Union, District Council Settle
Lawsuit Over Funds
By Register Staff
Nov. 5, 1998
Officials at a construction workers' union in Bridgeport claimed
victory Wednesday in a legal battle with a statewide governing body, which the local
accused of misusing funds.
The Connecticut Laborers District Council agreed Monday to settle
a lawsuit brought by Local 665 of the Laborers International Union of North America,
officials at the local said Wednesday.
The local accused the council of illegally collecting more that $1
million a year in funds that should have gone to the locals. The suit claimed the council
used the money to pay off officers in local shops.
The two sides arrived at the settlement at
Federal District Court in Hartford, where the suit was filed. The agreement was struck
under the guidance of a federal magistrate, said Ronald Nobili, business manager for Local
665.
Telephone calls to the district council's offices seeking comment
Wednesday went unanswered.
The local also said the district council circumvented federal
labor laws by repeatedly raising members' dues without the members' authorization.
"If the local officers balked at following
the orders of the district council, they would be in the position of having to bite the
hand that feeds them," said Nobili. "And, because they were spending money that
did not belong to them, they had no incentive to practice fiscal responsibility."
The council represents construction workers union in 10
Connecticut communities, including New Haven, Bridgeport, Hartford and New London.
Under the agreement, laborers will have the right to approve or
shoot down future dues increases by secret ballot.
Dues taken out of members' paychecks, called "working
dues" will have to be distributed to locals in proportion to the number of hours
worked by each local's members.
The plaintiffs said the practices began in 1995, when Dominick Lopreato was the district council's business manager. He is now serving a four-year federal prison term for accepting kickbacks from the now-defunct Colonial Realty