Mark Douglas billed his union for reimbursements for nonworking hours. Unfortunately for the union, that amounted to theft. Yesterday, April 9, Douglas, president of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1101, was charged in an information count in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana with embezzling $7,078.35 in funds from the Arabi (near New Orleans)-based union related to his alleged filing of fake “lost time” claims over a more than three-year period. The union represents employees of Domino Sugar. The charge follows an investigation by the U.S. Labor Department’s Office of Labor-Management Standards.
According to court documents, Douglas, now 71, a resident of New Orleans, during November 11, 2011-January 17, 2015 filed “lost time” claims for a variety of unauthorized purposes. Normally, only business-related activities such as arbitration, visits to an attorney, or negotiations with Domino Sugar are eligible for reimbursement. These claims were unrelated to work. If convicted, Douglas faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.