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VANCOUVER, June 24 /CNW/ - The United Steelworkers announced Friday that Local 1-3567, based in Langley, BC, has been placed under administrative control pending a hearing and investigation into financial irregularities and harassment complaints by employees of the local union.

Pursuant to Article IX of the Steelworkers' International Constitution, officers of Local 1-3567 have also been suspended. Notice of the action came from the office of the Steelworkers' International President and was hand-delivered to the officers of Local 3567. An administrator has been appointed to conduct the local's affairs until the results of a hearing on the possible improprieties are released.

"This action is being taken in the best interests of the USW," said the notice. ". . .There will be a hearing and investigation conducted by an International Commission beginning on Thursday, July 7, 2005."

Steelworkers' National Director Ken Neumann said the investigation will provide an opportunity to examine and correct any improprieties.

"This process is in place to protect the union and its members," said Neumann. "It is open, transparent, fair and democratic."

Steelworkers' Western Canada Director Steve Hunt said there is an obligation on the part of the union to ensure that local unions are run properly.

"Our members expect the union at every level to protect their interests, negotiate good collective agreements and spend their dues wisely," said Hunt. "The Constitution is absolutely clear on the requirement to conduct our affairs morally, ethically and responsibly."

Norman Rivard, chair of the Steelworkers-IWA Council added: "This action is very rare in the Steelworkers' union and signifies the depth of the union's concerns and the need to protect the interests of the members."

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Before the Steelworkers-IWA merger, IWA Local 1-3567 was the infamous local responsible for undermining the BC Hospital Employees Union by signing sweetheart collective agreements (before the employees were even hired!) with companies that were privatizing HEU work.

Link: CNW: United Steelworkers places Local 1-3567 under administrative control

Background:

Rabble Feature: CUPE slams yellow dog contracts

Rabble Feature: Sunset on the Sally Ann

Discussion: IWA-HEU, what should the CLC do?

Discussion: LRB kicks down 1-3567

Also of note is a recent report that the Salvation Army is preparing to dump its rat contractor.

Stay tuned.

[ 26 June 2005: Message edited by: robbie_dee ]

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A team of officials from the United Steelworkers of America swooped down on Mr. Ghag's abandoned union headquarters late last week, cracked and changed the locks and installed Ron Wyatt, a Steelworkers representative from Hamilton, as the local's new administrator.

"It's a last resort for us to step in and do something like this," Steelworkers Western Canada director Steve Hunt said yesterday.

"But we just thought the claims were so egregious that these unusual steps had to be taken."

Mr. Hunt said a "significant" amount of money was at issue in the suspected financial irregularities. He declined to shed more light on the matter, nor on the complaints of membership harassment.

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Later in the same article, the Globe reports:

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Mr. Ghag, president of the 5,000-member Local 1-3567 in the Fraser Valley since 1996, is no stranger to controversy and has been accused by critics of running his local as a union fief, with little tolerance of dissent.

Allegations against Mr. Ghag's supporters over the years include:

Baseball bats, axe handles and peavey handles were used in a violent attack on members of another union local, whom Mr. Ghag allegedly called "scabs." The assaulted members worked at a sawmill that was competing with a sawmill owned by Mr. Ghag's brother. Mr. Ghag has said he was present as a peacemaker.

A Global-TV reporter was roughed up trying to cover a local union meeting.

Mr. Ghag has also been accused of signing cut-rate, so-called "sweetheart deals" with hospital employers to represent workers hired under private contracts to replace laid-off members of the Hospital Employees Union.

When the HEU complained to the Canadian Labour Congress, Mr. Ghag was quoted as saying: "Is this a war? Yes, it is. But I'm not tolerating it any more. . . . If they fire at us, we'll fire back, and we may even go and get ourselves bigger guns."

Last year, about 800 local members signed a petition calling on then IWA president Dave Haggard to conduct a review of Mr. Ghag's leadership.

Late in 2003, Mr. Ghag was forced to resign from the IWA's national executive over the allegations that some union members were called scabs at the sawmill.

Still pending is a damage claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court against Mr. Ghag and Local 1-3567 by the Vancouver sawmill where the alleged attack took place, and more than a hundred of its workers. Local 1-3567 is part of the former forestry union IWA-Canada, which merged last year with the Steelworkers.

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Startled auditors found 2,548 bottles of beer, 124 litres of hard liquor - including pricey bottles of 12-year-old Chivas Regal scotch, 200 bottles of wine and an eclectic selection of coolers at the Local 1-3567 office.

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USWA: Steel Bull

[ 17 July 2005: Message edited by: CUPE_Reformer ]

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VANCOUVER -- The head of a rogue local of the United Steelworkers union has been banned from the union for five years after a special commission ruled that allegations of sexual harassment and financial wrongdoing involving over $300,000 in union funds were "well founded."

Satnam [Sonny] Ghag, the former president of Local 1-3567 is gone, Steelworkers western director Steve Hunt said Friday.

Describing Ghag's conduct as "reprehensible" and detailing one incident allegedly involving a female member of the local, the report slammed the former president for treatment of staff and local members as well as for financial misconduct. Ghag was not available for comment Friday.

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