment, gifts of condos, racehorses, cars, prostitutes, Vegas trips where the union officals were given money to gamble in addition to hotel accomodations – basically anything the union bosses requested. And the union bosses were never shy about making requests.
The law firm I worked for employed a retired union official who had inside contacts and knowledge of how union elections worked. This was important if you had someone running against your union official who didn't favor throwing business to your firm. At each important election it was full court press. The "firm" showed up a few days before the election and began wining and dining voters invited to special parties and events. Palms were greased and then you left town pretty secure in the knowledge that your man was in for another term.
Sadly, my dad, who was a member of the BLET, was not surprised in the least at these types of situations occurring.
[...] [There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.] [...]
Just heads up… another Communist Labor Leader is on his way to purgatory. Archie Brown, the West Coast longshoremen's union leader who won the 1965 Supreme Court decision upholding the right of Communists to serve as union officials, died Friday at his home in San Francisco. He was 79 years old. More here: http://www.patriotwatch.com/Johnny-a-Commie.htm
[...] its resources investigating potential LMRDA violations, the Obama Labor Department (DOL) is busy rescinding conflict-of-interest and other union financial reporting [...]
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