St. Louis United Auto Workers Local 25 agreed on Jul. 16 to settle a lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for $75,000. The suit contended that the UAW failed to stop “severe and pervasive” harassment of 3 black General Motors supervisors by now-former union boss Robert Wilson in the period 1992-94. The EEOC’s statement called it a “landmark case” and said it was “the first to hold that a federal employment discrimination statute prohibits unions from allowing their officers to racially or sexually harass company managers.” [BNA Daily Labor Report 07/21/98]
Election Fraud Case Stays Secret
A KY judge rejected prosecutors’ bid on Jul. 13 to release secret grand-jury testimony about Gov. Paul Patton’s (D) 1995 campaign, the AFL-CIO and other union groups’ alleged effort to circumvent the spending limit candidates adopt in return for taxpayer financing under an ill-designed law limiting campaign contributions and free speech. Three of the four unnamed witnesses from AFL-CIO HQ in Washington objected to the release of jury material and have refused to be interviewed by local law enforcement. The ruling complicates a case entangled with legal issues, and the Registry of Election Finance cannot use grand jury evidence in its “most important case ever.” The ruling’s immediate impact is that the grand jury will meet to consider indictments of campaign and union officials sooner than expected. The grand jury is scheduled to begin that process today. Larry Forgy (R), who narrowly lost to Patton, said, “I believe the grand jury is the only organization now that is in a position to unravel this.” [Louisville Courier-Journal 07/14/98 & 07/17/98]