Union Members To Put on Legal Pressure
Union Members To Put on Legal Pressure
WTVH-TV
updated 10:52 a.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 11, 2009
Members of the Carpenters Local 747 Union had their retirements robbed in Bernard mMadoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme. Now a gag order prevents them from knowing what happens next.
One month after carpenters in the local 747 union were told they’d finally get answers, all they got as they entered their union headquarters was a sign that read “no new information.” Dick Schneider, a retired union member, says “All the other locals in the area. All the other trades know where they’re at and how much they’ve lost. We have absolutely nothing.”
In the packed meeting, officials read aloud a gag order, adding another frustrating twist to the 150 million dollar question: Where’s our pension fund? Union member Kevin Whalen says, “It does seem weird. Our reps represent us and they put ‘em on a gag order. But what are ya going to do? We have to take it day by day.”
The union invested its retirement funds with disgraced financier Bernard Madoff who’s accused of a complex Ponzi scheme that scammed investors out of billions. And Downstate union leaders remain silent about what happens next. Schneider says, “They’re not letting out any information they have. Now why not. It just blows my mind and the only conclusion I can come up with is that they are trying to cover something up.”
Out of today meeting, 747 members formed a committee to hire attorneys to represent the union. They hope that when the Madoff scandal is settled in court, some of the money will be returned. It was announced yesterday that the Securities and Exchange Commission reached an agreement with Bernard Madoff that could eventually force him to not only pay a civil fine, but return whatever money he has left to investors.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29130937/
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