Unions alleged to pad payrolls with children

Unions are supposed to be concerned with child labor laws.At least,that's what their supporters tell us.This union isn't:

Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly's office is probing allegations that longshoremen's unions in Boston have for years padded payrolls with children as young as 2 1/2 years old, in a scheme designed to guarantee higher wages for their dependents once they are old enough to join the union, state officials said yesterday.
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For decades, longshoremen's locals have been controlled by clans, and it is not uncommon for grandfathers, fathers, and sons to be in the union at the same time. A law enforcement source and an industry official involved in the investigation said the scheme, which allegedly involved issuing the children union cards and putting them on the payroll for a few hours a year, appears to have been an effort both to guarantee high-wage jobs for the children of union members and to keep jobs inside traditional union families.

Organized crime.Boston Globe