Oversight and accountability: ILWU international and local officers, members and staff gathered for a five-day Secretary-Treasurers’ conference to learn financial best practices with a focus on transparency and accountability. In the photo above are (top row from left to right): ILWU International President Bob McEllrath, Mike Kapeliela from Local 142, and Cameron Pate from Local 29; (bottom row from left to right): Local 13 Secretary Treasurer Mark Williams, Local 10 Secretary-Treasurer Ed Ferris, ILWU Canada President Mark Gordienko and Chris Haynes of Whittier Alaska.
The ILWU held a conference on Nov. 3-7 in Seattle for local union secretary treasurers, trustees, and other officers and staff who are responsible for local union finances. The five-day event featured presentations from experienced union officers, staff and attorneys with many years of financial experience.
The event had over 80 participants – the largest ever held – and marked an increase in attendance over the previous conference that was held in 2010.
ILWU International officers attending the event included President Bob McEllrath, Vice President (Mainland) Ray Familathe, Vice President (Hawaii) Wesley Furtado and Secretary Treasurer Willie Adams.
McEllrath opened the conference by noting that the ILWU has generally done a good job of financial oversight, but emphasized the responsibility of elected officers to protect union treasuries because “every dollar the ILWU spends is paid for with dues money from hard-working members.”
He urged conference participants to learn from past mistakes and remain vigilant about protecting local union treasuries.
Oversight and transparency are key
The conference emphasized the importance of creating open and transparent finances so union members can be assured and confirm that their dues money is fully accounted for and properly spent. This requires proper bookkeeping controls and documentation of expenditures along with oversight by Trustees who are elected by the membership. Locals were also encouraged to conduct periodic, independent audits by outside firms to verify that local finances are in order. The ILWU’s International financial records are audited each quarter – an exceptional level of oversight and far more than most unions.
“The Conference provided us with a foundation for transparent, responsible union financial stewardship,” said Local 40 Secretary Treasurer Dane Jones who attended the conference. Jones said he especially appreciated the session that reviewed the importance of having explicit procedures to govern the appropriateness of union expenditures, and another session that covered the best oversight practices to safeguard union assets.
Attorneys Rob Remar and Lindsay Nicholas reviewed the financial responsibilities that unions face under federal labor laws, emphasizing the kind of expenditures and transactions that are prohibited.
Other topics discussed included U.S. Department of Labor reporting obligations, guidelines and procedures for the ILWU Political Action Fund, records management and Federal Laws regarding local union elections and procedures.
The conference utilized a mix of presentations, group discussions, and hands-on activities – including an audit workshop where participants worked together in small groups and performed a mock audit.
Protecting union assets
Local 13 Trustee Jimmy Monti attended the conference and said he came away with new tools to help him protect his local’s finances.
“Financial security is crucial for our union. Finances are the resources we have to fight with, and if your financial resources are not in order, then you can’t fight. And if we can’t fight for better contracts, we can’t organize workers,” Monti said.
Preventing fraud and abuse
The ILWU has a better record than most unions when it comes to protecting member’s dues money from fraud and abuse. But in the last 10 years, a few isolated instances have occurred in which staff or officers tried to steal funds from local union members. The illegal actions were eventually discovered and prosecuted with jail time, fines and restitution.
Rather than sweep these instances under the rug, conference presenters spoke openly and honestly about these cases and used them as lessons to guard against future abuse. The mistakes that enabled the fraud to go unchecked until it was exposed, were identified. Presenters also explained new practices that are now in place at these locals to ensure proper oversight of the finances.
President McEllrath minced no words about the sacred obligation of officers to protect members from abuse. “We’ve got a few locals who were bilked out of tens of thousands of dollars by their own members. Stealing from your own union brothers and sisters is just plain wrong,” McEllrath said. “What it all boils down to is checks and balances. You need to have a system in place where you’re checking on your brother or sister – and have them check on you. The truth shall set you free. When someone comes along and wants to see your books—open them up because you’ve got nothing to hide.”
Secretary Treasurer Adams also addressed the issue of fraud in his opening remarks. He said it’s not enough to trust that union officers will do the right thing. “These were elected officers who defrauded the members of their own locals.” Adams said. “They were elected by their own membership, but trust is not enough. You need to hold the officers accountable, and to do that, unions need to have the proper transparency, oversights and controls to protect the members’ money. “
Learning from each another
In addition to lectures and discussions from conference presenters, there was time to meet, share lessons and learn from the other conference participants who came with a wide-range of experiences.
“I was excited by the caliber of people attending the conference,” said Secretary-Treasurer Terri Mast of the Inlandboatmen’s Union (IBU).
“The turnout was great and it represented the breadth and diversity of our membership.”
Local 40 Secretary Treasurer Dane Jones said he appreciated that the International Union put resources into the conference and planned a quality teaching program. “When we see all the different pitfalls, legal obligations, reporting requirements and regulatory obligations that we’re responsible for—it’s nice to know that we’re a part of a larger organization of people we can lean on for help and advice if we need it.”