On Monday, December 12, 2022, the U.S. Attorney’s Office (Southern District of New York) announced that 11 union officials had all pled guilty to accepting bribes and illegal payments from an unnamed employer (Employer-1) in exchange for “(1) that the relevant union would support Employer-1’s bids on various projects, (2) that the union would consider signing Employer-1 to labor agreements that Employer-1 regarded as favorable (including agreements that would pay union workers lower rates than their experience merited), and (3) that the union would permit Employer-1 to falsely claim to developers that Employer-1 employed union workers,” according to the Dept. of Justice (DoJ) press release.1

The defendants pled guilty to either violations of the Taft-Hartley Act or pled guilty to Honest Services Fraud Conspiracy. The sentencing will made by US District Judge Colleen McMahon.

Two New York area local plumbers unions, Local 638 (Steamfitters of NYC and Long Island) and Local 200, were involved in the scheme. The defendants pled guilty to accepting cash from Employer-1, usually stuffed in envelopes that Employer-1 handed-off inside restrooms of restaurants.

James Cahill, former Executive Council member of the NYS AFL-CIO and the former President of the NYS Building and Construction Trades Council (which represents over 200,000 unionized construction workers) “was the leader of the conspiracy and introduced Employer-1 to many of the other defendants, while advising Employer-1 that Employer-1 could reap the benefits of being associated with unions without actually signing union agreements or employing union workers,” the press release stated. Cahill accepted approximately $44,500 in such bribes. Cahill is to be sentenced on March 7, 2023 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. Seven of the other ten defendants were business agents of Local 638, one was business-agent-at-large for Local 638, one was the Sec’y.-Treas. of Local 638, and one was a business agent of Local 200.

Cahill had a long career with the plumbers union, known formally as the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the U.S and Canada (the “UA”). He was elected business agent five times and became a UA International Rep. in 1996, and was re-elected three times to that position.2

The 24-page indictment3 finds that the defendants were engaged in a criminal enterprise to receive dozens of payments totalling over $100,000, “for which the defendants agreed to betray their union’s trust by taking actions favorable to non-union employers and exercising corrupt influence on the conduct of labor relations in the construction trades.” The indictment provides a glimpse into the behavior of Cahill and others. In one meeting Cahill encouraged Employer-1, ‘in sum and substance, not to sign with a union, but instead to “tell everyone to go fuck themselves,” because “if you become union, you’ll have 12 fucking guys on your back.”‘ In another instance Cahill provided Employer-1 with a photo of an ice machine from an appliance supplier and told Employer-1 ‘in sum and substance “Take this with you in case you fucking forget. I’m waiting two fucking summers,” a reference to Cahill’s longstanding demand that Employer-1 purchase and install an ice-machine in Cahill’s home.’

Included in the court record are several “Victim Impact Statements” from members of Local 638. Victim Impact Statements, according to the DoJ’s website,4 are submitted to the U.S. Attorney’s Office and forwarded to the U.S. Probation Office to be included as part of the Presentence Investigation Report, which is then submitted to the judge prior to sentencing. In its guidance to victims of federal crime, the DoJ notes that “Your written statement allows the judge time to re-read and ruminate upon your words prior to making a sentencing decision.” The statements include a financial loss statement which is used to verify and assess the financial impact of the crime upon the victim. The judge may order the defendant to pay restitution but such payment cannot be guaranteed.

In this case, generally the statements assert that work became very difficult to find through Local 638, which according to one statement does not have a hiring hall. Thus, one went to Ohio to find work, another to Georgia. Another who is also working out of state says he almost lost his home twice. Some point out that the defendants already made plea deals with the U.S. Attorneys and thus no further leniency in sentencing should be granted. One says “apparently a salary of approximately $200,000 a year, a car, cellphone and expense account wasn’t enough for these fallen officers. They betrayed each and ever 638 union members who voted for and trusted these men. I personally even stood outside in the December cold during our election and handed out flyers for several of these men.”

1.https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-president-new-york-building-and-construction-trades-council-and-10-other-union, accessed 1/14/23
2.https://www.laborpress.org/james-cahill-leads-with-a-lifetime-of-service-2/ accessed 1/17/23
3. U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, U.S. v. Cahill et. al., Indictment. 20 Crim. 521. Case 1:20-cr-00521-CM Document 1 Filed 10/01/20.
4.https://www.justice.gov/criminal-vns/victim-impact-statements. accessed 1/14/23