Laborers Union election stands

Alana Roberts

Tuesday, June 14, 2005 | 11:08 a.m.

A federal judge has decided not to rerun an election of officers for the Laborers Union Local 872, after a union member complained to the U.S. Labor Department that the election was improperly run.

Judge Robert Jones ruled that rerunning the mail-in election would just cost the union more money, especially when another election is set to take place next June. However, he ordered that the Labor Department oversee that election.

Both the Labor Department and the union called the decision a victory.

Daniel G. Bogden, U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada which represented the Labor Department, said the decision was a good one for the union's members.

"We are pleased with the decision of the court and its findings that the election of union officers held on Sept. 18, 2003, violated portions of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act," Bogden said. "Union members are entitled to know that adequate safeguards have been taken to ensure fair elections. This includes distributing complete campaign information to union members prior to the casting of ballots."

Roger Wenthe, assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Nevada, argued that the union's leadership, led by Tommy White, business manager/secretary-treasurer of the Laborers Union, stalled the court case by filing court documents in order to make a re-election useless.

"Part of the strategy is just putting it off," Wenthe said. "I would have liked to have been done with it much earlier."

The original election, run in September 2003 cost about $50,000, David Rosenfeld, a lawyer for the union, told the judge. Rosenfeld denied the union stalled the case in order to get a favorable decision.

"We filed some preliminary motions and nothing prevented him (Wenthe) from moving forward on the case," Rosenfeld said. "We always thought we had a strong case."

Union member David Martin, who filed the initial complaint with the Labor Department, said he understands the reasoning behind the decision but said he is disappointed with the fact that the election won't be rerun.

"What kind of system allows them to stall and stall and stall with one goal in mind?," Martin asked. "To stall this long enough to get the judge to rule this way. That's not fair because the people who are guilty of an invalidated election get rewarded by keeping their jobs another year."

Meanwhile, White said since his tenure he helped broker a five-year contract on behalf of the union's 2,911 members with more than 200 companies. The union's membership ratified the contract on June 6. The contract includes a $9.10 per hour raise in total wages and benefits over the life of the contract.

"This contract's one of the best contracts negotiated in the past five years (nationwide)," White said.

Martin said the language of the contract is good.

"Any contract is only as good as the people enforcing it," Martin said. "Show me, enforce it."