Case 1:90-cv-05722-RMB-THK Document 1295

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SO ORDERED: f{116

RICHARD M. BERMAN U.S.D.J.

Filed 04/04/13 Page 1 of 7

Gregory Kelty 20 Briarwood Ave Atlantic Highlands New Jersey 07716 Carpenters Local Union 157 April 2 2013 Hon. Richard M. Berman United States District Court Southern District ofNew York United States Court House 500 Pearl Street New York, NY 10007

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RICHARD M. BERMAN
U.S.D.J,

RE: United States v District Council. 90 civ. 5722 (SDNY) Dear Judge Berman, Just a little about myself so you may understand my perspective on the issues we face. I have been a member of the carpenters union for about 29 years. I am presently the Treasurer of Local 157 and also a delegate to the New York City District Council of Carpenters which I will refer to as the NYCDCC. I hold a Bachelor degree in Finance from California Polytechnic University Pomona. I was a member of the NYCDCC prior to the consent Decree so I know how things were prior to government intervention. In 1992 my brother ran for business agent against the incumbent business agent who was also the VP of local 257. Immediately upon declaring his candidacy, my brothers, myself, and his outspoken supporters, (and there weren't many), were blackballed. We filed suit in federal court, the lawsuit was eventually settled but not until after the consent decree had been in effect. The consent decree had no effect on outcome of the lawsuit but it did open the door for us to return to work without continued harassment. There are many issues we face and I will start with the contract. As you know upon recommendation from the executive committee the delegates approved a motion to send the contracts to the rank and file for approval. Contrary to what the executive committee expected, with the exception of the Hod Hoist agreement, the members overwhelmingly rejected the proposed contracts. The executives were visibly pissed when the results came back. I believe it was at the August 8th meeting, the executives invited a representative from the W&C association to present the contract to the delegate body. I personally felt this was a violation of the by-laws because it is the duty ofthe executive committee to negotiate all contracts and then bring them to the delegate body for approval Section.12 (I) ofthe NYCDCC by-laws. I felt this was a form of direct dealing and should not have been allowed. My objections were dismissed by the President and EST. At the August 22nd delegate meeting when the contracts finally came up for ratification The EST stated "We have to get this done tonight." The president argued it was a waste of time and money to send the contracts to the members for ratification in spite of the fact that they campaigned on that issue. A motion to send the contract to the members was voted down. There was a roll call vote for which the EST has refused to release to the members or to the local union, this is clearly a violation ofNYCDCC by-laws

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Section 10 (A) and (E) (I will include e-mails at end of this letter as evidence). In this the two and one half pages that were approved there was no mention of where the raises were going, furthermore there were no details on any ofthe compliance issues. We were told at that time, the contractors would bear the cost of the compliance requirements. That has since evolved and the delegate body has not approved any expenditure related to the requirement for full mobility. I personally find the cost of these devices extremely expensive ( about $1000.00 each) when cell phones or tablets could have been purchased at one quarter of the cost and worked just as welL The whole premise that members can check that there benefits have been paid every day and this will prevent corruption is absurd. Any member who is working for cash won't be checking to see iftheir benefits are paid and I don't see how electronic reporting can be any more effective than the system we now employ. If one wants to leave a worker off the electronic device they will simply not scan their card or enter their information, the same as they did with the shop steward reports. These devices won't bring the money into the benefit funds any faster either. Just today I received a phone call from a friend who is a shop steward on ajob. He told me he was sent to a job last week with the device, when he tried to enter the information into the machine he could not get it to work. He called the representative but didn't get the problem resolved. A week and a half later (today) after many calls he finally got the machine working. He told me there are workers on the machine that he did not enter into it and were never on the jobsite. He called the council and couldn't get the problem resolved. His concerns: first he is in his mid fifty's and is not tech savvy. Secondly, he can be held accountable for the information that is on the device. He is concerned about being removed from ajob if the information entered on the machine does not concur with the information the company submits. In my opinion full mobility will be the breeding ground for corruption. Just look at what happened when the contractors were allowed to request all of their workers from the List. We had the worst case of corruption we have ever seen in the history of the NYCDCC, directly under the nose of the federal monitors. More importantly the out of work list will only move for shop stewards, members who are not stewards will rarely find employment from the out of work list. Council Representatives will be pressured by unemployed workers for jobs, and by contractors who need qualified carpenters. This in tum may lead to payoffs and further corruption. Your Honor, to the best of my knowledge most of the building trade unions man jobs on a ratio of company workers to workers from the ranks of the unemployed. The contractors that work under these rules seem to be doing just fine. This system rotates the workforce and helps the workers to keep their skills fresh and up to date. This system also makes it harder for employers to cheat the system. Workers who know they will be returning to the list will not be reluctant to report corruption to the authorities, while a company based system, where workers either keep their mouths shut or end up unemployed for extended periods oftime, may have the opposite effect. Last I am concerned about the near continuous by-law violations at the NYCDCC and the incompetence of the EST. As a delegate of the NYCDCC I will tell you this past year has been a nightmare. The EST, acting on his own without consulting the delegates or knowledgeable legal counsel decided to go to arbitration with the MWA costing the NYCDCC 8 to 12 million dollars and 70 to 100 members their medical coverage and their other benefits. He has entered into contracts and made expenditures without proper prior approval. He has been anything but transparent to the members or the delegate body. He has refused to keep the meeting minutes and delegated that responsibility to Paul Tyznar, only Mr. Tyznar claims he is only there to take notes

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at delegate meetings. The minutes have been horrendous and no way reflect what has transpired at these meetings. Prior meeting minutes are never read and they move to have them approved even when they have been sent, to the delegates, minutes before the meeting. They motion to approve the minutes when they know delegates are stilI filing into the room and signing in as required. The EST's latest blunder in allocating the raises into the welfare fund without delegate approval is systematic ofthe way things work at the council. (Shoot first ask questions later). The delegates were told by both the director of the funds and the EST that putting more money into the welfare fund would not solve the problem, the only way to get benefits back was more man hours. The EST put the raises into the fund without so much as doing an analysis of how higher contributions could help the members get benefits back, especially our retirees who have been hit hard by these cuts. One of the RO's requirements to be able to run for the office was to have an in-depth knowledge ofthe by-laws. Several candidates were vetoed and found ineligible to run because their lack of knowledge ofthese by-laws. The by-law violations started from the first month in office and have continued to the present. I believe it is not only a case of lack of knowledge but contempt of them and the rule oflaw. It's almost as they don't apply to him. Many members have been vetoed for far less and removed from office. These members weren't given the opportunity to retroactively have their mistakes approved. Could Pete Thomassen or the Harkins have had their expenditures approved after the fact? Pete Corrigan? Levi Messenetti? Gauntlet Holness? Your Honor, I only ask in your wisdom not only consider the millions of dollars at stake but the lives of the hard working people that depend on the trade. Thank you, Gregory Kelty Ps The following pages contain e-mails between myself the EST and Paul Tyznar.

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From: Gregory Kelty [gregkelty@gmaiLcom] Sent: IVlondaYI February 04 1 2013 9:16 PM To: Paul Tyznar; dmwfw@verizon.net Subject: Roll call vote
Paul, I was informed by Dennis Walsh you may be able to help me. I am looking for the actual roll call vote from the Wall and Ceiling Association contract vote. I know the results, 60 for 26 against. I would like to know how each delegate voted. Pursuant to Section 10 (N) of the by-laws you were delegated the responsibility and duties of the Recording Secretary also pursuant to Section 26. these files are to be retained by the council. Please forward me this information as soon as possible.
I leave you with a quote from the EST's campaign literature.
Membership rights must be given back, plain and simple. Members have the right to full transparency of the Council's actions. This requires real communication between the officers of the council and the membership. Members have the right to full information before crucial decisions are made so that they can voice their concerns and wishes to their delegates before the final decisions are made. Members have the right to know how their delegates vote for them. By giving the members real voices, real information, and genuine transparency, so that they know their voices have been heard, the members will be able to hold their delegates and the Council's officers accountable. Members must ratify the contracts that they have to work under. Our membership needs a website that keeps them up to date on our union's activities and is updated daily with real information, and one that allows the members to send messages to their leadership. Our magazine must also give our members real and critical information and not just be a bully pulpit for the Council'S Officers. By returning these rights and thereby including the membership in the decision making process we believe this will end the apathy and increase membership partiCipation and pride in our union. Thanks,
Greg

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From: Gregory Kelty <gregkeltv@gmaiLcom> Date: Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 4:02 PM Subject: roll call vote To: Michael Bilello <MBilello@nycdistrictcouncil.org>, dmvvfw(ivverizol1.net

Mike, I was able to get another delegate to open the file and was told that only the final tally was on the file. I need the actual roll call vote, in other words how each delegate voted. I feel this is important as I believe you do too.l recently read your campaign material and you were in full support of this. Membership rights must be given back, plain and simple. Members have the right to full transparency of the Council's actions. This requires real communication between the officers of the council and the membership. Members have the right to full information before crucial decisions are made so that they can voice their concerns and wishes to their delegates before the final decisions are made. Members have the right to know how their delegates vote for them. By giving the members real voices, real information, and genuine transparency, so that they know their voices have been heard, the members will be able to hold their delegates and the Council's officers accountable. Members must ratify the contracts that they have to work under. Our membership needs a website that keeps them up to date on our union's activities and is updated daily with real information, and one that allows the members to send messages to their leadership. Our magazine must also give our members real and critical information and not just be a bully pulpit for the Council's Officers. By returning these rights and thereby including the membership in the decision making process we believe this will end the apathy and increase membership participation and pride in our union. Mike I would greatly appreciate it if you could give me the information I requested. Thanks, Greg

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From: Paul '!Yznar <PTyznar@nycdistrictcouncil.org>

Date: Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 8:33 AM
Subject: RE: Roll call vote
To: Gregory Kelty <gregkelty@gmail.com>

Hi Greg,
While I have been delegated the responsibility of taking notes at the meetings 1m not
the recording secretary as no position of recording secretary exists within the structure of the Officers of the District Council. I would be happy to comply with your wishes but 1m not in possession of the records you seek. They are kept by the District Council.
All the best.
Fraternally,

Paul1}znar Director QlGrievances

395 Hud..'Wn Street. 9th floor

New }()rk, NY 10014 Phone: (212) 366-3389

Fax: (212)366-7562

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From: Michael Bilello <MBilello@nvcdistrictcounciLorg> Date: Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 1:09 PM Subject: RE: roll call vote To: Gregory Kelty <gregkelty@gmaiLcom>, "dmwfw@verizon.net" <dmwfw@verizon.net>

Greg,
Section lOA requires me to keep the record. It does not require me to furnish it.

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