U.S. Department of Labor
Employment Standards Administration
Office of Labor-Management Standards
Milwaukee District Office
310 West Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 1160
Milwaukee, WI 53203
(414)297-1501 Fax: (414)297-1685
September 5, 2008
Mr. William Carroll, President
Teamsters Local 344
10020 W. Greenfield Ave.
Milwaukee, WI 53214
LM File Number: 036-973
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Dear Mr. Carroll:
This office has recently completed an audit of Teamsters Local 344 under the Compliance Audit Program (CAP) to determine your organization’s compliance with the provisions of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 (LMRDA). As discussed during the exit interview with Secretary Treasurer Paul Lovinus, Office Manager Geralyn Treis, and Attorney Scott Soldon on February 29, 2008, the following problems were disclosed during the CAP. The matters listed below are not an exhaustive list of all possible problem areas since the audit conducted was limited in scope.
Recordkeeping Violation
Title II of the LMRDA establishes certain reporting and recordkeeping requirements. Section 206 requires, among other things, that labor organizations maintain adequate records for at least five years by which each receipt and disbursement of funds, as well as all account balances, can be verified, explained, and clarified. As a general rule, labor organizations must maintain all records used or received in the course of union business.
For disbursements, this includes not only original bills, invoices, receipts, vouchers, and applicable resolutions, but also documentation showing the nature of the union business requiring the disbursement, the goods or services received, and the identity of the recipient(s) of the goods or services. In most instances, this documentation requirement can be satisfied with a sufficiently descriptive expense receipt or invoice. If an expense receipt is not sufficiently descriptive, a union officer or employee should write a note on it providing the additional information. For money it receives, the labor organization must keep at least one record showing the date, amount, purpose, and source of that money. The labor organization must also retain bank records for all accounts.
The audit of Local 344’s 2007 records revealed the following recordkeeping violation:
Adequate documentation was not maintained for airfare in the amount of $280.19 which was charged to a union credit card on January 7, 2007. There were no invoices, itineraries, or boarding passes found to indicate the name of the traveler, the location traveled to, or the dates of travel.
Based on your assurance that Local 344 will retain adequate documentation in the future, OLMS will take no further enforcement action at this time regarding the above violation.
I want to extend my personal appreciation to Teamsters Local 344 for the cooperation and courtesy extended during this compliance audit. I strongly recommend that you make sure this letter is passed on to future officers. If we can provide any additional assistance, please do not hesitate to call.
Sincerely,
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Investigator
cc: Paul Lovinus, Secretary Treasurer