On April 1, Thomas James Martin, former business manager of Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 15, was denied a request in U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota for an exemption from holding union office. Section 504 of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act prohibits union officials convicted of certain crimes from holding office for at least 13 years. In April 2003 Martin had been convicted of mail fraud and theft from his Minneapolis union. The following month the U.S. Department of Labor informed him of its decision to impose a ban. (OLMS, 4/21/09).
