U.S. Department of Labor

Office of Labor-Management Standards
New York District Office
201 Varick Street, Room 878
New York, NY 10014
(646) 264-3190, fax (646) 264-3191






November 23, 2011



Mr. William Braden, Secretary-Treasurer
United Transportation Union (UTU) Local 1445


Case Number:
LM Number: 015224




Dear Mr. Braden:

This office has recently completed an audit of United Transportation Union (UTU) Local 1445 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 you on November 21, 2011, 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 Violations

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 1445’s records for 2009 and 2010, revealed the following recordkeeping violations:

• copies of canceled checks were not maintained


Based on your assurance that Local 1445 will retain adequate documentation in the future, OLMS will take no further enforcement action at this time regarding the above violations.

Reporting Violations

The audit disclosed a violation of LMRDA Section 201(b), which requires labor organizations to file annual financial reports accurately disclosing their financial condition and operations. Local 1445 was delinquent in filing its Labor Organization Annual Report Form LM-3 for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2010.

Since Local 1445 has filed the delinquent reports, no further enforcement action will be taken.

I want to extend my personal appreciation to United Transportation Union (UTU) Local 1445 for the cooperation and courtesy extended during this compliance audit. I strongly recommend that you make sure this letter and the compliance assistance materials provided to you are passed on to future officers. If we can provide any additional assistance, please do not hesitate to call.

Sincerely,




Investigator


cc: Mr. Ronald Sicinski, President