U.S. Dist. Judge Morris E. Lasker (Johnson) upheld the ouster of Mass. govt. union boss Kenneth Lyons by its international affiliate on Aug. 29.
The Service Employees Intl. Union (SEIU) placed the Natl. Assn. of Govt. Employees (NAGE) under trusteeship in Nov. 2001, after Lyons was accused of altering and destroying records relating to meals he paid for with James Hartnett, undersecy. of the Mass. Div. of Admin. and Finance, and the state’s chief labor negotiator. Under Mass. ethics laws, public employees are barred from accepting or soliciting gifts and/or meals valued at $50 or more from business associates.
Judge Lasker found that the SEIU did not intimidate other NAGE officials into agreeing with the trusteeship. An election for NAGE president is scheduled for mid-September. [Boston Herald 8/30/02]