On Jan. 17, James Bryant, ex-secretary-treasurer of Am. Fed’n of Gov’t Employees Local 2061 in Philadelphia, was sentenced to three years probation, ordered to make restitution of $1,980, and fined $500. (He had previously made restitution of $1,500.) He had pled guilty on Sept. 12, to two counts of theft by unlawful taking $3,480 within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S. Local 2061 is connected to the Gen. Serv. Admin. [DOL 1/17/02]
Chicago Union Found Guilty of Defamation
Int’l Union of Operating Eng’rs Local 150’s statement on picket signs that a construction subcontractor was not paying its workers prevailing wages and benefits constituted defamation, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled Jan. 11 Reversing a lower court’s ruling, the appeals court found the statement was harmful to Lowe Excavating Co.’s reputation because the company was required by federal law to pay prevailing wages and benefits for work on the federally funded construction project that was picketed. The evidence also showed that Chicago-based local’s statement was false and that the union business agent should have had serious doubts about the truth of the statement on the picket signs, Justice Robert D. McLaren found. The appeals court remanded the case to the McHenry County