Following last month’s House hearing on the effect of a 1995 consent decree on the Hotel Employees & Restaurant Employees Int’l Union, Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) demanded an investigation into the possible involvement of ousted bosses in the activities of the union. In an Aug. 3 letter to Kurt W. Muellenberg, HERE’s monitor and member of its Public Review Board, Boehner expressed alarm about testimony given by Pablo Garcia, a shop steward from HERE Local 1 in Chicago, about Edward T. Hanley, the ex-HERE president, and his son Thomas, the ex-Local 1 president.
Edward Hanley resigned pursuant to an agreement with the monitor and received a controversial immunity deal from criminal prosecution by the Dep’t of Justice last year. As part of an agreement settling charges of embezzlement and misuse of union funds, Thomas Hanley was barred from the union last year for a year. Garcia testified at Boehner’s hearing on how the Hanley “loyalty system” works, suggesting that both men continue to influence the union, according to Boehner.
Specifically, Boehner wrote, “Mr. Garcia described Thomas Hanley’s participation in the victory party of Mr. Maloney and his slate after the recent Local 1 election…My understanding is that any involvement by Thomas Hanley during the period of his bar violates that penalty [his suspension] and renders it meaningless …Moreover, I understand that anyone who ‘knowingly associates’ with a barred member violates the union’s Ethical Practices Code, mandated by the 1995 Consent Decree. If the investigation confirms these allegations, I would expect [DOJ] to take appropriate action against the Hanleys.” Boehner asked Muellenberg to respond by Aug. 18. [BNA & Chicago Sun-Times 8/6/99]