Results of Las Vegas union election stand after probe
Following a monthslong probe into Laborers Local 872, the federal Office of Labor-management Standards told union officials this week it will not set aside a protested election of officers in May 2018.
The probe began last year after four Local 872 members accused the construction union of unfairly disqualifying them from running in elections for the 2,500-member local affiliate of the Laborers’ International Union of North America.
After interviewing key union officials and examining documents pertaining to the union’s pre-election nomination process, federal investigators determined the 2018 election should not be set aside, according to letters sent this week to the protesting union members from agency Deputy Director Andrew Auerbach. Local Secretary-treasurer Tommy White provided the Review-journal with copies of the letters.
“A statement of reasons setting forth the basis for this decision will be mailed to you at a future date,” the letter concludes.
White, who was one of the officials accused of election rigging, said Local 872 members are glad to have the investigation behind them.
“I’ve said all along we’ve always ran a good election,” White said. “Now we can concentrate on upcoming jobs.”
The inquiry was the second federal investigation into Local 872’s elections in the past five years. The first was launched in 2015 after union election judges disqualified all three challengers nominated to run.
In September 2018 a federal judge ordered that a new election be held for the union’s vice president office under the U.S. Department of Labor’s supervision. Attorneys for Local 872 have appealed the decision.
White said that the now validated 2018 vice presidential election should resolve the issue. Union member Richard Vela, who was disqualified from running against White in 2018, believes the government should continue to monitor Local 872’s officer elections.
“I want the Department of Labor to oversee the next election, period,” Vela said.
Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.