Int’l Union of Electronic Workers Local 801 in Moraine, Ohio, has agreed to hold a new election for officers under the supervision of the Dep’t of Labor in Nov. The agreement, approved Jan. 23 by U.S. Dist. Chief Judge Walter H. Rice, was reached in a lawsuit filed by DOL in Sept. 1999 accusing Local 801 of using money to promote a slate of candidates headed by Bob Sparks, Local 801’s president. Sparks said he was not the president at the time of the election and had nothing to do with handbills distributed at the time. At the time of the election, Local 801 was in trusteeship, after the IUE’s int’l bosses split the local and created Local 798 at after several months of turmoil. Rice’s court will retain jurisdiction until the DOL certifies the election was held in accordance with the union’s constitution and federal labor law. [Dayton Daily News 1/24/01]
Florida Members Involved in Smuggling Ring
Thirteen former and current members of the Int’l Longshoremen’s Ass’n in the Port of Miami were indicted Mar. 27 for helping to smuggle cocaine through the Port. The indictments are the result of undercover investigations conducted by the U.S. Customs Serv. and Drug Enforcement Admin. from 1992-97. Smugglers transported 44,000 pounds of cocaine into the United States during that time with the help of the 13 members. Investigators discovered that the members would help remove containers from the port before Customs officials could examine them. [Orlando Sent. 3/28/01]
Investigators say they are still trying to locate the two men accused of being responsible for setting up the scheme, Ernie Acosta and Fernando Martinez. The two were never associated with the ILA. Eighteen were arrested between the evening of Mar. 26 and the morning of Mar. 27. They include current ILA members Reinaldo Garcia, Tony Molina, Bose Neloms, Elisha Marshall, Cedric Rouland, Ronnie Faison and Samuel Watts. The former ILA members arrested were Guillermo Martinez, Felix Fontanilles, Rolando Torricella, Charles Thomas, Joe Cobb and Darryl Bell. Charges against them include conspiracy to import a controlled substance and conspiracy to possess and distribute. [Miami Her. 3/28/01]