Vazquez v. Central States Joint Bd.
| Decision Date | 29 February 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. 04 C 1798.,No. 04 C 861.,04 C 861.,04 C 1798. |
| Citation | 547 F.Supp.2d 833 |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
| Parties | Horacio VAZQUEZ, et al., Plaintiffs, v. CENTRAL STATES JOINT BOARD, et al., Defendants. |
Horacio Vazquez, Chicago, IL, pro se.
James Gordon Banks, Romero & Banks, Downers Grove, IL, for Plaintiffs.
Rory K. McGinty, Downers Grove, IL, Jacqueline L. Bachman, Law Offices of Jacqueline L. Bachman, Chicago, IL, for Defendants.
Plaintiffs Horacio Vazquez, Hermes Ruiz, Jeffery Keating, and Kevin Kane filed this action against Defendants, Central States Joint Board ("CSJB"), International Union of Allied Novelty and Production Workers ("International Union"), Mark Spano, Steve Torello, Benny Castro, Mike Flynn, Frank Olvera, John McDonough, Rocco Miranti, Kathleen Rodriguez, Antonio Patino, Johnny Miranti, William Widmer, John Ward, and Greg Auteri. (D.E.97) Plaintiffs bring Counts I, IV, VI and VIII under Sections 101(a)(1) and 101(a) (2) of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), 29 U.S.C. §§ 411(a)(1), 411(a)(2). Counts II, V, VII, and IX are brought under Sections 101(a)(5)(C) and 609 of the LMRDA, 29 U.S.C. §§ 411(a)(5)(C) & 529, and Section 301 of the Labor Management Reporting Act (LMRA), 29 U.S.C. § 185. Counts III and X are Illinois state law contract claims brought by Vazquez and Kane, respectively, under the CSJB Employment Manual and the International Union Constitution (IUC). Count XI is brought pursuant to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Practices Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. §§ 1962(c) & (d). 1964(c). Defendants have filed motions to dismiss.
For the reasons stated below, the motions to dismiss are granted in part and denied in part. Specifically, to the extent and as explained below, Plaintiffs' claims under LMRDA Section 101(a)(1) are dismissed with prejudice, Plaintiffs' claims under LMRDA Section 101(a)(5) are dismissed in part without prejudice, Plaintiffs' civil RICO claims are dismissed without prejudice, Plaintiff Kane's state contract claim is dismissed without prejudice, and the Plaintiffs' various other state law claims are dismissed in part as explained. The motions to dismiss are otheiwise denied.
The factual allegations related below are taken from the Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint. (D.E.97.) The Court relates the allegations as set forth in the operative complaint, as precedent directs. The Court takes no position as to whether any of the allegations are in fact true. That factual evaluation will await further stages in the proceedings as to appropriate claims.
International Union is a labor organization that is comprised of subordinate bodies of Joint Boards and Local Unions, including the CSJB and Locals 12, 16, 18, 24, and 30 (the "Five Locals"). (D.E. 97 ¶¶ 25-30.) International Union's General Executive Board ("International Board") controls the International Union. (Id. ¶ 32.) Spano, Torello, Patino, Castro, Flynn, Johnny Miranti, and Rocco Miranti are all members of the International Board. (Id. ¶ 33.) As a subordinate body, the CSJB is subject to the provisions of the Constitution of the International Union ("IUC"). (Id. ¶ 36.) Likewise, the Five Locals are controlled by the CSJB pursuant to the JUC and the CSJB Constitution. (Id. ¶ 41.) Under the provisions of the CSJB Constitution, the CSJB Executive Board controls the CSJB. (Id. ¶ 43.) The members of the CSJB Executive Board are President Spano, Secretary-Treasurer Torello, and Vice Presidents Castro, Flynn, Olvera, McDonough, and Rodriguez. (Id. ¶ 44.)
All Local Unions and Joint Boards are chartered by and subordinate to the IUC, which is intended, among other things, to provide for democratic institutions and procedures, and to extend civil rights and liberties to its members. (Id. ¶¶ 64-65.) The IUC provides that the governing body of the International Union is the General Executive Board. (Id. ¶¶ 66.) The IUC provides that the International Union's President has the power to investigate subordinate bodies and may place them in trusteeship to correct corruption and financial malpractice and restore democratic procedures. (Id. ¶¶ 69-70.) For any officer of a subordinate body against whom charges are brought, the IUC requires due process, including the right to have the Local Union's Executive Board consider all evidence pertaining to the charge(s), and the right to appeal to the International Board. (Id. ¶¶ 72-73.) The CSJB Constitution provides that the CSJB President has complete supervision over the CSJB, subject to the approval of the International Board. (Id. ¶ 76.) Local 10's Constitution provides that it shall comply with all provisions of the IUC. (Id. ¶¶ 79.) It states that no member shall be disciplined unless that member has been given a reasonable time to prepare his defense and afforded a full and fair hearing. (Id. ¶ 82.) It also provides that the accused shall be tried by Local 10's Executive Board, and that no lawyer shall be permitted to appear on behalf of any person or entity. (Id. ¶¶ 84-85.) The CSJB Employment Manual provides that an employee shall have the right to grieve any decision affecting employment to a three-member board, consisting of the CSJB President, the President of the employee's Local Union, and one other employee selected by the grieving employee. (Id. ¶¶ 88.) The decision of the three member board is binding and no other appeal is allowed. (Id.)
All four Plaintiffs were terminated from the following union positions in 2004 (the "Terminations"). (Id. ¶¶11, 13-15, 17-19, 21-22.) Ruiz was a member and elected President of the International Union, the elected First Vice President of the CSJB Executive Board, the elected President of Local 24, the Servicing Director of the CSJB, a union appointed trustee of the CSJB Health and Welfare Fund and the Midwest Pension Plan (the "Funds"; see id. ¶ 3), and a union appointed Trustee on the International Union's Pension Fund. (Id. ¶ 14-15.) Keating was a member and the Third Vice President of the International Union, the elected Secretary-Treasurer of the CSJB's Executive Board, the elected President of Local 16, a union appointed Trustee of the Funds, the elected Chairman of the CSJB Health and Welfare Fund (the "Health Fund"),1 the appointed Plan Manager of the Funds, and the appointed trustee of the CSJB Staff Pension Plan.2 (Id. ¶¶ 17-19.) Kane was a member of the International Union, the elected Secretary-Treasurer of Local 24, and a CSJB business agent. (Id. ¶¶ 21-23.)
Plaintiffs allege that when Spano assumed the CSJB presidency in 2002, he "embarked on a systematic scheme to assert autocratic control over the Unions, eliminate any opposition to Ms authority, ... eliminate democracy within the Unions, and turn the Unions over to elements of organized crime." (Id. ¶ 89.) Plaintiffs allege that Spano considered Vazquez, Ruiz, Keating, and Kane to be threats to him and the scheme because of their open opposition to Spano. (Id. ¶ 109.) Spano recruited CSJB Executive Board members and International Union Board members to participate in the scheme and to ensure that Vazquez, Ruiz, Keating, and Kane would not be able to oppose him or Ms scheme. (Id. ¶ 110.) Spano also recruited attorneys Widmer and Ward and accountant Auteri to assist him in asserting autocratic control over the Unions, to stifle dissent within the Unions, and to destroy democracy within the Unions. (Id. ¶ 111.)
Spano allegedly began implementation of the scheme when he hired James Bertino as a business agent on March 18, 2002, at a salary of $96,000 per year. (Id. ¶ 90.) The customary practice was to hire CSJB business agents at a salary of approximately $30,000 per year. (Id. ¶ 93.) Bertino had allegedly been removed from another labor organization because of Ms association with elements of organized crime. (Id. ¶ 91.) Spano and others have cont inued to hire associates of elements of organized crime since the 2004 terminations of Plaintiffs, by hiring Mike Christopher and Peter Aigulla, both of whom allegedly were removed from positions in other labor organizations because of their association with organized crime elements. (Id. ¶ 92.)
Keating told Spano that he knew Bertino was an associate of elements of organized crime and that Spano should not employ Bertino. (Id. ¶ 94.) Spano told Keating that he had hired Bertino because he had been told to hire him by "certain people," and Spano allegedly threatened Keating by telling him that he had betterwise up and do what he was told or "he would be History." (Id. ¶ 95.) Keating understood that "certain people" were elements of organized crime, since Spano's father, Paul Spano, and uncle, Mike Spano, allegedly were known members of organized crime. (Id. ¶ 96.) Fearing that Spano would put other associates of organized crime on the CSJB payroll, Keating called a special meeting of the CSJB Executive Board on March 28, 2002. (Id. ¶ 97.) At the meeting, the Board voted to restrict Spano's ability to pay new CSJB employees excessive salaries. (Id. ¶ 98.) Spano allegedly was infuriated by this action, and after the meeting he allegedly threatened Keating by stating: (Id. ¶ 99.) Keating, operating under the understanding that Spano was being controlled or influenced by organized crime, replied that neither Spano nor anyone else was going to steal the members' money and that he would oppose any of Spano's actions that were not for the good of the membership. (Id. ¶ 100.) Spano then allegedly threatened Keating by stating, ...
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