AMO Sues MEBA over Interlake Steamship Contract Raiding.

It has always been an open question just how beneficial the Interlake Steamship Company has been to the MEBA. Obviously having more members is always a good thing for a Union. And so looking at strictly the money does not tell the whole story.

But a Union is also a business and as such parts of that business have to justify themselves. The dues paid by all the Interlake Members comes to around $140,000 per year. Now then, out of that $140,000 per year the MEBA has to represent the Members of the Interlake group. That means a local rep, real estate, and the occasional senior official inspection trip to the locus in quo.



Really, not much left over from that $140,000.

But now the MEBA has to fend off lawsuits from the disgruntled former owners of the Interlake contract, the American Maritime Officers (AMO).

Win a few; lose a few. And that's how it goes for AMO. While the latest MEBA Telex Times of january 20, 2005 trots out all sorts of previous minor (no doubt hastily assembled) legal actions by AMO (who indeed, are rarely without sin), several important pieces of information are left out. The only lawsuit mentioned in the Telex Times was of course the one AMO lost. A famous victory for the MEBA, Mom and Apple Pie.

But never let it be said that the Telex Times is truthful (to read the MEBA Telex Times, click on the link: Admiral's Blog).

But what then was the truth?


From the TT:

"In late 2004, AMO filed lawsuits against MEBA Officers in the Interlake Steamship Company fleet. In the suit, AMO sought, among other things, to deprive those members of their life savings, investments and other monetary accounts."

Sounds ominous eh?

3 People who took lumpsum buyouts from AMO went back to work on the Interlake vessels (AMO has the same rule about prohibited work without Trustee permission as MEBA. We may safely assume they would not have been granted permission).

AMO Plans demanded they return the Lumpsum if they wished to continue working. They would still be entitled to the money, they just could not take the money and work at the same time. AMO Plans later sued. MEBA defended them on the basis that their employment was "continuous" since it was the same company. In addition, it's probable (and there's plenty of case law) that the Court was loath to take away somebody's retirement as well.

This raises troubling issues. If the MEBA paid for these peoples' legal defense, how would the MEBA be able to enforce its own rule about prohibited employment?

Davis shoots the Retirement fund in the foot and then brags about it.

Two suits that AMO won were not mentioned in the TT. And these had less to do with depriving hard working Members of their life savings and more to do with the legality of the MEBA snatching the Interlake contract out from under AMO's rosy red veined nose.

One suit was to compel Interlake into Arbitration. AMO won that suit as well as the resulting arbitration.

Another was the suit against former AMO Official and later MEBA Consultant, Jerry Joseph. AMO won and was awarded $8.75 million. The award is being appealed.

And that brings us to this little problem. The former AMO Members, Interlake or Joseph are NOT the ultimate "deep pockets". The deep pockets are the MEBA Benefit Plans. As Willie Sutton would say, "Because that's where the money is". That's why they are listed as codefendants in the case.

It seems the Davis Administration can never simply be straight with the facts.

How then to deal with this? For Davis a vigorous defense probably consists first of all of delaying the case for as long as possible, since the well established tactic of the Davis Administration has always been deny, obfuscate and delay, in so doing, moving that evil day of reckoning to a point farther off into the misty future.

The lawyers can milk this one for a long time. Because this is not about protecting Members jobs, this is about protecting Administration officials from the consequences of their acts.

BvK

References:

From the MEBA Telex Times of January 20, 2006

MEBA DEFENDING ATTACKS
AMO has filed a complaint in Ohio against MEBA based on our Union's collective bargaining agreement with Interlake. MEBA believes the complaint is baseless and is vigorously defending against it. At this time, MEBA cannot provide more details, but will do so in the near future.The Davis Administration is committed to vigorously defending the Union from attacks launched by the American Maritime Officers (AMO) while at the same time moving forward to secure new jobs for the membership and protecting the Union's solid job base. Some recent examples are: AMO filed Article XX charges directly against MEBA in connection with an MEBA contracted Company that had won a charter award for the operation of seven U.S. Government owned vessels. Article XX proceedings involve disputes regarding one AFL-CIO union raiding another AFL-CIO union. AMO began the Article XX proceedings shortly after affiliating with an AFL-CIO Union in an effort to obtain Article XX protection. MEBA defended the frivolous charges leveled by AMO, and won the Article XX case. There is a brief synopsis of this Article XX case below as well as some other Article XX cases where AMO was found to have raided other unions, which resulted in the imposition of sanctions against it by the AFL-CIO and AMO's consequent departure from the house of labor in order to avoid those sanctions. In late 2004, AMO filed lawsuits against MEBA Officers in the InterlakeSteamship Company fleet. In the suit, AMO sought, among other things, to deprive those members of their life savings, investments and other monetaryaccounts. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court in Southern Florida. MEBA's counsel represented the Officers in the suit. In July of 2005, theCourt determined that the AMO's suit was "wrong, and unreasonable and thus arbitrary and capricious." The Judge then dismissed the case against all the Officers "with prejudice." The term "with prejudice" means that the cases against the Officers cannot be revisited. AMO had to pay the court costs associated with the case. It is apparent that AMO is not pleased with MEBA's success over the past fewyears, and will do anything it can to halt our Union's progression.

From AMO Currents:

http://amo-union.net/1-20-06-lawsuit.php

AMO files suit against MEBA for interfering with Interlake contract

American Maritime Officers has filed a lawsuit against the Marine Engineers Beneficial Association for “intentional” interference with AMO’s collective bargaining agreement with Interlake Steamship Co. in 2003. The suit, filed in Lucas County Court of Common Pleas in Toledo, Oh., names MEBA and two of its top officials--President Ron Davis and Vice President Don Keefe--as defendants. Also named are the MEBA Medical and Benefits Plan, the MEBA Vacation Plan, the MEBA Training Plan, the MEBA 401(k) Plan, and the MEBA Pension Trust. In the suit, AMO is seeking a jury trial and damages “in an amount of $60 million or more” for “the intentional tortious interference with a contractual relationship” or for “unjust enrichment.” AMO is also seeking “punitive damages in the amount of $280 million,” legal fees, “all costs incurred in this case,” and “any further relief in law or equity to which plaintiff (AMO) is entitled.” AMO represented the engineers, mates and stewards in the Interlake Steamship Co. fleet of self-unloading Great Lakes bulk carriers under successive three-year collective bargaining agreements for many years. The most recent collective bargaining agreement between AMO and Interlake Steamship Co. was in force between August 1, 2000 and July 31, 2003. In its suit against MEBA, the MEBA officials and the MEBA benefit funds, AMO notes that Interlake Steamship Co. and MEBA signed a 10-year collective bargaining agreement on July 25, 2003--six days before the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement between AMO and Interlake Steamship. The contract between Interlake and MEBA was signed in secrecy at the Lake Michigan home of James Barker, Interlake’ Steamship Co.’s chairman and principal owner, following “extensive negotiations” conducted without the knowledge of AMO or the Interlake fleet vessel officers. Between July 25, 2003 and July 31, 2003, “senior management officials” of Interlake Steamship Co. and several MEBA officials and representatives--including Davis and Keefe--boarded Interlake vessels at anchorage and “met with the vessels’ maritime officers and advised them of the terms of the new collective bargaining agreement,” AMO said in its complaint. The Interlake Steamship Co. executives and MEBA officials and representatives “required the maritime officers to become and remain members of MEBA as a condition of employment and provided the maritime officers with forms to sign up for membership in MEBA” and to withdraw from membership in AMO. The complaint by American Maritime Officers characterized the covert contract plan between Interlake Steamship Co. and MEBA as “very meticulous.” During its negotiations with Interlake Steamship Co., MEBA “had actual knowledge” that AMO had had a valid collective bargaining agreement with the company, and that AMO was “the exclusive bargaining agent with respect to rates of pay, wages, hours of work and conditions of employment” of the Interlake Steamship Co. vessel officers between August 1, 200 and July 31, 2003. AMO prevailed in a case in 2005 against Jerome E. Joseph, a former AMO national executive vice president who became a paid consultant to Ron Davis and MEBA in April 2002. During earlier court-ordered arbitration between AMO and Interlake Steamship Co., Joseph was found to have brokered negotiations between MEBA and Interlake, and he was among the MEBA representatives who boarded the company’s vessels to promote the Interlake-MEBA contract and coerce the vessel officers into MEBA membership between July 25, 2003 and July 31, 2003. In American Maritime Officers v. Jerome E. Joseph in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia (Civil Division), the jury found that Joseph had “misappropriated” AMO’s property--specifically, “records and papers, including protected, proprietary information”. The jury also found that Joseph had used the confidential information to promote MEBA’s interests in the Interlake Steamship Co. matter and others. In that case, the jury levied a judgment in excess of $8 million against Joseph.


To see details of the AMO filing, click on link below to the Lucas County Ohio website:


http://www.co.lucas.oh.us/ClerkDockets/Docket.asp?selCaseType=CI&NumberSearchCriteria=200507134&StartDate=&EndDate
=&selParty=0&submit1=Continue+%3E%3E%3E