PLEASE BE PATIENT, THIS PAGE MAY TAKE A WHILE TO LOAD

WEB PAGE INDEX
Includes recent updates

HAVE YOU HEARD INDEX

Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao picked on the wrong union last week.

In a question and answer session with the AFL-CIO's Executive Council, she read a list of seven convictions for misuse of members' dues monies by IAM local officers or staff.

What Secretary Chao failed to say was that in each and every instance it was an IAM auditor who uncovered the shortage, conducted a full blown audit, and referred the matter to the Department of Labor.

IAM auditors aggressively protect our members' dues. Since 1982, IAM Grand Lodge Auditors investigated 451 cases where shortages were reported or suspected. Whenever malfeasance was found, the officer, steward or staff member was permanently barred from representing any IAM member anywhere.

In a union with over 33,000 officers, shop stewards and staff, 451 incidents spanning two decades is a reminder of how squeaky clean the IAM has been and how vigilant it remains today.

No institution is perfect, which is why the IAM Constitution requires fast and decisive action to rid our union of those who would misuse our dues monies. They are long gone by the time the Department of Labor makes a criminal referral or sends out a disbarment letter.

The IAM is rightfully proud of our reputation as a clean union. Secretary Chao sought to sully that reputation. She failed. She failed because the facts -- and two decades of aggressive auditing -- made her attack little more than a fool's errand.

Comments or Suggestions? E-mail the Communications Officer
of Siouxland Lodge 1426 IAMAW
Greg Enright