Dennis Rivera, boss of Serv. Employees Int’l Union Local 1199 in N.Y.C., was hauled off to jail July 6 after U.S. Dist. Judge Hector Lafitte sentenced him to 30 days for trespassing in order to protest Navy bombing on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. Rivera was reluctantly prepared for jail time, said his spokesman Ken Sunshine. His conduct appears even more irresponsible given the fact that he is currently leading contract negotiations with the Greater N.Y. Hosp. Ass’n for his local. “Dennis is a warrior for the cause, but he doesn’t relish going to jail,” said Sunshine. [Daily News (N.Y.) 7/7/01]
This is the same union boss who last year gave a check believed to be the largest single campaign contribution in post-Watergate federal politics to House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) and top Democratic fundraiser David Jones. The two accepted a $1 million soft money check made out to the Democratic Cong. Campaign Committee. Local 1199 also is the same local that led a lobbying effort that spent $15 million in 1999 to have N.Y. State drastically alter its state health program.
Laptop Taken from Home of Pittsburgh Boss
The president of the Pittsburgh firefighters union home was reportedly burglarized July 5. Joe King, president of Local 1 of the Int’l Ass’n of Fire Fighters, said a laptop computer worth about $2,700 was taken from his home sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. No further information was reported.
Recently, the Pittsburgh Fraternal Order of Police has said it will file suit this month in order to win Pittsburgh police the right to live outside the city. Who is the only Pittsburgh public sector union official on record in favor of keeping Pittsburgh’s residency requirement for public servants? Joe King. [Pitt. Post-Gazette 7/6, 7/8/01]