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After decades of reform, reorganization and indictments of corrupt union leaders, the New York City District Council of Carpenters could soon be free from federal monitorship 30 years after it was first implemented.
The New York City District Council of Carpenters is one step closer to the end of government supervision after the U.S attorney for the Southern District of New York signed off on a transition plan earlier this month that puts the union on the road to independence.
The Carpenters were placed under court-appointed federal monitorship in 1994 as part of a settlement for racketeering charges, and after 30 years of reforms, reorganizations and indictments of corrupt former union leaders, the Carpenters have been given the go-ahead to appoint an independent integrity officer to take on several of the monitor’s responsibilities.
That officer, Thomas McKay, a partner at the law firm Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello, will still report to the court and the monitor, Glen McGorty, who was appointed in 2014. But if the union “demonstrates its continuing ability to self-govern" over the next year, then the Carpenters and government could arrive at a final agreement to replace the 30-year-old consent decree and fully remove the monitorship, according to the Dec. 4 order signed by the U.S Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Damian Williams.
In the meantime, the federal monitor will still oversee the union’s internal elections and could enforce new orders.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters underwent a similar process when they reached a final order ending their federal monitorship in 2015 after decades of oversight due to racketeering charges. It took five years after that final agreement for the Teamsters to regain their full independence.
Under the direction of the federal government, the union enacted many reforms in the last three decades. Those increased in pace after the 2009 indictment of Michael Forde, the union’s former executive secretary-treasurer, and several lower-level officials. The government ordered the union to create a review officer position the following year. The union also appointed an independent hearing officer and empowered its inspector general to root out internal corruption.
“Beginning in 2010 and continuing through the present, the District Council has developed, implemented, and continually improved upon an effective and sustainable organizational structure and compliance program designed to ensure that the District Council is run democratically, is free from the influence of organized criminal activity and other corrupt influences, and remains solely focused on promoting the best interests of the Union and its membership,” the U.S. Attorney’s Dec 4. filing reads.
Other officials connected to organized crime, including a former union member identified as a captain in the Genovese crime family, have since been expelled from the Carpenters. The union also opened itself up to compliance reviews, had its job referral process scrutinized and has continued to train low-level shop stewards, union officers and other employees under order from the monitor.
Union head promoted
A day after the order clearing the way for the Carpenters’ independence was signed, the unions’ current executive secretary treasurer, Joseph Geiger, announced that he would be leaving his role to become Eastern District vice president of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, the parent union of the district council Geiger currently runs. In a letter to union members, Geiger wrote that his promotion was “historic” because it was the first time that a Carpenters’ official from New York will hold the role.
He said that it “reflects not just the strength of our membership but the trust and leadership we’ve worked hard to build in NYC over the years.”
“Among our accomplishments is the recent court decision that marks a pivotal step toward full self-governance,” Geiger added in the letter. “This decision, which includes the removal of the independent monitor, is a reflection of the integrity, transparency, and progress we have built as a union.”
In a statement, Paul Capurso, the Carpenters' assistant executive secretary-treasurer, thanked Geiger for building "the momentum to take control of our future" in a transparent and accountable manner.
"This court agreement marks a transformative moment for the New York City District Council of Carpenters," he said. "The Carpenters are ready to lead boldly, fight for our members, and set the gold standard for labor leadership."
Geiger, who signed the Dec. 4 agreement on behalf of the union, will now help oversee Carpenter locals from Maine to Virginia.
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