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© 2011 The Union Label Blog & Grassfire Nation
-By Stephen Kruiser
Voter-Approved First 5 LA Program Spends $200 Million of Taxpayers Money without Oversight
As the Los Angeles Times reports, a recent independent audit of the First 5 LA Commission revealed massive problems with the agency, including lack of accountability, spending oversight or competitive bidding. First 5 LA is part of a statewide program created in 1998 by Prop 10, a measure which was supposed to use funds from a tobacco tax to promote health and education of young children. According to the audit, it’s not exactly fulfilling its mission. From the Times:
An audit by Harvey M. Rose of San Francisco found First 5 LA’s commission was unable to monitor money that was being spent “since monthly programmatic expenditures are not presented relative to a budget.” Auditors also concluded the agency was overstaffed while under-spending on programs for children.
So, First 5 LA is spending too much on public employees and not enough on kids. Not to mention doling out $200 million without a competitive bidding process and operating with such a lack of oversight that there’s no way to determine if the agency has signed agreements “for inappropriate purposes or with unqualified vendors or grantees”. Sounds like standard operating procedure in California, which has seen similar accountability and oversight problems with other initiative-created agencies as well.
And yet, former pro Tem and career politician Don Perata is pushing another measure – the so-called California Cancer Research Act – to create yet another unaccountable bureaucracy with six political appointees that can spend nearly a billion each year, including millions on staff salaries and pensions and overhead. With huge budget problems and public pension costs spiraling out of control, the last thing California needs is another big-spending bureaucracy with no oversight or accountability.
The measure is slated for the June 2012 ballot in California.
Originally posted at Labor Union Report.
A powerful United Food & Commercial Workers local union (348s) in New York was closed for business on Thursday as police arrested three family members who run the union local.
Police arrested the president, former president, and treasurer of Local 348 United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) on Thursday. Anthony Fazio Sr., John Fazio Jr., and Anthony Fazio Jr. were charged with racketeering, extortion, money laundering, and witness tampering.
The Fazios used their positions in the union to extort money from employers unionized by the UFCW. They stole more than $2.4 million from union members and employers over the course of 16 years, according to the indictment.
According to Courthouse News Service:
The indictment accuses the Fazios of “extorting, soliciting and obtaining cash payments, in violation of federal and state labor law, from business owners who employees were represented by Local 348,” to enrich themselves and others.
It claims the Fazios conspired to extort, and did extort, and laundered the extortion money, embezzled from pension and welfare benefit funds and tampered with witnesses.
It claims that they took more than $1,000 at a pop from multiple employers, extorting them “by instilling … fear” that the Fazios and others would harm their businesses unless they paid it.
The grand jury indictment, whose foreperson’s name is blacked out, seeks forfeiture of assets and other penalties.
In addition to the what the accused are alleged to have made through their “unofficial” union duties, according to financial reports on file with the US Department of Labor, the Fazio family did pretty well for themselves in their official capacities. According to the local’s reports, in what appears to be a game of musical chairs (and double dipping) in 2010, the Fazio family paid themselves as follows:
- Anthony Fazio, Jr., the local’s new president was paid $172,257 in total compensation
- Anthony Fazio, Sr., the local’s past president was paid $149,772 in total compensation
- John Fazio, Jr. the local’s new secretary-treasurer was paid $168,712 in total compensation
- Anthony Fazio, Jr., the local’s past secretary-treasurer was paid $86,129 in total compensation
- John Fazio, Jr., the local’s past vice president was paid $84,357 in total compensation
Note: The above compensation was listed as having been paid out in 2010.
Other Compensation: In addition to the above, John Fazio, Sr, also was paid as a trustee of the union’s health and welfare fund. In 2009, Fazio, Sr. was paid $65,000. It is unknown how much he was paid in 2010.
Here is a copy of the indictment:
See more at www.laborunionreport.com/
From It’s Working Wisconsin…
We heard the sky would fall and that there would be massive layoffs of state and local government workers and teachers. Some asserted that Wisconsin’s budget reform would mark the end of the state as we know it.
But the sky’s still there. And Wisconsin is stronger than ever.
Thanks to Wisconsin’s budget reform…
IT’S WORKING
A new website, ItsWorkingWisconsin.com is committed to providing the facts to Wisconsin taxpayers. Every week there are more examples of how It’s Working. Together, the Americans for Prosperity Foundation and the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy have chronicled success stories from across Wisconsin.
We also arm you with the facts to explain why the reform was necessary.
Facing a $3.6 billion deficit, Wisconsin’s general fund was hemorrhaging money, spending more than it was taking in.
Wisconsin could have either raised taxes on individuals, families and job providers, or cut spending.
As a result of Wisconsin’s budget reform, the state has cut the deficit and reduced the strain on local governments by giving them the tools to reduce their labor costs without massive program cuts or layoffs.
This website details the positive results of local officials having the flexibility to reduce spending while protecting vital services.
Wisconsin’s Budget Reform. It’s Working.
The Goldwater Institute has a frightening tale of how unions will even destroy their own members if those members happen to question the likely illegal actions of the union bosses.
Natasha Nimer had a simple question: As a trustee in a local labor union representing City of Phoenix employees, did she have a duty to check the books of a taxpayer-funded insurance account it managed?
So she asked the executive board of AFSCME Local 2960. The response was an emphatic “no.”
She dropped the matter and thought it would end there.
She was wrong.
In the months that followed, union officials tried to strip Nimer of her duties as a trustee and steward. They tried twice to force her out of AFSCME, only to have the international headquarters order her reinstated.
Eventually union executives went after Nimer’s job as a civilian employee in the Phoenix Fire Department. They demanded her city phone records, personal and work-related emails, disciplinary files and performance evaluations; even a list of all of the Web sites she had visited. They wanted her computers seized and the hard drives searched for evidence she was doing something wrong.
Read the rest at Phoenix Labor Union Targets Former Trustee Who Questioned How Taxpayer Money is Spent.
-By Larry Sand
It’s almost Halloween and the California Teachers Association, a rich and powerful outfit, is in costume as one of the “99%ers” – protesters who claim to be have-nots
A couple of weeks ago United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew and American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten made sympathetic statements about the Occupy Wall Street movement. Now the California Teachers Association has jumped in with a full endorsement and suggestions on its website as to how teachers and others can get involved in OWS activities.
Stunning in its mendacity, CTA issued a press release (H/T Mike Antonucci) which announced its “support of the nationwide ‘Occupy Wall Street’ movement for tax fairness and against corporate greed.” It goes on to say, “…a stable tax structure begins with everyone paying their fair share.”
Paying their fair share? Continue reading »
-By Warner Todd Huston
On November 8, Ohioans will go to the polls to vote on a series of ballot initiatives, among them Issue 2.
A yes vote will support Governor Kasich’s collective bargaining reform (SB 5) to become law. A no vote would return power to the bloated, thieving unions to do hat they have always done: steal from the taxpayers. (I wonder if you can tell which side I am on, here? Ha, ha)
Unions have rolled into Ohio with millions of dollars for anti-issue 2 advertising, donations to politicians, and the usual corrupt bargaining behind the scenes that unions generally employ. Sadly, it looks like their big money has persuaded too many Ohioans to back the unions as polling shows Issue 2 is losing with voters.
Politico notes the numbers stacked up against good government with Issue 2:
The survey found 57 percent of voters said they support the repeal of what is know as “SB 5,” while 32 percent said they are against the bill’s repeal, amounting to a 25-point margin against the measure. In September, there was just a 13-point margin, with 51 percent saying they supported the repeal of SB 5 and 38 percent indicating they were against it.
If unions win this it will severely damage Governor Kasich’s ability to solve the $46.5 billion in unfunded liabilities that unions and their Democrat lapdogs have caused the state to become mired in.
For those of you interested in more info, here are some articles and resources.
- ‘Yes’ to all three questions on Ohio’s statewide ballot, by Kevin O’Brien
- Ohio: Issue 2, Collective Bargaining and the Moral High Ground
- OEA Employee: “OEA’s attitude is about power”
- Chart: We Are Ohio Funding
- Union Bosses Use Soldiers as Props
- NEA Attacks Ohio Union Reform
- The Truth About Senate Bill 5
- With Each Ohio Citizen Owing Government Workers $6150, Union Bosses Urge A Return To Cannibalism
- Are They Ohio? National Labor Orgs Fund Anti-Reform Union Front Group
- We Are Ohio’s ‘Facts’
Here are some good resources
Eric Odom (Media Director)
Warner Todd Huston