Chicago Laborers District Council Trusteeship transcripts 10-20-1997

 
	1        OFFICE OF THE INDEPENDENT HEARING OFFICER
	2      LABORERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA
	3 
	4   IN RE:		     )
	5   TRUSTEESHIP PROCEEDINGS        ) No. 97-30T
	6   CHICAGO DISTRICT COUNCIL       )
	7 
	8 
	9 
	10	    TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS had in the
	11   above-entitled cause at the Days Inn, 644 North
	12   Lake Shore Drive, on the 20th day of October,
	13   A.D. 1997, at approximately 10:30 a.m.
	14 
	15 
	16   BEFORE:  MR. PETER F. VAIRA, Hearing Officer
	17 
	18 
	19 
	20 
	21 
	22 
	23 
	24

 
	1   PRESENT:
	2        COMEY, BOYD & LUSKIN,
	3        (1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W.,
	4        Washington, D.C. 20007-5243), by:
	5        MR. ROBERT M. THOMAS, JR.,
	6        MR. DWIGHT P. BOSTWICK,
	7	    appeared on behalf of the GEB Attorney;
	8 
	9        CARMELL, CHARONE, WIDMER, MATHEWS & MOSS, LTD.,
	10        (225 West Washington Street, Suite 1000,
	11        Chicago, Illinois  60606), by:
	12        MR. SHERMAN CARMELL,
	13        MS. SUZANNE M. LAW,
	14	    appeared on behalf of the Chicago
	15	    District Council of Laborers.
	16 
	17        EARL L. NEAL & ASSOCIATES,
	18        (111 West Washington, Suite 1700,
	19        Chicago, Illinois 60602), by:
	20        MR. GEORGE N. LEIGHTON,
	21	    appeared on behalf of
	22	    John A. Matassa, Jr.;
	23 
	24

 
	1   PRESENT: (Continued)
	2        MAYER, BROWN & PLATT,
	3        (190 South LaSalle Street,
	4        Chicago, Illinois 60603-3441), by:
	5        MR. VINCENT J. CONNELLY,
	6	    appeared on behalf of Bruno Caruso.
	7 
	8 
	9 
	10 
	11 
	12   REPORTED BY:  JULIANA F. ZAJICEK, CSR 84-2604
	13	       CORINNE T. MARUT, CSR 84-1968.
	14 
	15 
	16 
	17 
	18 
	19 
	20 
	21 
	22 
	23 
	24

 
	1        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Good morning, ladies
	2   and gentlemen.  This is the continuation of the
	3   hearing of the trusteeship regarding the --
	4   regarding the Chicago District Council and this
	5   morning we are about to start.
	6	    I believe that, Mr. Carmell, you are
	7   continuing with your case and I think you are
	8   going to put on the stand Mr. Bruno Caruso.  Am I
	9   correct?
	10        MR. CARMELL:  That's correct.  Just two
	11   matters of information before we begin.  One is
	12   that -- and I discussed both with Mr. Bostwick,
	13   not that we have come to any conclusion, but that
	14   he is aware of the two matters that I am going to
	15   discuss.
	16	    The District Council had agreed to
	17   call certain witnesses that the General Executive
	18   Board attorney was going to cross.  One of those
	19   witnesses is John Galioto and we are prepared to
	20   call him.  However, we would like the Hearing
	21   Officer to review the testimony concerning
	22   Mr. Galioto to this point.  He is not an officer

	23   of the District Council.  He is a delegate from
	24   Local 225.  All of the testimony concerning

 
	1   Mr. Galioto came from a witness Mr. Scigalski
	2   concerning Mary Williams and Local 225.  It is
	3   entirely a local operation.
	4        THE HEARING OFFICER:  I recall that.
	5        MR. CARMELL:  So that the District Council
	6   contends that his testimony, Mr. Galioto's, is
	7   not relevant to this proceeding and we would like
	8   you to consider that.  If you rule that we should
	9   call him, we will, but we want you to understand
	10   it is with the view that he is not -- any of the
	11   matters that have already been testified to have
	12   no relationship to the District Council.
	13        THE HEARING OFFICER:  I remember that.  It
	14   has to do with an internal matter inside 225.  It
	15   was a highly emotional hearing.
	16        MR. CARMELL:  That's correct.
	17        THE HEARING OFFICER:  And we'll see.  We'll
	18   consider that.
	19        MR. CARMELL:  The second person you would
	20   consider is Leo Caruso who is sergeant at arms of
	21   the District Council, but as the testimony will
	22   show, that sergeant of arms does not sit on the
	23   Executive Board.  He is a turner on and off of
	24   lights.

 
	1	    The second and separate matter --
	2        MR. BOSTWICK:  Can I respond to the first.
	3   The only thing I'll say about both of those
	4   individuals is we have heard testimony from a
	5   number of delegates, and these people are
	6   delegates.  They are people who are a part of the
	7   Chicago District Council, in addition we had a
	8   specific agreement that those people would be
	9   called, and I don't know if what Mr. Carmell is
	10   proposing here is that he go back on that
	11   agreement, but the fact is we had an agreement to
	12   call them in our case and/or their case and now
	13   we have done this for scheduling purposes and our
	14   position is that as delegates and Leo Caruso as
	15   an officer is certainly someone who should be
	16   called to answer for their conduct.
	17	    The other matter about John Galioto is
	18   that it does relate to the Chicago District
	19   Council even more directly, the local 225 meeting
	20   in the sense that that incident was what gave
	21   Mr. Galioto the position as a delegate to the
	22   Chicago District Council.  So that -- in our view
	23   that is a very relevant fact, but I would, again,
	24   say that I am surprised to hear at this late time

 
	1   that there is a disagreement over whether or not
	2   John Galioto and Leo Caruso would be called since
	3   we basically agreed to that in June, I think.
	4        MR. CARMELL:  It is not my statement that we
	5   wouldn't call him.  We would have raised these
	6   points at the time that --
	7        THE HEARING OFFICER:  You did call him.
	8        MR. CARMELL:  -- that Mr. Bostwick had
	9   called him.  So I am just raising them now.
	10	    I said at the beginning I trust that
	11   we were going to call him, we're prepared to call
	12   him and honor our agreement and we are raising
	13   the same issues we would have raised had he been
	14   called -- had they been called for
	15   cross-examination.
	16	    The second matter is I have been asked
	17   by at least one of the personal counsel -- let me
	18   back up.
	19	    The District Council and General
	20   Executive Board attorney and you have all agreed
	21   we are going to finish our cases by the end of
	22   this week, and that's a fact.
	23	    The issue is where, if at all, do the
	24   personal counsel fit in the event that one or

 
	1   more of them decides that they wish to present
	2   evidence on behalf of an individual.
	3	    It has been expressed to me at least
	4   by one personal counsel that they would like to
	5   hear all of the evidence in before they would
	6   make the decision on whether to present any
	7   evidence on behalf of the Council.
	8	    Now, Mr. Bostwick raised to me, and I
	9   don't usually preempt arguments, but I do want to
	10   address it that they could have been asked
	11   through me, questions.  The point is that if, as
	12   I said in the beginning of this case, if personal
	13   counsel is going to ask matters, they are matters
	14   which I as counsel for the District Council have
	15   determined I do not wish to ask or present or
	16   evidence to be sent as part of the District
	17   Council's case.  This is not a tag team.  This is
	18   a conscious decision that will have been made
	19   that I don't wish to do it.  So that -- with that
	20   being said, I defer to my confreres.
	21        MR. BOSTWICK:  Well, briefly, I mean, the
	22   first item is they are not parties to the suit
	23   and we had -- the Chicago District Council is the
	24   party that the complaint for trusteeship is

 
	1   brought against.
	2	    Individual counsel certainly has a
	3   right, I take it, to be here and to listen to
	4   this.  We don't oppose that in any way, shape or
	5   form.  But we certainly oppose their involvement
	6   in any questioning or presentation of evidence to
	7   extend the hearing.
	8	    And the other issue I would raise at
	9   this point is that I am sitting in disbelief
	10   because we have been dealing with this hearing
	11   since July and we have never heard that the
	12   individual attorneys had a desire to present
	13   evidence in this case.
	14	    The only time the issue was raised was
	15   whether or not they would be able to
	16   cross-examine witnesses, and that was dealt with
	17   on the first day; and there was an agreement, and
	18   we have all abided by it.
	19	    If these individuals are subsequently
	20   charged in disciplinary actions, those counsel
	21   will have full and fair opportunity to deal with
	22   the evidence that's presented at that time.  But
	23   it shouldn't be something that is a tactic to
	24   extend these hearing indefinitely.

 
	1	    We have all agreed this would be ended
	2   at the end of this week.
	3        MR. CARMELL:  I'd like to address the first
	4   point because now we have mutual surprises.  At
	5   the very beginning of the hearing the issue of
	6   the participation of an individual's local
	7   counsel was raised and there is a colloquy if
	8   they participate.
	9        THE HEARING OFFICER:  That's right.
	10        MR. CARMELL:  I am not going to go through
	11   it.
	12	    Secondly, it was clear that to me at
	13   least that there was going to be a period at
	14   which personal counsel was going to have an
	15   opportunity to await the evidence that the
	16   District Council puts in at the very end of the
	17   case to see whether that evidence is sufficient
	18   for that individual's interest.
	19	    I repeat what I believe I said in the
	20   beginning.  My understanding is that personal
	21   counsel, none of them have made a decision that
	22   they are going to.  I am merely raising for the
	23   Hearing Officer, so it won't come as a surprise
	24   at the end of it, that they have asked me to

 
	1   state that they wish to reserve the right to do
	2   it.
	3	    The matter I am raising is so the
	4   personal counsel can know at what point, if at
	5   all, you are going to allow them to do it, at
	6   what point must they make their election, so
	7   nobody is going to be sandbagged in this.
	8	    I don't know that it has to be made at
	9   this precise moment because we are going on with
	10   our direct -- our case, our direct case.  But I
	11   just wanted to raise it at this time and you may
	12   want to give some consideration to it and advise
	13   the parties during the course of these
	14   proceedings.
	15        MR. BOSTWICK:  Mr. Carmell has been fair
	16   throughout this hearing in terms of scheduling
	17   and all other matters, but I just have to state
	18   for the record that I find this incredibly
	19   disingenuous in the last week to mention that
	20   after discussing scheduling and the fact we were
	21   going to absolutely complete this hearing by
	22   Friday, to come before us and say that he wants
	23   to know when these people have to make an
	24   election about whether or not they can present

 
	1   evidence for however long they want to do so.
	2   They are not even parties.
	3        MR. CARMELL:  Well, I am not speaking to
	4   that.  I am raising concerns that the personal
	5   counsel have raised to me.  If you want to hear,
	6   Mr. Hearing Officer, from them, they are
	7   certainly -- at least two of them are here today
	8   and can address that.
	9	    I am just trying to save a lot of
	10   record here by saying this is what they have
	11   asked me to do on their behalf.  This is not on
	12   the behalf of District Council.
	13        THE HEARING OFFICER:  This is where I think
	14   it would arise if it does.  I believe that it
	15   would arise where their client takes the stand
	16   and their client relates a story from A to B or A
	17   to Z.  There is an area that you as the counsel
	18   for the Council don't want to get into because
	19   you think it's a conflict and some other problem
	20   there.
	21	    They would like to address it and ask
	22   their own questions of their own client, I think,
	23   and I think this is how it would come out, to put
	24   whatever spin they want on it on that certain

 
	1   matter but nothing more.  I think that's how it
	2   would probably arise.
	3        MR. CARMELL:  I do.  But I don't know
	4   whether it would arise if they wanted to put an
	5   additional witness or so on.
	6	    The first issue is clear, yes, whether
	7   they want to have some additional witnesses which
	8   I may not be -- I am not prepared to call.  That
	9   may be a second one.  I think the first one is
	10   the major focus.
	11        THE HEARING OFFICER:  The first one is the
	12   major.  I know that the counsel and -- I am an
	13   Illinois lawyer too and I have practiced with
	14   them a long time and I don't think they are going
	15   to try to hide the ball.  If I asked them, I am
	16   sure they are going to say it involves matter X
	17   and I am going to do it at a certain time.
	18	    I think as far as putting additional
	19   evidence, that is out of the picture on this
	20   trusteeship.  If there is a subject matter that
	21   one of them wants to raise after his client is
	22   done testifying, we will address it then.
	23	    I am presuming if Mr. Connelly who is
	24   sitting there and I've known for a great many

 
	1   years says that, we will see how that shakes
	2   out.  I think that is the only place it would be,
	3   if it is.  All right?
	4	    As far as putting on additional
	5   evidence, I think in the trusteeship that goes a
	6   little far.  Okay.  Anyway, it's not going to
	7   delay the situation because the most he could get
	8   is a half hour anyway.  It's not going to delay
	9   these proceedings.
	10	    All right?
	11        MR. CARMELL:  Okay.
	12        THE HEARING OFFICER:  I have been asked by
	13   the nonsmokers and the proponents of the class
	14   actions against the tobacco companies if you
	15   gentlemen want to smoke, please do it outside.
	16   Okay.  Some of the folks have some problems with
	17   contact lenses also.
	18	    Okay.  Gentlemen, we are ready to hear
	19   you.  Anything else?
	20        MR. BOSTWICK:  No.
	21        MR. CARMELL:  Bruno Caruso.
	22        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Let me note for the
	23   record that present in the courtroom or the
	24   hearing room is Mr. Vince Connelly, member of the

 
	1   Illinois bar, who I believe represents
	2   Mr. Caruso, is that right, sir?
	3        MR. CONNELLY:  That's right, just in a
	4   personal capacity.
	5        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Personal capacity.
	6   Welcome, Mr. Connelly.
	7	    Let's see.  Who else do we have?
	8   Judge Leighton is here as he was at given times
	9   and representing Mr. Matassa, is that right,
	10   sir?
	11	    All right, go right ahead, sir.
	12	        (WHEREUPON, the witness was
	13   sworn.)
	14		  BRUNO CARUSO,
	15   called as a witness herein, having been first
	16   duly sworn, was examined and testified as
	17   follows:
	18		DIRECT EXAMINATION
	19   BY MR. CARMELL:
	20        Q.    Would you state your name and spell
	21   your last name, please.
	22        A.    Bruno Caruso, C-a-r-u-s-o.
	23        Q.    What is your date of birth,
	24   Mr. Caruso?

 
	1        A.    October 4, 1943.
	2        Q.    Mr. Caruso, I want to begin as close
	3   to the beginning as I can and run through
	4   chronologically.
	5	    In the early years when you were
	6   growing up where did you live?
	7        A.    I lived at 215 West 23rd Street.
	8        Q.    Is that in Chicago?
	9        A.    Yes, it is.
	10        Q.    Is there an area that is given the
	11   name?
	12        A.    That's the Chinatown area.
	13        Q.    And would you tell me -- tell the
	14   Hearing Officer the names of your brothers and
	15   sisters in chronological order, the oldest being
	16   first.
	17        A.    I have a sister named Frances.
	18        Q.    Is that with an e-s or an i-s?
	19        A.    E-s.
	20        Q.    Thank you.
	21        A.    A brother named Peter and a brother
	22   named Frank.
	23        Q.    And where in that order do you fit?
	24        A.    I am in between Peter and Frank.

 
	1        Q.    Where did you attend grammar school?
	2        A.    I went to Santa Maria Incoronata
	3   grammar school.
	4        Q.    Was that in the neighborhood?
	5        A.    Yes, it was.
	6        Q.    And did you graduate from that school?
	7        A.    Yes.
	8        Q.    And where did you go after that?
	9        A.    I went to St. Rita High School for
	10   three years and then completed my high school
	11   education at De La Salle.
	12        Q.    Did you take any post-high school
	13   courses?
	14        A.    No.
	15        Q.    And after leaving high school -- I'm
	16   sorry.
	17	    During the time that you worked or
	18   were in high school did you have any jobs?
	19        A.    I had odd jobs for the summer.
	20        Q.    After leaving high school what job did
	21   you take?
	22        A.    I believe I went to barber college
	23   after high school.
	24        Q.    And did you become a licensed barber?

 
	1        A.    Yes.
	2        Q.    And did you work as an apprentice for
	3   a period of time?
	4        A.    Yes, I did.
	5        Q.    And how long a period of time was
	6   that?
	7        A.    It was a few years.

	8        Q.    And you were a member of the barbers
	9   union?
	10        A.    Yes.
	11        Q.    During the time that you had worked in
	12   high school, Mr. Caruso, had you been a member of
	13   any union?
	14        A.    No.
	15        Q.    Now, why did you stop being a barber?
	16        A.    I -- the confinement, the confinement
	17   was the main reason.  I gave outstanding
	18   haircuts.
	19        Q.    And what do you mean by confinement?
	20        A.    Well, the barber by its nature is
	21   confined to a store or a chair to service the
	22   customers as they come in.
	23        Q.    Did there come a time when you went to
	24   work for the City of Chicago?

 
	1        A.    Yes, there did.
	2        Q.    And about what year or what age were
	3   you when you began to work there?
	4        A.    I was around 23 years old.
	5        Q.    And where were you living at that
	6   time?
	7        A.    I believe I was on 63rd and
	8   Narragansett.  I had just gotten married.
	9        Q.    And in relationship to the Chinatown
	10   area, where is 63rd and Narragansett?
	11        A.    Oh, it is about seven to eight miles
	12   south, southwest.
	13        Q.    And how long did you live at
	14   Narragansett?
	15        A.    For approximately a year.
	16        Q.    And then where did you go?
	17        A.    Then I moved to a home in -- on the
	18   south side of Chicago, 8458 South Karlov.
	19        Q.    And how far was the Karlov address
	20   from the Chinatown area?
	21        A.    About 10 miles.
	22        Q.    And how long did you live at Karlov?
	23        A.    25 years.
	24        Q.    And are you living at Karlov now?

 
	1        A.    No.  I moved.
	2        Q.    Where do you live now?
	3        A.    I live in Darien.
	4        Q.    And that's a --
	5        A.    Southwest suburb.
	6        Q.    And how far is that from the Chinatown
	7   area?
	8        A.    21, 22 miles.
	9        Q.    Is your father living?
	10        A.    No, he isn't.
	11        Q.    Is your mother living?
	12        A.    Yes.
	13        Q.    And where does your mother live?
	14        A.    She lives in the Chinatown area, 233
	15   West 25th.
	16        Q.    And do you have an Uncle Fred Roti?
	17        A.    Yes, I do.
	18        Q.    And where does your Uncle Fred live?
	19        A.    He lives next door to my mother at a
	20   separate address.  I believe it is 231 West
	21   25th.
	22        Q.    And was your mother living at that
	23   address in June of 1997?
	24        A.    Yes, she was.

 
	1        Q.    And was Fred Roti living at that
	2   address in June of 1997?
	3        A.    Yes.
	4        Q.    Mr. Caruso, you began to testify
	5   concerning your employment with the City of
	6   Chicago.  What department were you employed with?
	7        A.    I worked for the Department of Streets
	8   and Sanitation.
	9        Q.    And when you began, what was your
	10   classification?
	11        A.    I was a laborer with the asphalt
	12   department.
	13        Q.    And could you tell the Hearing Officer
	14   where you reported to and the kind of work that
	15   you did?
	16        A.    I reported at various locations.  I
	17   was assigned a compressor -- on a compressor crew
	18   which cut out pavement throughout the city.
	19   Mostly southwest, south and southwest wards.  So
	20   I would report to various locations on the south
	21   and southwest side ward yards.
	22        Q.    Is the compressor crew a jackhammer
	23   crew?
	24        A.    Yes, it is.

 
	1        Q.    And then what would you do during the
	2   day?
	3        A.    Well, we'd get our assignments the
	4   evening before, prepare the equipment, meet in a
	5   ward yard and go out to the job site, barricade
	6   the area and start the compressors and start to
	7   remove the pavement or concrete, whichever had to
	8   be done, with Jack hammers.
	9        Q.    How many people did the crew consist
	10   of and what classifications?
	11        A.    There was approximately five or six
	12   people on the crew.  They were laborers and I was
	13   a laborer also and did the paperwork which made
	14   me an acting foreman at that point.  There was a
	15   150 operator on a piece that would bring the
	16   equipment out.  Actually two 150 operators.
	17        Q.    That's Local 150, the operating
	18   engineers?
	19        A.    Yes.  One would bring the compressor
	20   out on a truck, start it and the other would pick
	21   up the asphalt after it was cut, another
	22   engineer.  And we had trucks assigned to us.
	23   That varied.
	24        Q.    You said you are an acting foreman.

 
	1   As a foreman, did you have the authority to
	2   recommend hiring, firing or discipline?
	3        A.    No, not really.
	4        Q.    Okay.  Would you tell us what you did
	5   as an acting foreman and why you were made an
	6   acting foreman?
	7        A.    Well, I had a high school education
	8   and I had -- did in the summertime many odd jobs
	9   dealing with pavement and so on and so forth
	10   through high school and the city had just come
	11   out with a -- more or less a more accountable
	12   type of sheet for your performance of the day
	13   that most of the laborers were unfamiliar with.
	14	    I caught on very quickly, which gave
	15   me responsibility to put the members names down
	16   or put the employees names down, account for the
	17   time that it would take to cut out a various
	18   push-up or whatever, depression, whatever it may
	19   be and break it down to an hourly situation and
	20   time travel and so on and so forth.  And I would
	21   then also direct the 150 operators and the truck
	22   drivers along with the laborers.
	23        Q.    And did there come a time when you
	24   were promoted from acting foreman?

 
	1        A.    Yes.  I don't know exactly when, but
	2   it was an asphalt cut-out foreman, the title.  I
	3   think it was official within a few weeks or a
	4   month or so.  That was my first level of
	5   promotion.
	6        Q.    When you had that first level of
	7   promotion, did you continue to perform physical
	8   labor on the job?
	9        A.    Absolutely.
	10        Q.    And did you stay with the crew or was
	11   there a crew or crews that were larger than the
	12   one that you had had?
	13        A.    I stood with the crew for the most
	14   part.  We did a little -- the only time I would
	15   leave the crew was to survey the work that we
	16   were going to do within the next hour or two or
	17   the next day.
	18        Q.    And how long did you remain as a
	19   foreman approximately?
	20        A.    Oh, I'd say about eight years.
	21        Q.    And during that time you continued to
	22   perform physical labor, the compressor jobs that
	23   you had talked about?
	24        A.    Yes.  The compressor work was more or

 
	1   less it would bound by the seasons because we
	2   could do jackhammer work even in the cold weather
	3   for emergency purposes and then when that was --
	4   when we were unable to perform those duties, then
	5   we would go to an asphalt crew and perform
	6   pothole fixing and things of that nature, weather
	7   permitting.
	8        Q.    And did you then receive another
	9   promotion?
	10        A.    Yes, I did.
	11        Q.    And what title did you get?
	12        A.    I believe I went to supervisor of the
	13   asphalt department, asphalt supervisor.
	14        Q.    And do you know if -- what were your
	15   duties then?
	16        A.    They were supervisory in the sense
	17   that I would be assigned an area within the City
	18   of Chicago.  It was approximately four or five
	19   wards and all of the street repair work and
	20   maintenance would be under my jurisdiction along
	21   with various crews that would perform those
	22   works.  It was usually one crew per ward.  Five
	23   or six crews would be assigned to me.
	24        Q.    Did you have an office?

 
	1        A.    Yes.
	2        Q.    And where was the office located?
	3        A.    Oh, that varied.  I may have started
	4   off on the north side of the City of Chicago,
	5   near north side.  I can't remember the exact
	6   location.  And then I was kind of the floating
	7   supervisor for a while to fill in for various
	8   vacations and things of that nature, so it would
	9   change for the first year or so.  Many
	10   locations.
	11        Q.    What percentage of your time was spent
	12   in the office as opposed to on the street?
	13        A.    The mornings were spent in the office
	14   making sure that the tallies of employees came in
	15   and the assignments and the material was
	16   dispatched properly and then it was on the street
	17   for me till lunchtime at least and right after
	18   lunch back on the street until about maybe an
	19   hour before the crews were expected to come in.
	20        Q.    Which was approximately what time?
	21        A.    I would say that would be around -- I
	22   would -- the crews were expected in by 4.  I'd be
	23   in there about 3, 3:15.
	24        Q.    Your workday would end approximately

 
	1   what time?
	2        A.    4:30.
	3        Q.    And how long did you remain in that
	4   position as an assistant supervisor?
	5        A.    I believe I was there for at least two
	6   years or three years.
	7        Q.    And did you then -- did you receive a
	8   promotion?
	9        A.    Yes, I did.
	10        Q.    And what was the job title?
	11        A.    It was assistant superintendent of
	12   pavement repairs.
	13        Q.    How did that position differ from the
	14   position you had held before?
	15        A.    Well, the assistant superintendent was
	16   more city-wide, not confined in any general area,
	17   south side or north side or east side or west
	18   side.
	19	    He was like the right arm of the
	20   superintendent of the asphalt department, which
	21   entailed a little bit of budgetary work, a little
	22   bit of precosting job sites and also dealing with
	23   politicians and complaints on various levels with
	24   citizens and aldermen and community organizations

 
	1   throughout the city.
	2        Q.    Let's stay for a moment, Mr. Caruso,
	3   with dealing with the politicians and the public
	4   and would you tell the Hearing Officer what sort
	5   of matters did you handle for these groups and if
	6   you could sort of discern the group?
	7        A.    As the assistant superintendent you
	8   were centrally located.  There was an office at
	9   37th Street, I believe it was 37th and Princeton,
	10   and most of the assignments would come in through
	11   that office and then be dispatched to the various
	12   districts, various wards.
	13	    When a what we would consider a hot
	14   item would come in, an item that had some kind of
	15   emergency status or an item that was a
	16   futuristic, we had to go out there and do some
	17   prework to prepare for some future jobs, those
	18   type of assignments would come to me and I would
	19   either go speak to the community organization,
	20   the Alderman or whomever, even a business,
	21   various businesses that would be affected by the
	22   closing of streets and other things, and I'd go
	23   out there and kind of set up the work for what we
	24   construed to be a good time and most efficient

 
	1   time to do the job.
	2        Q.    And what were the hours that you
	3   worked while you were the assistant
	4   superintendent?
	5        A.    The hours were 8 to 4:30, but that
	6   never was once I got elevated to the assistant
	7   superintendent's job.
	8        Q.    What would your hours then be?
	9        A.    Oh, they could go from 7 till 6 in the
	10   evening.  There were many days that it was 8 to
	11   4:30 and some Saturday work was involved.  It was
	12   a supply and demand.  Whatever the superintendent
	13   needed me to do, he would ask of me and I would
	14   just do.
	15        Q.    And how long did you remain as the
	16   assistant superintendent?
	17        A.    I remained there for about a year and
	18   a half or so.
	19        Q.    And then did you have another position
	20   with the City of Chicago?
	21        A.    Yes.
	22        Q.    And what was that?
	23        A.    I became the superintendent of the
	24   asphalt department, department of streets.

 
	1        Q.    And did those job duties change very
	2   much from what you had done as the assistant
	3   superintendent?
	4        A.    Yes.  The duties themselves became
	5   much more accountable to the individuals that
	6   would bring the work to the department.  You
	7   would be making up budgets and putting budgets
	8   together totally for your bureau within the
	9   department.  You'd be asking for manpower.  You
	10   would be asking for equipment.
	11	    You would be literally begging for the
	12   things that you needed to complete a job and also
	13   keep the morale up of the individuals, keeping
	14   the work.
	15	    One of my goals was mostly keeping the
	16   work in-house for the City of Chicago.  So, the
	17   performance had to be there by the crews and the
	18   district and the supervisor, starting from the
	19   laborer.  And that was an awesome responsibility
	20   to take on.
	21        Q.    While you were superintendent
	22   approximately how many workers were under your
	23   supervision, under your authority, maybe not
	24   direct supervision?

 
	1        A.    I would say 3 to 400 minimal.  At
	2   various times that would change.  It may have
	3   went up as high as 500 employees in peak season.
	4        Q.    How long did you remain as
	5   superintendent?
	6        A.    A year and a half or two.
	7        Q.    Until approximately what year?
	8        A.    1982.
	9        Q.    And did you then leave the City of
	10   Chicago?
	11        A.    Yes, I did.
	12        Q.    Staying with the time that you were
	13   with the City of Chicago, were you a member of a
	14   union?
	15        A.    Yes.
	16        Q.    And which union were you a member of?
	17        A.    I was a member of Local 1001, Laborers
	18   union.
	19        Q.    Were you a member of any other union
	20   from the time you began until the time you left
	21   in 1982?
	22        A.    No.
	23        Q.    Now, at the time that you were working
	24   for the City of Chicago, did the City have any

 
	1   collective bargaining agreements with the
	2   Laborers union?
	3        A.    No.  At the time I worked for the City
	4   it did not have a collective bargaining
	5   agreement.
	6        Q.    Now, when you were superintendent, you
	7   remained a member of Local 1001, is that correct?
	8        A.    Yes, that is.
	9        Q.    Was that part of the unit that Local
	10   1001 represented or was that considered to be
	11   management?
	12        A.    That was considered to be management
	13   at the time.
	14        Q.    And when you were assistant to the
	15   superintendent was that management?
	16        A.    Yes.
	17        Q.    And any other classifications that you
	18   had which were considered to be management?
	19        A.    Actually it may have just been the
	20   superintendent's job.  I believe we did have the
	21   jurisdiction of the assistant superintendents
	22   under the definition of what truly is
	23   management.  I believe we had that.  So, it was
	24   just the superintendent's job I believe that was

 
	1   management in that nature.
	2        Q.    During the time that you worked for
	3   the City of Chicago and were a member of Local
	4   1001, did you hold any positions that were
	5   appointed by 1001 such as a steward or otherwise?
	6        A.    I was a steward for 1001 I believe I
	7   started in 1966 with the City.  I believe
	8   sometime in 1966 I became a steward by virtue of
	9   me being the lead worker or foreman on the crew
	10   and remained the steward up to -- to this day in
	11   reality.  But I remained a steward with the local
	12   all the way through the tenure of my City
	13   employment.
	14	    When I was a superintendent, the title
	15   of steward, which was bestowed upon me, was
	16   somewhat not the official position I would take;
	17   but I really am to this day still the steward.
	18        Q.    What duties did you perform as the
	19   steward?
	20        A.    Well, it was mostly keeping the
	21   membership within the Laborers' Union informed of
	22   various things that the union was concerned with
	23   and the members were concerned with.  It was the
	24   collection of dues on a quarterly basis and just

 
	1   in general keep the good faith between the union
	2   and the membership which were city employees.
	3        Q.    Were there times when members had
	4   complaints concerning wages or hours or working
	5   conditions that they would bring to the steward,
	6   to you?
	7        A.    They would come up at various points,
	8   sure.
	9        Q.    And what would you do then?
	10        A.    Well, I would deal with the complaints
	11   as they arose.
	12        Q.    Would you tell the Hearing Officer
	13   what you would do?
	14        A.    Well, for instance, if a payment
	15   complaint came up, an individual worked some
	16   overtime and did not get time-and-a-half or
	17   double-time and brought it to my attention, it
	18   depended at what level I was with the city.
	19   Let's say as a foreman, I would then bring that
	20   to the supervisor who was within the City of
	21   Chicago and he would then bring it to what we
	22   call 37th Street, the main office, to find out if
	23   there was an error of some kind, and also even
	24   pertaining to jurisdiction.

 
	1        Q.    Let's just stop for a minute.  Let's
	2   stay with the one that you talked about.  Did
	3   there -- were there occasions where the city
	4   disagreed and believed that they had paid it
	5   correctly?
	6        A.    Sure.
	7        Q.    And what would you do then as steward?
	8        A.    Well, as steward I would inform the
	9   local union of what I intended to investigate and
	10   what my conclusion was, supplying the local union
	11   with the documentation, which was a check stub
	12   and hours and things of that nature, and ask them
	13   to pursue it because I believe that the city was
	14   in error and many times I was able to convince
	15   the city that they were in error and sometimes
	16   I -- I shouldn't say sometimes.  In many times I
	17   needed the union to go in there and make the
	18   phone call to get to say the skinny of the
	19   issue.
	20        Q.    Who would you contact at the union?
	21   Was there a particular individual or individuals?
	22        A.    I would generally call for the
	23   business agent that was assigned to the asphalt
	24   division.

 
	1        Q.    That's what we've referred to
	2   sometimes as the field rep or the business agent
	3   of the local?
	4        A.    Correct.
	5        Q.    Did you have any names that you recall
	6   of business agents or field reps that you dealt
	7   with?
	8        A.    Oh, I have dealt with various business
	9   agents throughout the -- throughout my tenure.
	10   Mike Spingola comes up as one.  I dealt with the
	11   president of the local itself, the second
	12   treasurer of the local itself depending on who
	13   was available to answer the question at the
	14   office or if they responded to me, various people
	15   would call me.
	16        Q.    Did you attend Local 1001 meetings?
	17        A.    Yes, I did.
	18        Q.    Did you do that on a regular basis?
	19        A.    Yes.
	20        Q.    And besides being the shop steward and
	21   attending local union meetings, what else did you
	22   do with respect to the local union?
	23        A.    For what period of time?
	24        Q.    Well, during the whole time that you

 
	1   were there?
	2        A.    Was a city employee?
	3        Q.    Yeah.
	4        A.    Well, I was then accountable to make
	5   sure that when we attended these meetings to
	6   bring that message back to the field for
	7   individuals who weren't in attendance.  There was
	8   various political questions that would come up on
	9   the floor of the local union, supporting
	10   candidates, alderman candidates, committeemen
	11   candidates, even complaints that would come as a
	12   result -- even if it wasn't in my own area, a
	13   complaint that would come out of another area
	14   that a superintendent was infringing on some
	15   jurisdictional right of a laborers to be aware of
	16   that.  I'd bring that to the membership and keep
	17   them alert.
	18        Q.    When you left the City of Chicago
	19   employment, where did you go to work?
	20        A.    I went to work for the union.
	21        Q.    That's Local 1001?
	22        A.    Yes, Local 1001.
	23        MR. CARMELL:  Mr. Hearing Officer, if we
	24   could just assume that the word union is 1001

 
	1   until we otherwise note.
	2        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Yes.
	3        MR. CARMELL:  Thank you.
	4   BY MR. CARMELL:
	5        Q.    How did it come about that you went to
	6   work for the union?
	7        A.    Well, a vacancy had occurred at the
	8   local level, Local 1001's level.  I was at that
	9   point quite active with the union because I had
	10   probably three to 400 union members under my
	11   jurisdiction at the time I was the superintendent
	12   and I became very familiar with union problems,
	13   union solutions and budgets and futuristic work
	14   and things of that nature.  I was I believe put
	15   on the Executive Board by the Executive Board
	16   maybe a year prior to the vacancy occurring.
	17        Q.    All right.  Let me just back up for
	18   that.  Thank you.
	19	    So you had held the position of shop
	20   steward before you left employment with the City
	21   of Chicago, is that correct?
	22        A.    Yes.
	23        Q.    And then you just said that you became
	24   a member of the Executive Board of Local 1001.

 
	1   Was that while you were working for the City of
	2   Chicago?
	3        A.    Yes, it was.
	4        Q.    All right.  Backing up for a moment,
	5   please, Mr. Caruso, would you tell the Hearing
	6   Officer how you were appointed, under what
	7   circumstances, to the Executive Board?
	8        A.    Well, basically it is the same as I
	9   just stated.  Because of the experience I had
	10   with many of the local members in that union and
	11   me being a part of that union starting with
	12   laborer all of the way up, naturally the business
	13   manager took an interest in me and many times
	14   would call for an opinion pertaining to the job
	15   the City of Chicago was doing and we had kind of
	16   a mutual respect for one another.
	17        Q.    Who was the business  manager?
	18        A.    At that point I believe it was Joe
	19   Spingola.
	20        Q.    All right.  Please go ahead.
	21        A.    And also knowing the
	22   secretary/treasurer.
	23        Q.    Who was he?
	24        A.    That was Thomas Crivellone.

 
	1        Q.    Do you know how to spell that name?
	2        A.    Not really.
	3        Q.    It was a good try.  Go ahead.  Sorry.
	4        A.    We had a pretty good rapport going
	5   whereas, excuse the language, the bullshit would
	6   stop when I would bring up an issue or when they
	7   would bring up an issue and we just -- we got a
	8   mutual respect for one another.
	9        Q.    How did you first hear and who from
	10   that you were being considered for appointment to
	11   the Executive Board?
	12        A.    I don't recall for sure.  As a city
	13   employee working for the city, rumors are a part
	14   of everyday life and someone may have told me, "I
	15   understand that there is a vacancy of the local
	16   and they are considering you for Executive
	17   Board."  I may have heard it that way.  I
	18   probably did.
	19        Q.    How did you finally hear about your
	20   appointment to the executive board?
	21        A.    I was called in to a meeting by
	22   Mr. Spingola and he wanted to personally tell me
	23   that I was under consideration and what was my
	24   feeling on the matter.  Naturally being union

 
	1   minded and being very active with the union, I
	2   was elated at the opportunity.
	3	    He said that he was going to have a
	4   meeting, I don't recall if it was that day or
	5   within that month, and make a recommendation that

	6   I replace a retiring Executive Board member or
	7   one had just died, I am not very sure, and he
	8   would let me know what the results are.
	9        Q.    And what happened after that?
	10        A.    The board voted I believe unanimously
	11   to accept me as an Executive Board member.
	12        Q.    And that was approximately how long
	13   before you left the City of Chicago?
	14        A.    I am going to guess at a year.  About
	15   1981.  I am not very sure.
	16        Q.    All right.  Now, you left the City of
	17   Chicago and you went -- let me back up.
	18	    The position of Executive Board member
	19   was not a full-time position with the union, is
	20   that correct?
	21        A.    No.
	22        Q.    So you remained as a full-time
	23   employee of the City of Chicago?
	24        A.    Yes, I did.

 
	1        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Would that be
	2   Executive Board member at large?
	3        THE WITNESS:  At large, okay.
	4        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Not one of the
	5   principal officers, but it was perhaps three,
	6   three or two Executive Board members who are
	7   elected just to be executive board members,
	8   right?
	9        THE WITNESS:  Correct.
	10   BY MR. CARMELL:
	11        Q.    Now, going back to your selection for
	12   a position with the union and after you became
	13   executive board member, will you explain how that
	14   occurred?
	15        A.    After I became an Executive Board
	16   member?
	17        Q.    Yes.  What caused you to decide to
	18   leave the City of Chicago?
	19        A.    Again, there was a vacancy that had
	20   occurred or was being spoken about retirement
	21   that was secretary/treasurer Thomas Crivellone
	22   who was considering retiring for he was getting
	23   up there in age.
	24        Q.    How old approximately was

 
	1   Mr. Crivellone?
	2        A.    He was in his seventies at the time.
	3   I just don't know how old.  And me being in
	4   contact with the Executive Board on a monthly
	5   basis, naturally I have heard that and I wouldn't
	6   dare ask to be considered for the spot, but I got
	7   the feeling because of a, quote, unquote, you
	8   know, they liked the idea of having some young
	9   energetic people around with a good kind of
	10   background in labor history, especially their
	11   local, and eventually I got asked to replace Tom
	12   Crivellone.
	13        Q.    Now, Mr. Caruso, at the time you were
	14   asked to replace Tom Crivellone, were there
	15   members of the Executive Board who had been there
	16   longer than you?
	17        A.    Yes.
	18        Q.    And what was your understanding as to
	19   why you were selected as opposed to those that
	20   had a longer time on the board?
	21        A.    Oh, I can't quote it, but I kind of
	22   remember because of the experience that I had
	23   dealing with literally hundreds of members in the
	24   City of Chicago dealing to an extent with

 
	1   whatever handshake agreements we had and payroll
	2   problems and jurisdictional problems, for 16
	3   years that was the pivotal point.  It was like a
	4   resume.
	5	    A pivotal point where somebody
	6   would -- where I was given the consideration
	7   because Tom Crivellone was I can recall a very
	8   hands-on type of Secretary-Treasurer and I was a
	9   very hands-on type of superintendent and dealt
	10   with many of the members of Local 1001 and I
	11   think it was a good fit, a good fit.
	12        Q.    How did you hear that you were being
	13   asked to replace Tom Crivellone?
	14        A.    I was called -- then I believe the
	15   business manager and president was Ernest
	16   Kumerow.  I was called to the office, or it may
	17   have happened at an Executive Board meeting
	18   afterwards, and told that Tommy had made up his
	19   mind.
	20	    He had been considering it for many,
	21   many weeks and months, and he had made up his
	22   mind he felt comfortable now that the union
	23   was -- it's going to sound a little braggadocio,
	24   but the union was going to be in good hands,

 
	1   meaning the same type of leadership that he
	2   enjoyed, he felt that I would do.
	3        Q.    Had you known Ernest Kumerow -- strike
	4   that.
	5	    And you were appointed
	6   Secretary-Treasurer of Local 1001, is that
	7   correct?
	8        A.    Yes.
	9        Q.    And that was in what year?
	10        A.    1982.
	11        Q.    And at that time Ernest Kumerow was
	12   the business manager?
	13        A.    Yes.
	14        Q.    And when did Ernest Kumerow become the
	15   business manager of 1001?
	16        A.    Oh, I'd say approximately a year
	17   before that, maybe a little less.  I'm not sure.
	18        Q.    Were you on the Executive Board at the
	19   time Ernest Kumerow was -- became business
	20   manager?
	21        A.    Yes.
	22        Q.    And was that by appointment or by

	23   election?
	24        A.    That was by appointment.

 
	1        Q.    Had you known Ernest Kumerow before
	2   that time?
	3        A.    Yes, I had.
	4        Q.    Would you tell the Hearing Officer how
	5   you knew him and under what circumstances.
	6        A.    Ernie Kumerow was a business agent for
	7   the local union that dealt with the City of
	8   Chicago employees for many years, and we had the
	9   occasion to meet at various meetings of the local
	10   union, monthly meetings, Executive Board meetings
	11   or regular meetings.
	12	    Plus the fact that we had a lot in
	13   common as to City employment and I was a City
	14   employment superintendent at the time.  So, we
	15   kind of shared ideas.
	16	    Ernie had a college education that
	17   somewhat showed in proper verbiage and I found
	18   that attractive, and attractive in the manly
	19   sense, and we just kind of clicked together,
	20   Ernie and I.  He was very active with the
	21   Department of Streets and Sanitation at the
	22   time.
	23        Q.    Who did Ernest Kumerow replace as
	24   business manager?

 
	1        A.    Ernie replaced Joe Spingola.
	2        Q.    And from your position as a member of
	3   the Executive Board how did that come about?
	4        A.    Well, I was called to a meeting.  It
	5   could have been a regular monthly meeting or a
	6   special meeting, I am not sure.  And the
	7   discussion came up again that Joe Spingola was
	8   ailing a little bit and getting up there.  This
	9   has a draining effect on you, this job.
	10	    And he was considering retiring and
	11   he, too, liked the level of the way Ernie was
	12   conducting himself as a business agent, very
	13   active.  The membership liked Ernie and he could
	14   relate to them and some of the we call it
	15   politicians or administration found it easy to

	16   speak with Ernie about various issues and Joe
	17   felt comfortable with that and he recommended
	18   Ernie Kumerow.
	19        Q.    Was Ernie Kumerow a member of the
	20   Executive Board at the time?
	21        A.    I believe he was.
	22        Q.    Did you vote in favor of the
	23   appointment of Mr. Ernie Kumerow for business
	24   manager?

 
	1        A.    Yes, I did.
	2        Q.    Tom Crivellone was Secretary-Treasurer
	3   at the time, is that correct?
	4        A.    Yes.
	5        Q.    Was there any reason that you were
	6   made aware of why Tom Crivellone didn't move up
	7   into the position of business manager?
	8        A.    I believe Tom was starting to indicate
	9   that he was considering retiring also.  But he
	10   just had figured -- and I am just guessing.  It's
	11   speculation on my part.
	12	    But two of the main officers leaving
	13   at the same time would -- Tom never felt
	14   comfortable with that.  Executive Board never
	15   felt comfortable with that nor did the president
	16   and business manager feel comfortable with that.
	17	    So, Tom -- but he was also -- he
	18   indicated that he was considering retirement too.
	19        Q.    At the time that you voted on the
	20   recommendation of the business manager to appoint
	21   Ernie Kumerow, did you know that Ernie Kumerow
	22   was the son-in-law of Anthony Accardo?
	23        A.    Yes.
	24        Q.    And how long a period of time before

 
	1   that had you known it?
	2        A.    I couldn't say it was more than a
	3   couple of months prior to that.
	4        Q.    How did you find out about it?
	5        A.    Ernie told me.
	6        Q.    How long, if you know, how long had
	7   Ernie Kumerow been with Local 1001 before he
	8   became business manager?
	9        A.    I'm not sure.  I don't know.
	10        Q.    Did you have any reservations about
	11   voting for Ernest Kumerow to become the business
	12   manager?
	13        A.    No.
	14        Q.    And you told us -- you told the
	15   Hearing Officer I believe the reasons why you
	16   felt that he would be a good business manager.
	17	    Did the fact that he was son-in-law of
	18   Anthony Accardo affect you one way or the other
	19   in your vote?
	20        A.    Not one way or another.
	21        Q.    Now, after -- so Ernest Kumerow
	22   becomes the business manager and how soon
	23   thereafter do you become the Secretary-Treasurer?
	24        A.    Oh, I would say within a year.

 
	1        Q.    And was the position of
	2   Secretary-Treasurer a full-time position with the
	3   local?
	4        A.    Yes.
	5        Q.    And what were your duties as
	6   Secretary-Treasurer?
	7        A.    Well, as Secretary-Treasurer/business
	8   agent, which all of us are.
	9        Q.    Would you explain that.
	10        A.    Well, the title of President, business
	11   manager, Secretary-Treasurer, whatever title
	12   comes in, it's always accompanied by the business
	13   agent -- /business agent.  Meaning that you were
	14   a field person first and foremost and a
	15   Secretary-Treasurer for the official aspects of
	16   the job.
	17	    We were very active, all the officers
	18   in the local, at least in the tenure that I can
	19   recall, were very active field representative
	20   people where they would actually deal with
	21   day-to-day problems in the field of members or
	22   whatever arose.
	23	    Secretary-Treasurer's job basically
	24   was to make sure the money that was coming in was

 
	1   credited properly and appropriately and invested
	2   in a safe, very in this case very safe, frugal
	3   way with no threat of bankruptcy for investments
	4   and keep the office staff humming along, making
	5   sure delinquent dues was taken along with the
	6   regular dues and various obligations, every bill
	7   that came in.
	8	    But as a business agent, as I call
	9   it --
	10        Q.    Let me stop there.  You remained a
	11   business agent and what were your duties while
	12   you were Secretary-Treasurer as business agent?
	13        A.    Well, they changed somewhat.  At the
	14   beginning when I first became a
	15   Secretary-Treasurer, which is I believe in
	16   November of 1982, there was a learning process.
	17   I was familiar with the membership but not
	18   really, really familiar with the operation from a
	19   clerical standpoint.
	20	    I had a learning process for a while
	21   in the office and I believe Ernie and auditors
	22   and lawyers helped me along with those
	23   procedures.  But that was rather short-lived.
	24	    We had just gone over to a dues

 
	1   deduction type program with the City of Chicago,
	2   which then was 90 percent or 95 percent of our
	3   total membership with the local.
	4        Q.    Let me stop there for a moment.
	5   Before the dues deductions, the dues were hand
	6   collected from the members, is that right?
	7        A.    That's correct.
	8        Q.    And it would be the field reps'
	9   responsibility to get the dues from the steward
	10   if there was one or how did it work?
	11        A.    It would work in various ways.  The
	12   steward was responsible for the collection and
	13   giving of receipts, turning that money into
	14   either a business agent or at the office itself.
	15	    There were some individuals, I'll call
	16   them old-timers that constantly wanted to send
	17   their money directly to the local union and that
	18   was in a transition period.  That went from that
	19   type of operation, which we liked to think is
	20   archaic, to a regular deduction, dues deduction,
	21   of City employees.
	22        Q.    So, when the dues deduction came in,
	23   the City would deduct and remit to the local, is
	24   that correct?

 
	1        A.    That's correct.
	2        Q.    So, now having gone through the
	3   learning period of Secretary-Treasurer, what did
	4   you do with respect to your duties as a business
	5   agent?
	6        A.    As a business agent, I would leave the
	7   office and go to various locations or sites or
	8   deal with various commissioners, high ranking
	9   commissioners to -- I'll construe them to be a
	10   lower ranking foreman or superintendents as to
	11   our daily activities, meaning the departments
	12   that we represented as a local were vast and you
	13   had to keep a rapport with those commissioners,
	14   those people that made up the budget, those
	15   operational people who made the request to the
	16   commissioners to make up the budget for equipment
	17   or manpower almost on a daily basis.  You know,
	18   it would vary somewhat from asphalt to refuse
	19   collection to rodent control to forestry, to
	20   airport operations, to sign hanging, sign
	21   sweeping.  It just -- it wasn't -- every crisis
	22   seemed to come up as one was being solved,
	23   another one was being formulated someplace.
	24        Q.    Now, you testified that the City of

 
	1   Chicago did not have collective bargaining
	2   agreements with the laborers and you talked about
	3   the handshake.  That's what it was called, is
	4   that correct?
	5        A.    That's correct.
	6        Q.    And that was with all local unions.
	7   Was that correct?
	8        A.    That was with all local unions to the
	9   best of my knowledge.  I know it was with the
	10   Laborers' unions.
	11        Q.    Now, was there any statutory provision
	12   built in the general assembly at that time that
	13   authorized the City of Chicago to enter into
	14   collective bargaining agreements?
	15        A.    Yes.  There was a collective
	16   bargaining act as we liked to call it that had
	17   been floating around I believe in 1982.
	18        Q.    And just to shorten, if I can,
	19   Mr. Hearing Officer, in 1983 the Illinois
	20   legislature passed an act, a labor relations act
	21   which required the city to bargain and sign an
	22   agreement with local unions, is that correct?
	23        A.    That's correct.
	24        Q.    All right.  I want to go through the

 
	1   process that Local 1001 went through after this
	2   was signed first through recognition and
	3   recognition issues and then into bargaining
	4   issues and ask you to tell what you did and what,
	5   if anything, Mr. Kumerow did during this process?
	6        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Am I correct that
	7   prior to this act being passed that the Laborers
	8   had organized the city, but there was no
	9   contract?
	10        MR. CARMELL:  That's correct.  No one had a
	11   contract at that time.  That was what was called
	12   the "handshake agreement" in which the mayor
	13   would say and the city council would say "this is
	14   what we'll give you."
	15        THE HEARING OFFICER:  And that's how they
	16   came at the hourly wage, and what about the other
	17   details about the safety and so forth?
	18   BY MR. CARMELL:
	19        Q.    All right.  Let's back up to the era
	20   of the handshake, and would you tell the Hearing
	21   Officer how wages, hours, conditions of
	22   employment including safety came into effect and
	23   were handled?
	24        THE HEARING OFFICER:  How are the reporters

 
	1   doing?  You have been going on about an hour.
	2        MR. CARMELL:  This would be fine to take a
	3   break because now we get into the subject of the
	4   bargaining.
	5        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Ten minutes.
	6	        (WHEREUPON, a recess was had.).
	7        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Let's go back on the
	8   record.  Let's start off here.  Let me bring to
	9   your attention, Mr. Bostwick brings to mine, just
	10   for your own sake, your own union members' sake,
	11   in a trustee hearing, only the delegates and the
	12   officers of this Chicago District Council is this
	13   being open to and I recall not too long ago I had
	14   to remove somebody at the concurrence of everyone
	15   who is not a delegate, and so is that the case,
	16   are we all still delegates here?
	17        THE WITNESS:  It looks like that to me.  I
	18   don't know this side too well.
	19        THE HEARING OFFICER:  It looks that way to
	20   you.  I am only doing that for your own sake.
	21   You recall not too long ago we had to remove a
	22   couple of people.
	23	    Gentlemen, I ran into a couple of
	24   reporters outside.  You may have seen me speaking

 
	1   to them, and I know the reporters from Chicago
	2   who have been here a long time.  I simply
	3   informed -- they asked me about the schedule and
	4   that's all I am really permitted to say as the
	5   judge, what's public record, and I told them we
	6   would hope to finish this week and there is a
	7   briefing schedule about 30 days that follows and
	8   it is up to me to deal with it after that fairly
	9   quickly.
	10	    If you saw me out there being
	11   photographed and standing around, it is because I
	12   was such a media figure here at one time in
	13   Chicago.  I am only joking about that.  But
	14   that's all I told them was what was public
	15   record.
	16	    All right.  Mr. Carmell, we were about
	17   to move on.
	18   BY MR. CARMELL:
	19        Q.    Yes.  You were going to testify
	20   concerning how wages, hours, working conditions,
	21   safety matters were set during what was a period
	22   before there was a collective bargaining statute?
	23        A.    That was pretty much -- I was a part
	24   of that when I was with the city.  It was pretty

 
	1   much a handshake agreement.  Some memorandums
	2   exchanged hands on issues of what I would
	3   construe to be vitally important or unduly
	4   unsafe, but for the most part it was all calling
	5   up, getting an agreement and making sure each
	6   side kept it from a verbal standpoint.
	7        Q.    What, if any, was the relationship
	8   between you and Local 1001 and the alderman,
	9   commissioners, city fathers in dealing with this
	10   wages, hours and conditions of employment on the
	11   handshake basis?
	12        A.    Well, that for the most part as I
	13   recall, especially on the wages, there the
	14   District Council as I now know it would negotiate
	15   an outside contract, outside meaning not City of
	16   Chicago, and the wages that were negotiated
	17   there, a letter would come to the city council's
	18   office.  I don't know to whom.  Maybe finance
	19   committee or whatever, expressing that this
	20   was -- this had been negotiated from the outside
	21   industry on behalf of the laborers.  These were
	22   the rates of pay per hour and that would go
	23   through some kind of I'd say informal or formal
	24   okay at city council office -- city council

 
	1   hearing on the wages.
	2        Q.    Did the city council have to adopt an
	3   ordinance for the wages as far as you knew at
	4   that time?
	5        A.    I don't know if it was an ordinance.
	6   It was more or less city council would become
	7   aware of it and have to approve, have to approve
	8   that rate or that memorandum, the authenticity of
	9   the memorandum coming from whomever represented
	10   themselves, things of that nature.
	11        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Mr. Caruso, how about
	12   jurisdictional disputes, for example, your old
	13   nemesis, the operating engineers, did they have
	14   the same handshake agreement?
	15        THE WITNESS:  Yes.
	16        THE HEARING OFFICER:  And if you two unions
	17   got in a dispute and the city got in between, it
	18   doesn't have an agreement, how was that ever
	19   worked out?
	20        THE WITNESS:  Well, for many years, at least
	21   all of the years that I have been involved, the
	22   locals, be it 150 or whomever, you have had a
	23   dispute over let's just assume a piece of
	24   equipment or an assignment, okay, then I was the

 
	1   superintendent at that point, if a question came
	2   up as to what the jurisdiction of a piece of
	3   equipment or assignment was, they'd bring it to
	4   my door.  I'd make a decision based on historical
	5   practices, things of that nature, and then
	6   usually we would be working -- we would be able
	7   to work it out to the satisfaction of both
	8   locals.
	9	    How that happens, sometimes it was
	10   magical, but for the most part I didn't know of
	11   any formal process that the City of Chicago then
	12   used other than the art of persuasion, I guess.
	13   BY MR. CARMELL:
	14        Q.    With respect to jurisdictional
	15   disputes, and let's use 150 as an example, did
	16   the District Council as far as you know have any
	17   position?  Did they help try and mediate these
	18   disputes?
	19        A.    Oh, definitely.
	20        Q.    Now, let's turn to the period of time
	21   after the collective bargaining statute becomes
	22   in effect, which is approximately 1983.
	23	    Did there come a time when there arose
	24   an issue concerning recognition of various local

 
	1   unions as to their members and their
	2   jurisdiction?
	3        A.    Yes.
	4        Q.    And would you explain as best you can
	5   to the Hearing Officer what that involved.
	6        A.    Well, the recognition agreement as I
	7   am more familiar with was one that came about
	8   through I guess state law and all of the unions
	9   involved with the City got together and
	10   formulated a group called the coalition.
	11	    And the coalition of unions dealt with
	12   every local or every union for the most part in
	13   the trades that done business with the City of
	14   Chicago.
	15	    Everyone then, remembering I was kind
	16   of new to the business, everyone then went around
	17   with their historical recognition of what
	18   jurisdiction they had.
	19	    Some of us had a very, very lengthy
	20   filing cabinet of memorandums that had taken
	21   place for years on assignments, be it refuse
	22   collection or sanitation or anything else, and
	23   had to present that to the City of Chicago.
	24	    Others were if a minor dispute came up

 
	1   over a particular title -- there was hundreds of
	2   titles in the City of Chicago.  If a dispute came
	3   up, we would attempt to work it out between the
	4   locals for sake of solidarity, to coin a phrase.
	5	    We would then say, well, we've been
	6   representing that type of work for 65 years.
	7   They've changed the title from -- this is just a
	8   made-up title -- from flower guy to thorn guy but
	9   he is still pruning flowers.  So we don't care
	10   what they call them, we care what they do.  We'd
	11   work it out with the various local unions.
	12	    The trades were very amenable from
	13   both sides.  We were a little -- we were the
	14   largest representative of building trades
	15   employees in the City of Chicago, the Laborers
	16   and the Teamsters.  So, therefore we did have a
	17   lot of titles that we represented that we had to
	18   now clarify.
	19        Q.    Let me refine this a bit, if I may.
	20   Let's talk about the coalition of unions.
	21	    Did the coalition -- the coalition was
	22   made up of just about all of the unions that had
	23   employees working for the City of Chicago, is
	24   that correct?

 
	1        A.    All of the -- yes.
	2        Q.    And did the coalition adopt some
	3   bylaws eventually?
	4        A.    Yes, they did.
	5        Q.    And were there co-chairs of the
	6   coalition?
	7        A.    Yes, there was.
	8        Q.    And who were the co-chairs of the
	9   coalition?
	10        A.    Back then in 1983 it was Ernie Kumerow
	11   for -- and I believe 726 was the Teamster local.
	12   I can't recall.  Chuck Spranzo.
	13	    The premise was collectively we
	14   represented about 7 or 8,000 employees between
	15   the two, Laborers and Teamsters.
	16        Q.    And there were attempts within the
	17   coalition to work out matters concerning who had
	18   which job titles if there were some disputes, is
	19   that correct?
	20        A.    Yes.
	21        Q.    And then who dealt with the City of

	22   Chicago for recognition on behalf of Local 1001?
	23        A.    On behalf of Local 1001, it was Ernie
	24   Kumerow and Bruno Caruso.

 
	1        Q.    And who did you -- who did the two of
	2   you deal with at the time basically?
	3        A.    You're beyond the recognition
	4   agreement.
	5        Q.    No, I am into the recognition
	6   agreement.
	7        A.    In the recognition agreement?  We
	8   dealt with the department of personnel.  We dealt
	9   with -- quite frankly, we dealt with whomever we
	10   could to accomplish our goal, whether it was
	11   personnel department or budgetary department or
	12   in some instances political.
	13        Q.    Were the final recognition agreements
	14   embodied in an ordinance passed by the City of
	15   Chicago?
	16        A.    Yes.
	17        Q.    So, the City Council had to approve
	18   these various recognition agreements, is that
	19   correct?
	20        A.    That's correct.
	21        Q.    And did that require -- what, if
	22   anything, did you and to your knowledge
	23   Mr. Kumerow do with respect to the various
	24   aldermen in order to get your recognition

 
	1   agreement adopted?
	2        A.    Well, we lobbied the issue.  We would
	3   bring -- once the issue was resolved between what
	4   I construe to be the negotiating part of it
	5   between myself and either the department of
	6   personnel or whomever and we didn't have any
	7   problems with it, we would then have to make sure
	8   in some way that the City Council wouldn't come
	9   up with a problem.
	10	    So, we would then explain -- because
	11   this was brand new to everybody, including the

	12   City Council.  We would have to explain to
	13   various people on committees, because they had
	14   committee hearings, the City Council had
	15   committee hearings on this issue.
	16	    I believe Ernie and I attended and
	17   Charles LoVerde, other unions attended committee
	18   hearings from the City Council for explanation.
	19   And we'd have to convince them that this was what
	20   the law required and that this was a good thing
	21   and no harm could come of this.
	22        Q.    To your knowledge, was there a lawsuit
	23   filed challenging the authority of the City to
	24   enter into these recognition agreements?

 
	1        A.    I believe at one point there was.  I
	2   can't recall if it was us that maybe had filed
	3   it.  I'm not sure.  But things didn't look -- at
	4   the very beginning it looked like it was going to
	5   be a bulldozer, if I recall right, Sherman.
	6        Q.    Okay.  Now, after the recognition

	7   agreement involving Local 1001 was adopted by
	8   ordinance, did there come a time when Local 1001
	9   had collective bargaining negotiations with the
	10   City of Chicago?
	11        A.    Yes.
	12        Q.    And this would have been the first
	13   time that any formal negotiations had taken
	14   place, is that correct?
	15        A.    That's correct.
	16        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Mr. Caruso, did that
	17   ordinance give you the right to strike or does
	18   that make it a compulsory arbitration?
	19        THE WITNESS:  Well, at that point there was
	20   a right to strike, but various aspects of my
	21   local union may have fallen under Goodenhoff of
	22   the citizens of the public of Chicago.
	23        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Public service.
	24        MR. CARMELL:  Maybe I didn't make it clear.

 
	1   It is the state statute which gave that
	2   authority.  It was an ordinance which adopted the
	3   various recognitions.  The state statute does
	4   allow strikes, except it allows the court to send
	5   back those we don't know whether it is the
	6   aspects or the whole where it endangers the
	7   health and safety of it.  But specifically the
	8   right to strike is in the statute.
	9        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Okay.  Go ahead,
	10   Mr. Caruso.  Go ahead.
	11   BY MR. CARMELL:
	12        Q.    We are now into the collective
	13   bargaining process.  Did the coalition play any
	14   part in the bargaining process?
	15        A.    Oh, yes.
	16        Q.    Would you explain to the Hearing
	17   Officer -- first of all, we'll go into what the
	18   coalition did and then we'll go into what, if
	19   anything, Local 1001 did on its own?
	20        A.    The coalition, which had been formed
	21   for the recognition, seeing how well it
	22   functioned in a cooperative way, the city was
	23   amenable to that type of dealing with I believe
	24   there was 40 locals or 40 unions involved,

 
	1   different trades, we then formed a coalition to
	2   deal with what we now construe as common issues
	3   for all of the people in the coalition.
	4        Q.    Would you give some list of some of
	5   those that you recall as being common issues that
	6   fell within the province of the coalition to
	7   negotiate?
	8        A.    Sure.  Basically it would be
	9   healthcare, it would be pension, it would be
	10   holidays and vacation days.  There was some --
	11   and it has changed over a period of years.  This
	12   was not jurisdictional.  There was an
	13   arbitration, arbitration clauses that would -- we
	14   would find to be of common interest to all of
	15   us.
	16        Q.    I am sorry.  How about union security?
	17        A.    Union security, definitely.  And so on
	18   and so forth.  Just generally the -- not the nuts
	19   and bolts of an individual local.  The common
	20   issues which all of us locals were used to
	21   having.
	22        Q.    And with respect to, if I can use the
	23   term, coalition issues, did you participate in
	24   any negotiations with the city?

 
	1        A.    Absolutely.
	2        Q.    Did Mr. Kumerow?
	3        A.    Absolutely.
	4        Q.    Was Mr. Kumerow still one of the
	5   co-chair of the coalition?
	6        A.    Yes, he was.
	7        Q.    And in the first coalition portion of
	8   the agreement, do you recall how long it took
	9   before there was an agreement reached between the
	10   coalition and the city?
	11        A.    That took close to two years, I
	12   believe.
	13        Q.    And approximately how many collective
	14   bargaining sessions did you attend with the City
	15   of Chicago for the coalition?
	16        A.    I attended every one they had which
	17   could have been anywhere from two or three times
	18   a month to two or three times a week, but there
	19   were so many other meetings affiliated.
	20        Q.    All right.  Let's stay with that.  Did
	21   Mr. Kumerow attend all of those meetings?
	22        A.    Yes, he did.
	23        Q.    Was he -- was Mr. Kumerow active in
	24   expressing the coalition's position on common

 
	1   matters?
	2        A.    Yes, he was.
	3        Q.    Now, with respect to coalition
	4   meetings, the local unions themselves, how many
	5   meetings would have taken place?
	6        A.    The coalition meetings?
	7        Q.    Yes.
	8        A.    Well, we met as a coalition.  There
	9   were two aspects.  There was an aspect where the
	10   coalition split off into groups.  Instead of
	11   dealing with 100 union representatives, we kind
	12   of narrowed that down to a group that would
	13   represent various interests, not the Laborers,
	14   not the Teamsters.  They represented themselves,
	15   but there was other trades group, sheet metal
	16   group and so on and so forth.  They would meet
	17   the -- they would definitely meet at least once
	18   or twice a month.
	19        Q.    All right.  So when the coalition was
	20   negotiating with the City of Chicago, in addition
	21   to you and Mr. Kumerow and Mr. Spranzo, were
	22   there representatives of -- other representatives
	23   from the coalition present?
	24        A.    Yes, there was.

 
	1        Q.    And the committee would consist of
	2   approximately how many individuals?
	3        A.    I would say 20, 25 people.
	4        Q.    All right.  Now, then would the
	5   committee go back and report to the coalition
	6   body itself?
	7        A.    Yes.  There was a full coalition which
	8   was the full body which was the -- actually the
	9   meat where things would have to be approved on.
	10   The full party would deal with the hundreds of
	11   people.
	12        Q.    Now, to put it gently, were the
	13   coalition meetings rather spirited as far as the
	14   interests of the various locals?
	15        A.    Well, to put it very mildly, they were
	16   as spirited as you can get without calling the
	17   police.
	18        Q.    All right.  Was the -- had the
	19   coalition adopted any procedure with respect to
	20   how many local unions, if any, it took to approve
	21   an agreement for the coalition, that is, was it a
	22   majority or less than majority?  What was the
	23   rule?
	24        A.    Well, Sherm, I remember it was --

 
	1   unofficially?
	2        Q.    Yes.
	3        A.    Nobody agrees unless everybody
	4   agrees.
	5        Q.    All right.  And how many coalition
	6   body meetings would you say you attended in the
	7   first negotiation?
	8        A.    In body or mind?  I would say whenever
	9   there was a coalition -- at the drop of a hat, if
	10   there was a meeting based on a subject matter,

	11   the Laborers were in attendance at.  I don't
	12   know.  I am literally going to say that two-year
	13   period, I would be safe to say that there was 75
	14   or 100 meetings, safe to say that.
	15        Q.    Now, you have testified that Local
	16   1001 engaged in negotiations with the City of
	17   Chicago separate from the coalition, is that
	18   correct?
	19        A.    Yes, along with other local unions.
	20        Q.    And I mean by separate, for issues
	21   that weren't common issues, is that correct?
	22        A.    That's correct.
	23        Q.    And were those going on on the same --
	24   at the same time that the coalition negotiations

 
	1   were going on?
	2        A.    Yes.
	3        Q.    And when Local 1001 had negotiations
	4   on its interests, was it only 1001 who would be
	5   there?
	6        A.    No, we negotiated individual
	7   contracts.  But as a team with the Laborers there
	8   would be 1092, which was a Laborers local, and
	9   Local 76 also would be in attendance whenever
	10   1001 met or vice versa.
	11        Q.    Did you attend the Laborers
	12   negotiation sessions with the City?
	13        A.    Yes, I did.
	14        Q.    Did Ernest Kumerow do so?
	15        A.    Yes.
	16        Q.    And who, if anyone, was the chair of
	17   that negotiation?
	18        A.    I think officially it may have been
	19   Ernie.  By nature we were the largest local.
	20   That official bullshit went out and if an issue
	21   came up, whether it would be me or Charles
	22   LoVerde or Al Naimoli or whoever, they would
	23   share a particular point at a particular point in
	24   the negotiations that was their interest.

 
	1        Q.    How many laborer sessions were there
	2   before there was finally an agreement reached?
	3        A.    There was many, many, many laborer
	4   sessions.  I don't know how many.
	5        Q.    Would you say more than ten?
	6        A.    Oh, definitely.  I'd say 20.  More
	7   than 50.  They went on for -- I mean you are
	8   talking about eight-hour days?
	9        Q.    Yes.
	10        A.    We got three days in one.  Out of one
	11   day we got three.  We got 24 out of a couple of
	12   them.
	13        Q.    What, if anything, would you do with
	14   respect to the membership of 1001 in advising
	15   them of the status of the negotiations, be it
	16   coalition or individual?
	17        A.    Well, similar to this hearing, tried
	18   to keep things -- well, we banned the news from
	19   reporting on what progress or not progress we
	20   made.
	21	    So, therefore our communications would
	22   be through our storage, through our meetings, our
	23   regular meetings, and we would deal with the
	24   individuals' anxieties because the newspaper

 
	1   would come out and talk about some innuendos of
	2   some kind, subcontracting and things of that
	3   nature.
	4	    So, we periodically would meet with
	5   the Laborers at the various locals and talk to
	6   them about what the real happening was, what the
	7   real meeting was.
	8        Q.    During the course of the coalition
	9   negotiations, across the table did you happen to
	10   come in contact with an attorney by the name of
	11   Carl Tominberg, T-o-m-i-n-b-e-r-g?
	12        A.    Yes, I came in contact with Carl
	13   Tominberg.
	14        Q.    Did you come in contact with Carl
	15   Tominberg in the Laborers aspect of negotiations?
	16        A.    Yes, I also did.
	17        Q.    And had you come in contact with Carl
	18   Tominberg in the recognition aspect of the
	19   matter?
	20        A.    Yes.
	21        Q.    To your knowledge, who was Carl
	22   Tominberg?
	23        A.    Carl Tominberg was the -- actually the
	24   outside attorney for the City of Chicago.  He was

 
	1   hired by the City of Chicago to negotiate all of
	2   these agreements, the recognition and local --
	3   and coalition agreements.
	4        Q.    Approximately when did there come a
	5   final set of agreements, coalition and Local
	6   1001, with the City of Chicago?  Do you know
	7   about the year?
	8        A.    I would have to say '85, late '84,
	9   '85.
	10        Q.    That --
	11        A.    The recognition came first.
	12        Q.    Right.
	13        A.    That may have been even in late '83 or
	14   '84.  Then the coalition agreement came next.
	15   And, there again, nobody was willing to say from
	16   a coalition standpoint we're satisfied until
	17   every local had been rectified because it was
	18   a -- it was a strategy we decided to use.
	19	    So, as to when they were officially --
	20   officially concluded, I don't know.  Unofficially
	21   maybe they concluded months before they
	22   officially got passed.
	23        Q.    Now, Mr. Caruso, did the final
	24   collective bargaining agreement have to be

 
	1   adopted by the City Council?
	2        A.    Yes, it did.
	3        Q.    And when it was first presented what,
	4   if anything, was there in the press, the press'
	5   position concerning the adoption of this
	6   ordinance?
	7        A.    Well, the press -- it depended on what
	8   would sell newspapers, quite frankly, not to
	9   offend any of you guys in here, you press people,
	10   if you are.
	11        THE HEARING OFFICER:  They are not in here.
	12        THE WITNESS:  Good.  I think they can hear
	13   me through the door.
	14   BY THE WITNESS:
	15        A.    Anyway, whatever would sell papers.
	16   If it came out to be -- because then you have to
	17   understand we had a newly elected Mayor.
	18        Q.    Who was that?
	19        A.    That was Harold Washington.  Harold
	20   Washington was a very newsworthy person as far as
	21   the press was concerned and everything that
	22   happened was historical, historical recognition,
	23   historical first-time black mayor in the City of
	24   Chicago, historical this, historical that.

 
	1	    And whatever played the press' --
	2   Harold -- I don't like to speak of the dead
	3   because I respected the man.  Harold knew how to
	4   manipulate the press and not for our advantage.
	5   For his advantage.
	6	    We'd get very many messages in the
	7   newspapers prior to them coming to the
	8   negotiating things, kind of similar to these
	9   hearings.
	10        Q.    What, if anything, did local -- what,
	11   if anything, did you do to help get the ordinance
	12   passed?  And if Mr. Kumerow helped you in any way
	13   or if you helped Mr. Kumerow, would you explain
	14   that.
	15        A.    To eventually get the ordinance
	16   passed, there was some barricades.
	17	    First, we had to have the approval of
	18   the Mayor and we have had some very, very
	19   sensitive meetings with the Mayor and his staff.
	20	    After most everybody had their
	21   documents in line, the Laborers were the dot your
	22   I, cross your T type person and represented over
	23   4,000 employees of the then maybe 9,000
	24   employees.

 
	1	    So, we had to sit down with the Mayor
	2   and iron out some very intricate details about
	3   seniority, seasonal employment.  I mean a
	4   multitude.  I can go for hours on that.  I
	5   won't.  You will know that.
	6	    For the Hearing Officer, you just
	7   think about any possible problem that could have
	8   come up with a new employer, even though it is an
	9   old employer, and we dealt with it, from coffee
	10   breaks, to washing hands, to whatever, riding on
	11   a truck, safety issues, so on and so forth.
	12        THE HEARING OFFICER:  You say the Mayor and
	13   his office had an interest outside of the City
	14   Council negotiators, the Mayor would throw in all
	15   sorts of little nuances and wrinkles.
	16        THE WITNESS:  Most of it dealt with finances
	17   and most of it dealt with downsizing and most of
	18   it dealt with subcontracting.  Those little
	19   subtle messages that somehow trickled to the
	20   chief negotiator, who then what you thought was
	21   settled on a Monday all of a sudden the public
	22   image is downsizing this week.  So, that's what
	23   kind of.
	24	    We knew what we were doing all the

 
	1   while.  I have to tell you, Mr. Vaira.  I thought
	2   the City was -- we had to become instant experts
	3   in budgets, working conditions, politics.  We had
	4   to know it all as union representatives, as many
	5   City people will understand.
	6   BY MR. CARMELL:
	7        Q.    Now, after you had finished with at
	8   least at the outset with the Mayor's office,
	9   what, if anything, was done with respect to the
	10   City Council?
	11        A.    Then the Council formed a -- I can
	12   give you a brief history lesson here.
	13        Q.    Go ahead.
	14        A.    There was aldermen that have taken
	15   sides on political issues.  Let's leave the
	16   contract aside.  What they call the 29 aldermen
	17   versus the 21 aldermen.  So, everything was at
	18   the City Council level very combative.  We --
	19        Q.    Let me -- I think Mr. Vaira may or may
	20   not have been here and let me try and shortcut
	21   that part of it.
	22	    There was a group of aldermen which
	23   had not supported Mr. Washington's campaign for
	24   election, is that correct?

 
	1        A.    That's correct.
	2        Q.    And these aldermen, these 29 aldermen,
	3   were a very strong force in opposing almost
	4   anything that the Mayor placed before the City
	5   Council, is that correct?
	6        A.    Yes, to my knowledge.
	7        MR. CARMELL:  All right.  Mr. Vaira, I don't
	8   know.  It has been a long history.
	9        THE HEARING OFFICER:  I am familiar with
	10   that division, but if it is necessary for you to
	11   put that into the record, go ahead.
	12   BY MR. CARMELL:
	13        Q.    Would you just back up a bit and
	14   explain who was the mayor before Harold
	15   Washington?
	16        A.    Jane Byrne.
	17        Q.    And as far as you knew, in the contest
	18   between Jane Byrne and Harold Washington, who had
	19   the labor in Chicago support?
	20        A.    I would say the trades were leaning
	21   towards Jane Byrne.
	22        Q.    And was Mr. Washington's victory a
	23   surprise to most?
	24        A.    Yes.

 
	1        Q.    All right.  And is it fair to say that
	2   at the time Mr. Washington came in, the labor
	3   movement in the City of Chicago was not his
	4   favorite, that is, he didn't feel that he owed
	5   the labor movement much, if anything, to his
	6   election?
	7        MR. BOSTWICK:  Let me simply object to the
	8   form of these last few questions.  I understand
	9   you're trying to move it along, but the last
	10   thing I want to do is slow it down any more than
	11   it is slowed down, but they are getting
	12   relatively improper.
	13        THE HEARING OFFICER:  The question I think
	14   may be well taken, Mr. Carmell.  I know that you
	15   need to set some sort of a backdrop to show what
	16   he does, and suffice it to say that this was
	17   controversial and that these fellows may have
	18   been on the unpopular side.
	19   BY MR. CARMELL:
	20        Q.    What, if anything, did this political
	21   controversy have -- what effect, if any, did it
	22   have on the Laborers' attempting to get a
	23   collective bargaining ordinance through the City
	24   of Chicago?

 
	1        A.    It just made our job more difficult to
	2   bring that coalition of alderman together to
	3   approve the contract.
	4        Q.    Did there come a time when the
	5   collective bargaining agreement was approved by
	6   the city council?
	7        A.    Yes.
	8        Q.    Mr. Caruso, in the period of time
	9   covering the recognition matters and then the
	10   coalition matters and then the Laborers matters,
	11   did you have an opportunity to observe Ernie
	12   Kumerow?
	13        A.    Yes.
	14        Q.    And would you tell the Hearing Officer
	15   what your observations were as far as his
	16   involvement in these matters?
	17        A.    Ernie was a very active person, more
	18   PR-type person, which was a necessary thing to
	19   have.  He would meet periodically with -- well,
	20   we'd meet every day and then we'd meet with
	21   various aspects of influence -- influential
	22   people such as the -- you know, the attorneys,
	23   the various people with streets and sanitation
	24   which was 90 percent of our bargaining unit

 
	1   because we were trying to narrow -- you know, at
	2   that point trying to narrow the concerns of both
	3   the employer and the employee.  We were all
	4   working to one goal.
	5        Q.    And what function did Mr. Kumerow have
	6   during this?
	7        A.    He was the coalition chairman or
	8   subchairman for all of the above, for all of the
	9   years that we have been negotiating with the
	10   exception of myself and I was his substitute for
	11   many of those meetings.  He was the cochair of
	12   all of the above.
	13        Q.    And what function did you have during
	14   these matters?
	15        A.    I was I would say very influential
	16   along with others equally influential as to
	17   concluding the things that concerned us.  There
	18   would be -- there would be no contract unless all
	19   of us starting with every local was satisfied,
	20   and I was a hands-on type guy and I had to be
	21   satisfied before we'd sign an agreement.
	22        Q.    What duties did you perform after the
	23   collective bargaining agreement was in effect
	24   with respect to the -- to that agreement?

 
	1        A.    Well, it was enforcing the agreement.
	2   It was then educating both our stewards,
	3   management and ourselves to -- how to enforce
	4   this agreement that now has been reduced to
	5   words, handshake now to words, and that in itself
	6   was an undertaking in education for everybody
	7   involved.  The grievance procedure for the first
	8   time was now in writing, a procedure of how to
	9   deal with it, what to do, what to say, how to
	10   respond within a certain period of time.  All of
	11   that was foreign to the employees for all of
	12   those years, 50, 60 years.
	13        Q.    There had been -- had there been a
	14   formal grievance procedure before that time?
	15        A.    Not to my knowledge.  There was some
	16   personnel rules that I wasn't very familiar with
	17   and I doubt if they led for a grievance
	18   procedure.
	19        Q.    What, if anything, did Mr. Kumerow do
	20   with respect to the enforcement and
	21   administration of the collective bargaining
	22   agreement?
	23        A.    He was very active.  He was in the
	24   field.  The nature of our job was going out there

 
	1   talking to our stewards, talking to various lower
	2   line supervisors to upper supervisors to try to
	3   interpret what these things meant in the paper.
	4   We handed out books to everybody.  Every member
	5   of our bargaining unit got a collective
	6   bargaining book, a readable book, and every
	7   management person, to the best of my knowledge,
	8   also got a book.  So here we are trying to
	9   interpret -- we negotiated them, so we knew, but
	10   many of those management people were just
	11   unfamiliar with the negotiations.
	12        Q.    All right.  Now, after holding the
	13   position of secretary/treasurer of Local 1001,
	14   did there come a time when you held another
	15   position with Local 1001?
	16        A.    Yes.
	17        Q.    When was that and what position was
	18   that?
	19        A.    I became the president and business
	20   manager -- I believe I became vice president for
	21   a brief period of time.  A vacancy had occurred.
	22   In lieu of filling it in a rapid way, we then
	23   combined the office and got permission to do so
	24   for a period of six months or a year.

 
	1        Q.    Combined which offices?
	2        A.    Vice president and
	3   secretary/treasurer.  From there in 1994 I then
	4   became the president and business manager of
	5   Laborers' Local 1001.
	6        Q.    So let me try and follow the
	7   sequence.  You had been secretary/treasurer --
	8        A.    From '82.
	9        Q.    -- from 1982 and then from 1994 for a
	10   short period of time you also held the position
	11   of vice president?
	12        A.    No.  I think it was prior to that.
	13   Probably '92.
	14        Q.    And then in 1994 you became -- you
	15   were appointed to be president and business
	16   manager?
	17        A.    That's correct.
	18        Q.    Now, how did it come about that the
	19   Executive Board -- that you were appointed
	20   president and business manager of Local 1001?
	21        A.    Well, then the president and business
	22   manager Ernie Kumerow who had been ailing for a
	23   while, pretty long while with his back and knees
	24   said that he wanted to retire and he let me

 
	1   know -- I mean, it wasn't a conversation that
	2   took place daily or weekly, but I knew about a
	3   week ahead of time that he had made a decision to
	4   pursue other careers, which I didn't know what
	5   they were, and he said that he was going to
	6   recommend to me to fill his position.
	7        Q.    In 1994 was there a scheduled election
	8   of officers of Local 1001?
	9        A.    You know what, I don't recall as we
	10   sit here.
	11        Q.    But let's just take the period of
	12   Mr. Kumerow just before he resigned, is it -- to
	13   your recollection, had Mr. Kumerow stood for
	14   election as president and business manager before
	15   he retired?
	16        A.    Yes.
	17        Q.    And do you recall whether his
	18   retirement occurred shortly after his election?
	19        A.    No.  I believe we had our next
	20   scheduled election in 1995.
	21        Q.    All right.
	22        A.    So he had been the president and
	23   business manager for two-and-a-half or three
	24   years at that point.

 
	1        Q.    In any event, had Mr. Kumerow before
	2   he decided to stand for election say anything in
	3   your presence that he wasn't going to run or any
	4   reason why he wasn't going to run?
	5        A.    No.  You mean for the prior election
	6   to when he resigned?
	7        Q.    Yes.
	8        A.    No, he had not indicated that to me.
	9        Q.    Did he ever tell you why he stood for
	10   election and then decided to resign?
	11        A.    No.  He never went into any detail
	12   with me about that.
	13        Q.    What was your observation of
	14   Mr. Kumerow's health, physical condition at the
	15   time that he stood for re-election?
	16        A.    Physically he was ailing somewhat
	17   then, just to be a degenerative-type of situation
	18   with him and his back.
	19        Q.    What did you see?
	20        A.    Well, he was stooped over.  He
	21   couldn't get up and had a hard time sitting for
	22   long periods of time, but it wasn't as obvious
	23   prior to him retiring two or three years prior,
	24   he was a younger man, but just degeneratively got

 
	1   worse and it was more -- I mean, people would
	2   get -- it would get to the point where most
	3   people would say, "I've seen Ernie.  He looks
	4   terrible.  I've seen Ernie, he looks terrible."
	5   I mean, this was just based on his physical
	6   appearance.
	7        Q.    When Mr. Kumerow made his announcement
	8   of retirement, did you have any reason to believe
	9   that the reason that he gave which was his
	10   physical health and decision to do other things
	11   was not true?
	12        A.    No, I had no reason to believe
	13   different.
	14        Q.    Now, I want to turn your attention to
	15   before we go further, 1992, did there come a time
	16   in 1992 where you received an appointment from
	17   the general president Coia or from the general
	18   president?
	19        A.    Yes.
	20        Q.    And what was that appointment?
	21        A.    I was appointed to be assistant
	22   regional manager for the international in the
	23   Chicagoland area they called it which encompassed
	24   10 states.

 
	1        Q.    And in 1992 you were holding what
	2   position with Local 1001?
	3        A.    I was holding the
	4   secretary/treasurer's position.
	5        Q.    And you were receiving a salary from
	6   Local 1001?
	7        A.    Yes, I was.
	8        Q.    And when you were appointed to be
	9   assistant regional manager, did you receive a
	10   salary for that?
	11        A.    Yes, I did.
	12        Q.    And the appointment was made by whom?
	13        A.    Arthur Coia.
	14        Q.    And at any time did you make a request
	15   to be able to have multiple salaries as assistant
	16   to the regional manager and as
	17   Secretary-Treasurer of Local 1001?
	18        A.    No, I did not.
	19        Q.    Was Arthur Coia aware that you were
	20   Secretary-Treasurer of Local 1001?
	21        A.    Yes, he was.
	22        Q.    How do you know that he was aware of
	23   it?
	24        A.    I attended many meetings and he gets

 
	1   the results of every election and when I
	2   signed -- we send our checks to the International
	3   for the per capita tax, my name is on that check
	4   also as the Secretary-Treasurer monthly.
	5        Q.    Now, what period of time did you hold
	6   the position of assistant to the regional
	7   manager?
	8        A.    I believe I held it sometime late in
	9   '92 to -- or '93.  I'm really not sure.  To
	10   '94.
	11        Q.    And what was the reason for your
	12   ending the position as assistant to regional
	13   manager in about 1994?
	14        A.    Ernie also when he retired from Local
	15   1001 retired from the District Council and
	16   indicated at a meeting that he wanted me to
	17   replace -- he thought I would be the best to
	18   replace him at the Council level and that the
	19   Executive Board felt the same based on our --
	20   based on our long-standing history of --
	21        Q.    I will get to that.  Let me ask you
	22   why you left the position of assistant to the
	23   regional manager.
	24        A.    Well, at that point I didn't think I

 
	1   could do three jobs.  I would have liked to have
	2   tried.  But I guess, no, I really didn't think I
	3   could do three jobs, so I resigned.
	4        Q.    So you resigned voluntarily?
	5        A.    I resigned voluntarily.
	6        Q.    Now, during the period that you held
	7   the position of regional manager -- assistant to
	8   the regional manager, to the best of your
	9   recollection what was the compensation, the
	10   salary that you received?
	11        A.    When I was assistant regional manager,
	12   I think it was around $75,000 a year.  70 or 75.
	13        Q.    Did you receive an automobile?
	14        A.    Yes, I did.
	15        Q.    And this was in addition to what you
	16   were receiving as Secretary-Treasurer?
	17        A.    Yes, it was.
	18        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Mr. Carmell, even
	19   though we have been plowing on here and trying to
	20   get everything in, I realize there is some union
	21   rules about eating lunch.  So I think we ought to
	22   take a little break here and you are right on it
	23   and we are pressing ahead.  We are going to get a
	24   full day in.  I will give you an hour.

 
	1        MR. CARMELL:  Okay.  Thank you.
	2	    (WHEREUPON, at 12:45 p.m. the
	3	    hearing was recessed until
	4	    1:45 p.m., this day, October 20,
	5	    1997.)
	6 
	7 
	8 
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	10 
	11 
	12 
	13 
	14 
	15 
	16 
	17 
	18 
	19 
	20 
	21 
	22 
	23 
	24

 
	1        OFFICE OF THE INDEPENDENT HEARING OFFICER
	2      LABORERS' INTERNATIONAL UNION OF NORTH AMERICA
	3 
	4   IN RE:		     )
	5   TRUSTEESHIP PROCEEDINGS        ) No. 97-30T
	6   CHICAGO DISTRICT COUNCIL       )
	7 
	8 
	9 
	10	        October 20, 1997,
	11	        1:50 p.m.
	12 
	13	    The hearing resumed pursuant to
	14   recess.
	15 
	16 
	17   BEFORE:  MR. PETER F. VAIRA, Hearing Officer
	18 
	19 
	20 
	21 
	22 
	23 
	24

 
	1   PRESENT:
	2        COMEY, BOYD & LUSKIN,
	3        (1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W.,
	4        Washington, D.C. 20007-5243), by:
	5        MR. DWIGHT P. BOSTWICK,
	6	    appeared on behalf of the GEB Attorney;
	7 
	8        CARMELL, CHARONE, WIDMER, MATHEWS & MOSS, LTD.,
	9        (225 West Washington Street, Suite 1000,
	10        Chicago, Illinois  60606), by:
	11        MR. SHERMAN CARMELL,
	12        MS. SUZANNE M. LAW,
	13	    appeared on behalf of the Chicago
	14	    District Council of Laborers.
	15 
	16        EARL L. NEAL & ASSOCIATES,
	17        (111 West Washington, Suite 1700,
	18        Chicago, Illinois 60602), by:
	19        MR. GEORGE N. LEIGHTON,
	20	    appeared on behalf of
	21	    John A. Matassa, Jr.;
	22 
	23 
	24

 
	1   PRESENT: (Continued)
	2        MAYER, BROWN & PLATT,
	3        (190 South LaSalle Street,
	4        Chicago, Illinois 60603-3441), by:
	5        MR. VINCENT J. CONNELLY,
	6	    appeared on behalf of Bruno Caruso.
	7 
	8 
	9 
	10 
	11 
	12   REPORTED BY:  JULIANA F. ZAJICEK, CSR 84-2604
	13	       CORINNE T. MARUT, CSR 84-1968.
	14 
	15 
	16 
	17 
	18 
	19 
	20 
	21 
	22 
	23 
	24

 
	1        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Mr. Carmell, we are
	2   going back on the record.  You were about to
	3   start a new phase of your questioning.
	4		  BRUNO CARUSO,
	5   called as a witness herein, having been
	6   previously duly sworn and having testified, was
	7   examined and testified further as follows:
	8	    DIRECT EXAMINATION (Resumed)
	9   BY MR. CARMELL:
	10        Q.    I want to back up a moment to your
	11   time that you resigned as assistant regional
	12   manager.
	13	    Did you send a letter to General
	14   President Coia notifying him of your desire to
	15   resign?
	16        A.    Yes.
	17        Q.    Now, I want to show you what is
	18   marked -- what is part of a CDC Exhibit 45, which
	19   are new exhibits, and it is an attachment to
	20   Exhibit 45-B, as in boy.
	21	    It is a copy of a letter dated October
	22   5, 1994 to you as business manager of the Chicago
	23   District Council from Arthur A. Coia, General
	24   President.

 
	1	    It's 45-B as in boy and it's
	2   attachment October 5.
	3	    Is that a letter that you received
	4   from President Coia in response to your letter
	5   resigning as assistant regional manager?
	6        A.    Yes.
	7        Q.    Would you read in, please, the three
	8   paragraphs of the letter.
	9        A.    "Dear Brother:  This will acknowledge
	10   receipt of your letter dated September 28, 1994
	11   resigning as assistant regional manager of
	12   Chicago regional office effective September 30,
	13   1994.  Your resignation is accepted and we thank
	14   you for your assistance and dedicated service to
	15   the membership of this organization.
	16   Congratulations on your appointment as president
	17   and business manager of Chicago Laborers District
	18   Council.  I am sure that you will be an asset to
	19   the council and that its members will benefit
	20   from your" --
	21        Q.    Is that its membership?
	22        A.    Its membership.  Excuse me.
	23	    -- "its membership will benefit from
	24   your administration.  With kind regards I am,

 
	1   Fraternally Yours, Arthur Coia, General
	2   President."
	3        Q.    During the time that you were
	4   Secretary-Treasurer and then business manager of
	5   Local 1001, did Local 1001 conduct nominations
	6   for officers?
	7        A.    Yes.  When I was the
	8   Secretary-Treasurer you said?
	9        Q.    Yes, during that time.
	10        A.    Yes.
	11        Q.    And was there anyone from outside of
	12   the Laborers who conducted and supervised the
	13   nomination process?
	14        A.    Yes.  We always invited a person from
	15   the Department of Labor to attend our meetings.
	16        Q.    Is that the Illinois Department of
	17   Labor?
	18        A.    Illinois Department of Labor.
	19        Q.    And after the nominations and
	20   elections, did the Department of Labor send any
	21   communication back to the local?
	22        A.    Yes.  We did.  They did.
	23        Q.    And in general what were those letters
	24   back?

 
	1        A.    The letter was back saying that the
	2   observation of those nomination meetings was in
	3   complete compliance with whatever rules and
	4   regulations that they observed personally and it
	5   was signed by the person who was in attendance.
	6   Maybe more than one person was in attendance.
	7	    By the way, Mr. Carmell, that was done
	8   throughout the tenure of -- I even believe prior
	9   to me coming in there.
	10        Q.    Now, going back to your selection as
	11   the president and business manager of Local 1001,
	12   you testified that Ernie Kumerow recommended you
	13   for that position?
	14        A.    Yes.
	15        Q.    And was that done at a board meeting?
	16        A.    Yes.
	17        Q.    And you can recall generally what was
	18   said and who said it?
	19        A.    Well, at a board meeting Ernie then
	20   made an official announcement of what his
	21   intentions were and he recommended me to fill in
	22   the terms that he was vacating.  He had said that
	23   I believe he had given it much thought and he
	24   just physically was unable to continue -- to

 
	1   perform the duties in the way that he thought
	2   that they needed to be performed.  I remember
	3   that aspect of the meeting.
	4        Q.    Now, at the time that you became
	5   appointed as business manager and president of
	6   Local 1001, was a notification of that
	7   combination of offices sent to the general
	8   president?
	9        A.    Yes.
	10        Q.    And had your Local Union 1001 sent to
	11   the general president notification of the
	12   combination of the offices of president and
	13   business manager -- strike that.  We just asked
	14   that.  All right.
	15	    Now, after your appointment as
	16   president and business manager of -- I am sorry.
	17   I want to turn now to the District Council.
	18	    Did there come a time when you became
	19   a delegate to the District Council?
	20        A.    Yes.
	21        Q.    And when was that?
	22        A.    That was November -- I believe
	23   November of 1982.
	24        Q.    And that was -- was that after you had

 
	1   become secretary/treasurer of 1001?
	2        A.    It may have been simultaneous.
	3        Q.    Do you recall whether you attended a
	4   meeting of the delegates of the District Council
	5   where the issue of Jim Caporale staying in office
	6   was there, was raised?
	7        A.    No, I don't recall that.
	8        Q.    Now, after you became a delegate to
	9   the District Council, did you at some point
	10   become a member of the Executive Board or an
	11   officer of the District Council?
	12        A.    Yes.  In 1994 I became an officer and
	13   Executive Board member.
	14        Q.    And what office did you hold?
	15        A.    I held the office of president and
	16   business manager of the Laborers' District
	17   Council.
	18        Q.    And who had been the president and
	19   business manager before you?

	20        A.    Ernie Kumerow.
	21        Q.    Now, before Mr. Kumerow -- if you
	22   know, before Mr. Kumerow had been president and
	23   business manager of the District Council, who had
	24   been the president and business manager?

 
	1        A.    Before Ernie Kumerow, I believe it was
	2   Joe Spingola.
	3        Q.    And what local did he come from?
	4        A.    Local 1001.
	5        Q.    Do you know who before Mr. Spingola
	6   was the president/business manager of 1001?
	7        A.    I believe it may have been Tony
	8   Esposito.
	9        Q.    And what local did he come from?
	10        A.    Local 1001.
	11        Q.    As far as you knew, when you became
	12   president and business manager of the District
	13   Council, what organization had the largest number
	14   of members of the District Council?
	15        A.    Local 1001.
	16        Q.    How did you learn that you were going
	17   to be president and business manager of the
	18   District Council?
	19        A.    Again, Ernie called me to a meeting of
	20   the -- at the District Council and he had
	21   discussion with the executive board prior to
	22   announcing to me what the Executive Board's
	23   findings were.
	24        Q.    And what was said at that meeting that

 
	1   you recall?
	2        A.    I believe I -- I don't recall if I was
	3   in attendance there.  I was in the building.
	4   When the individuals came out they congratulated
	5   me on the recommendation that Ernie that they had
	6   supported and many of them -- all of them I knew
	7   and worked with.  They thought I would keep the
	8   fine tradition of which has been done in the
	9   past.
	10        Q.    At the time that you became president
	11   and business manager, who are the other members
	12   of the -- the officers and the other members of
	13   the District Council Executive Board?
	14        A.    At the time I became the business
	15   manager you said?
	16        Q.    Yes.
	17        A.    I believe it was -- there was myself,
	18   Joe Lombardo.
	19        Q.    And Joe Lombardo held what position?
	20        A.    Joe Lombardo was the
	21   secretary/treasurer, John Matassa who was the
	22   vice president and then there was I believe James
	23   Connelly, Liberato Naimoli and Mike -- I think it
	24   was Mike Lasaretto.

 
	1        Q.    Who was the sergeant at arms at that
	2   time, if you recall?
	3        A.    I believe it was Leo Caruso.
	4        Q.    Now, since the -- since you have been
	5   the president and business manager of the Chicago
	6   District Council of Laborers, have you
	7   recommended any appointments to the officers of
	8   the District Council?
	9        A.    Officers meaning secretary/treasurer,
	10   business manager?  There has been no vacancy
	11   since I have been president/business manager.
	12        Q.    When you became president and business
	13   manager of the Chicago District Council, did you
	14   send any letter to the general president asking
	15   permission to have a salary both as the
	16   general -- both as the -- from the District
	17   Council and from your local union?
	18        A.    No, I did not.
	19        Q.    Why not?
	20        A.    I didn't think it was necessary.  I
	21   have never heard of such a thing and Ernie whom I
	22   have worked with very closely never did anything
	23   like that to my knowledge.  I would have known
	24   from the local level.  I just didn't think it was

 
	1   a necessary obligation.
	2        Q.    To your knowledge, when you became
	3   president and business manager, had any president
	4   and business manager of the District Council
	5   asked for permission to hold dual positions, get
	6   multiple salaries?
	7        A.    Not to my knowledge.
	8	    Mr. Carmell, may I preface that by
	9   saying that when I submitted my resignation to
	10   Mr. Coia and congratulated me on my appointment,
	11   I at that point felt that that was -- that
	12   communication was enough to make him aware of why
	13   I resigned and where I was going.
	14	    And I did the same with the local
	15   union.  I made them aware of the president and
	16   business manager's job so at that point I didn't
	17   feel there was any further need to communicate
	18   with the International or Arthur Coia.
	19        Q.    Are you familiar with the U.S.
	20   Department of Labor forms LM-2?
	21        A.    Yes.
	22        Q.    And did Local 1002 -- did Local 1002
	23   file an LM-2 form with the Department of Labor?
	24        A.    Local 1001?

 
	1        Q.    Local 1001.  I'm sorry.
	2        A.    Local 1001 files an LM-2.
	3        Q.    Do you know whether the District
	4   Council files an LM-2?
	5        A.    Yes, the District Council also files
	6   an LM-2.
	7        Q.    Do you know whether the District
	8   Council sends an LM-2 to the General President?
	9        A.    Yes, the District Council sends the
	10   LM-2 to the General President.
	11        Q.    Now, I want to go through a series of
	12   correspondence which is CDC Exhibit 45-A through

	13   G, which is in front of you, and I want to begin
	14   with 45-A, which is a letter dated February 20,
	15   1996 on Local 1001 letterhead to General
	16   President Coia and signed by you.
	17	    Is that a letter which you sent on or
	18   about the date it bears?
	19        A.    Yes.
	20        Q.    I want you to look up and at the first
	21   sentence, it says, "A question has come up to my
	22   knowledge for the first time whether holding
	23   offices in both the Chicago District Council and
	24   Local 1001 need formal approval by the General

 
	1   President."
	2	    Why don't you tell the Hearing Officer
	3   how did the matter come up that caused you to
	4   write this letter in February 20, 1996?
	5        A.    Well, I had -- I had heard something
	6   to that -- a rumor to that that the International
	7   had to become aware of the dual positions.
	8	    I assumed, as I said earlier, that
	9   because I sent my resignation and told him what I
	10   was -- why I resigned that that wasn't necessary.
	11	    But it came up in some context.  Quite
	12   frankly, I don't recall which.  It may have come
	13   up just in a general conversation that
	14   notification should be sent some way.
	15        Q.    And so you sent Exhibit 45-A, is that
	16   right?
	17        A.    Which is this letter here?
	18        Q.    Yes.
	19        A.    Yes.
	20        Q.    Now, I want you to look at Exhibit
	21   45-B, which is the next document.  It's on the
	22   International letterhead dated February 29, 1996
	23   and it's to you from General President Coia and
	24   it shows a received stamp of February 5, 1996.

 
	1	    Is that a copy of the letter which you
	2   received on or about that date, February -- March
	3   5, 1996?
	4        A.    Yes.
	5        Q.    And was there attached to Exhibit 45-B
	6   an October 5, 1994 letter to you from General
	7   President Coia which you've already talked about?
	8        A.    Yes, there was.
	9        Q.    Now, as you understood the letter from
	10   General President Coia which is 45-B, did that
	11   tell you whether or not your request was
	12   approved?
	13        A.    Actually I need to read it to
	14   understand.
	15        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Do you have it there?
	16        THE WITNESS:  Yes.
	17   BY MR. CARMELL:
	18        Q.    Let me just withdraw the question and
	19   ask you what was your understanding of this
	20   letter.  What were you supposed to do, if
	21   anything?
	22        A.    It suggests that I make the
	23   appropriate application for approval accompanied
	24   by a recommendation from the regional office.

 
	1        Q.    Is there anything in that letter,
	2   45-B, which you understood as saying that you did
	3   or should have had knowledge of the requirement
	4   before that time?
	5        A.    No.
	6        Q.    Now, I want to show you 45-C and I
	7   want you to -- which is actually, excuse me,
	8   three pages and the first is a letter dated March
	9   7, 1996 on Local 1001 letterhead to Terrence
	10   Healey, regional manager, from you.
	11	    Did you send that letter on or about
	12   the date it bears?
	13        A.    Yes.
	14        Q.    And why did you send that letter?
	15        A.    Because I was requested in the former
	16   correspondence to forward a letter to the
	17   regional manager.
	18        Q.    Now, the next document which is part
	19   of 45-C is a letter of March 7, 1996 to General
	20   President Coia from you on Local 1001
	21   letterhead.
	22	    What was the reason for sending that
	23   letter?
	24        A.    Again, I wanted to clarify I guess,

 
	1   without reading the letter through, clarify the
	2   matter in Mr. Coia's mind.
	3	    "In accordance with your February 29
	4   regarding Article 4, Section 3 of the uniform
	5   local union constitution, this is my formal
	6   request to hold the office of president and
	7   business manager," and so on and so forth.  Kind
	8   of speaks for itself there.
	9        Q.    What was the attachment -- reason for
	10   the attachment which is dated October 4, 1994?
	11   That is the next page.
	12        A.    I don't have it in that series.
	13        Q.    You don't have the printed form next?
	14        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Are you referring to
	15   the one on --
	16        THE WITNESS:  This one here.
	17        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Is this the one you
	18   are referring to?
	19        MR. CARMELL:  Yes, it's the form which lists
	20   the office.
	21        THE HEARING OFFICER:  He's got it.
	22   BY THE WITNESS:
	23        A.    I accompanied that -- I understand
	24   now.  I accompanied that to show that that form

 
	1   had been filled out and sent in to the proper
	2   offices at time of election and at time of
	3   appointments and so on and so forth.  It was done
	4   then.
	5        Q.    Now, I want to show you -- I want you
	6   to turn now to Exhibit 45-D, which is a letter
	7   from the general -- from -- on the International
	8   union letterhead to Robert Luskin from Michael
	9   Bearse, B-E-A-R-S-E, general counsel of the
	10   International, and it shows a received stamp of
	11   April 12, 1996.
	12	    Did you receive a copy of that letter
	13   on or about April 12, 1996?
	14        A.    Yes.
	15        Q.    Would you read what that letter says
	16   to Mr. Luskin.
	17        A.    "Dear Mr. Luskin:  Enclosed for your
	18   information and advice please find letters of
	19   March 7 from Bruno Caruso to General President
	20   Coia and Regional Manager Healey.  I would
	21   appreciate your advice and recommendation
	22   thereon."
	23        Q.    Now, did you ever see a copy of any
	24   response from General Executive Board Attorney

 
	1   Luskin to Mr. Bearse's April 9, 1996 letter?
	2        A.    No.
	3        Q.    Have you ever received any letter from
	4   the International union stating whether or not
	5   your request to hold multiple offices with
	6   multiple salaries was approved or disapproved?
	7        A.    No, I have not.
	8        Q.    I want to show you now Exhibit 45-E,
	9   which is attached, and ask you whether -- that's
	10   a letter from the Laborers International Union,
	11   office of the Inspector General, from W. Douglas
	12   Gow to you as president and business manager of
	13   1001 dated December 13, 1996 and it shows receipt
	14   on December 16, 1996.
	15	    Did you receive this letter on or
	16   about the date it bears?
	17        A.    Yes.
	18        Q.    Now, would you explain to the Hearing
	19   Officer because it states that -- reference is
	20   made to your letter of November 25, 1996, what
	21   this is -- was a result of?
	22        A.    This was a result of us following the

	23   procedures to make Doug Gow aware of bonuses that
	24   exceed $5,000 prior to bringing them to the

 
	1   floor, notifying them of Christmas bonuses.  And
	2   this is his response to my letter which I had
	3   sent to him at the appropriate time.
	4        Q.    And what was your understanding of
	5   what Mr. Gow was stating in the letter?
	6        A.    Well, my understanding was -- and I
	7   spoke with him on this matter also personally.
	8   My understanding was he was approving that
	9   everybody's bonus --
	10        MR. THOMAS:  I am going to object to some
	11   characterization of what Mr. Gow thinks the
	12   letter means.  If he wants to testify --
	13        MR. CARMELL:  He is testifying to what
	14   Mr. Caruso understood the letter to mean.
	15        MR. THOMAS:  I believe you asked him what
	16   did Mr. Gow think this letter means.
	17        MR. CARMELL:  Well, if I did, it was a
	18   misstatement.
	19   BY MR. CARMELL:
	20        Q.    Can you tell me what you understood
	21   the letter to mean?
	22        A.    I understood -- I understand that the
	23   letter was in response to my requesting the
	24   bonuses and that he had approved all of the

 
	1   people's bonuses but mine.
	2        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Mr. Caruso, you sent
	3   another letter that we haven't seen here asking
	4   for bonuses for Nick Gironda --
	5        THE WITNESS:  That's the one I -- isn't that
	6   the one we are talking about now?
	7        MR. CARMELL:  We don't have that letter in
	8   evidence.
	9        THE HEARING OFFICER:  This is the response
	10   to it.  So you asked for -- sometime in November
	11   there is a general rule or regulation now that
	12   you have to ask for permission for bonuses over
	13   500 bucks?
	14        THE WITNESS:  5,000, I believe.
	15        THE HEARING OFFICER:  5,000?
	16        THE WITNESS:  Right.  This was in response
	17   to that letter that I had sent, which I don't
	18   have here. .
	19        THE HEARING OFFICER:  That's a letter sent
	20   around to the -- what's the basis of the $5,000
	21   limit?
	22        THE WITNESS:  It was a -- it was something
	23   that the Inspector General's Office came up
	24   with.  I really don't know the basis for it.

 
	1        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Not the basis, but
	2   there is some sort of a letter out or regulation
	3   out or something that requires you to ask for
	4   permission for over $5,000?
	5        THE WITNESS:  I think that's in part of
	6   their procedures, compensation procedures of some
	7   kind.
	8        THE HEARING OFFICER:  I don't know if I am
	9   supposed to be familiar with that or not.  I have
	10   never seen that, but apparently that's something
	11   that's out, right?
	12        MR. THOMAS:  I can't speak to it off the top
	13   of my head.
	14        THE HEARING OFFICER:  Okay, okay.  Anyway,
	15   all right, so go ahead.  I hear what you are
	16   saying.
	17   BY MR. CARMELL:
	18        Q.    So your bonus as business manager of
	19   Local 1001 was disapproved, is that correct?
	20        A.    That's correct.
	21        Q.    Now, I want to turn you to Exhibit
	22   45-F which is a letter from you to Douglas Gow
	23   dated December 23, 1996, encaptioned "1996
	24   Christmas Bonus."  And what was the purpose of

 
	1   your sending this letter, Mr. Caruso?
	2        A.    The purpose of me sending this letter
	3   was to clarify the -- with Mr. Gow the
	4   conversation that I had with him in reference to
	5   t