Suspended secretary-treasurer of the Int’l Union of Electronic Workers, Ron Gilvin of Ohio, filed a federal suit Mar. 1 in Washington, D.C., claiming that high-ranking IUE bosses abused their power and misused union funds. The suit names IUE, president Edward L. Fire and 22 other IUE bosses as defendants. Among Gilvin’s allegations:
1) IUE president Edward L. Fire increased payments to IUE Dist. Councils run by his political allies by 300-400%. Gilvin, as IUE’s chief financial officer, says he was denied access to financial records to conduct district audits and his office raided by IUE officials.
2) IUE’s Executive Board planned to suppress dissent within IUE “arising from the Fire administration’s improper spending practices.”
3) IUE sent about $163,000 in payments to the AFL-CIO and told Gilvin the funds were for politics. Gilvin claims the funds were somehow routed to the Teamster money-laundering scandal that brought down Ron Carey.
Gilvin was suspended as secretary-treasurer in Jun. 1998. The reason for the suspension was unclear. Gilvin alleges the suspension violated his rights and IUE’s constitution. He is seeking reinstatement and damages. Gilvin has returned to being an hourly worker and has been replaced as secretary-treasurer by Thomas Rebman, who he defeated in 1996. Fire and Gilvin were on opposite slates in 1996: Gilvin ran on a ticket with ex-president Bill Bywater and Fire ran with Rebman. IUE members crossed tickets and elected Fire and Gilvin. [Dayton Daily News 3/3/99]