FBI agents arrested several union members of Philadelphia’s Ironworkers Local 401 Wednesday on multiple counts including arson, violent crime in the aid of racketeering, and conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.No word yet from Richard Trumka on this story.
The investigation is ongoing and will likely scrutinize unions’ allies in political office, according to sources.
National Review wrote extensively about Ironworkers Local 401 last year as part of a broader investigation into how, for decades, organized labor has dominated the construction industry in Philadelphia through violence, intimidation, harassment and vandalism. Investigations and arrests have long been rare.
The 49-page indictment details how members of Local 401, who called themselves “the Helpful Union Guys,” or “THUGS,” allegedly extorted, intimidated and bullied businesses and contractors, forcing them to hire union members, even when they were “unwanted, unnecessary and superfluous.”
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Philadelphia’s Union ‘Thugs’ Indicted: Arrests for arson, violent crime, and conspiracy
The National Review reports:
