Chicago SUN Times

U.S., IBEW local clash over letter

August 19, 1999

BY FRANCINE KNOWLES BUSINESS REPORTER

The Justice Department has asked a judge to find the 17,000-member International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union Local 134 in contempt of court for violating a settlement that allowed the local's leaders to stay in office.

The March agreement settled a lawsuit brought by the Labor Department against the local, which sought to have last year's local election voided. The suit alleged that employer money was used to promote the winning slate headed by business manager and financial secretary Michael Fitzgerald.

Under the settlement agreement, in which the local admitted no wrongdoing, the local agreed that the Labor Department will supervise the next election in 2001.

The agreement also required that a union member, Charlie Chathas, who initially protested the election with the Labor Department, be allowed to send out a letter to members. The letter would respond to one sent out by Fitzgerald, before the settlement, in which he accused Chathas of "conspiring to overthrow" his slate.

The local has refused to distribute the letter, which the Labor Department approved, and that violates the agreement, said U.S. Attorney Craig Oswald, who filed the petition in federal court here.

"Failure to comply could potentially jeopardize the entire settlement," Oswald said.

Under the settlement, the local also agreed to sever any connection between itself and a social club composed of union members. Allegations had been raised that the club held fund-raising events and that proceeds were funneled back to Fitzgerald for his campaign.

Burton S. Odelson, the attorney representing Local 134, says a hearing is slated for next Thursday before Judge Charles P. Kocoras and that the matter is expected to be resolved quickly. He said the local is not refusing to comply with the terms of the agreement and never has opposed sending out a letter. But the local believes the letter that has been drafted is "defamatory and libelous" and wants it revised, he said.

"If the judge says mail the letter out as is, we'll mail it out," Odelson said. "We're asking the judge to read the materials and make a final determination. The judge is the last resort."

The local has had a history of problems. In 1992, former business manager Timothy Bresnahan, who earlier resigned from his post, pleaded guilty to charges that he had dipped into a union slush fund to buy a car for his son and other personal items. Edmond M. Ryan Jr., a former financial secretary, pleaded guilty to lying about misuse of funds during a 1990 union investigation, one that led the international union to seize control of the local.

Fitzgerald, an attorney and third-generation Local 134 member, last year became the first incumbent re-elected by the local in four elections. He won by 3,400 votes.