I'm Paying Dues To This Union Thug?

The Clark County Educators Association (CCEA) has hired a new union thug in chief. But he is no ordinary union thug, he is a man who is disliked by other unions and also commits crimes.
From the LVRJ: Secret meetings in Chinatown.
Shredded documents.
Improper transfers of millions of dollars.
The details belong in a John Grisham thriller, but they aren't fiction.
The acts were carried out by a California labor union's inner circle dubbed the Shakers and Makers, a group led by John Vellardita, who was recently named the new executive director of the Clark County Education Association.
The Oakland, Calif., group plunged its own union, United Healthcare Workers-West, into disarray. Last year, a jury for Northern California's U.S. District Court ordered Vellardita and other members of the group to pay $1.5 million in damages to the local's parent union for conspiracy to make the union ungovernable, destruction of files and property, violating union bylaws and breaching fiduciary responsibilities.
But the controversy wasn't a deal breaker for those who ultimately selected Vellardita to represent teachers in heated negotiations with the Clark County School District. Vellardita begins his new job Oct. 17, said Ruben Murillo, president of the education association.
The teachers union is fully aware of Vellardita's past and is "100 percent behind him," Murillo said.
The union's board of directors hired Vellardita from a pool of 14 candidates identified in a national search....
http://www.lvrj.com/news/new-union-chief-at-county-schools-has-troubled-past-131412188.html
And more: Vellardita has been involved in labor for more than 35 years. He has led a multi-state Union Council and has been a distinguished guest of the European Trade Union. He founded the reform movement in the United Paperworkers International Union.
But the federal jury in San Francisco left Vellardita's record with a prominent blemish. The jury, unanimous in its decision, ordered 17 defendants to pay SEIU $1.5 million, which was just a fraction of SEIU's requested $25 million in damages. Included in that was $724,000 that a rival union was ordered to pay. That union was created by members of the Shakers and Makers, who broke away from the SEIU.
Of the 17 people named as defendants in the lawsuit, Vellardita was ordered to pay the largest chunk, $77,850. That's more than the $70,600 paid out by then United Healthcare Workers-West president Sal Rosselli.
Witnesses and evidence portrayed Vellardita as leading the effort to undo the California union from within. He recruited for the Shakers and Makers and gave orders, such as those to shred or hide union members' files, according to testimony from his former assistant in court documents.
"I was under John Vellardita's instruction," said the assistant under questioning by an attorney for the SEIU.
"And did he tell you why he was giving you that instruction?" the attorney asked.
"Because we didn't want to let International have easy access to our members' information. … There was stuff written on there that we can't replace," the assistant said....
And even more disturbing: In fact, SEIU was already in California at that time, opening an office in Alameda to prepare for the takeover, which happened Jan. 27, 2009.
"Defendants ... including Vellardita, broke into the office, terrorized a security guard," SEIU's attorney said in his opening trial statement. "They took a witness who you will hear from -- took a witness, a lady who was working there, grabbed files out of her hand and took other documents from that office on Jan. 27."
SEIU claimed it was taking over United Healthcare Workers-West because of an investigation finding that the local had "diverted $3,000,000 into a sham 'educational' entity that was set up for purposes different from its stated 'educational' purpose," SEIU wrote in a letter to the local's officers.
Vellardita was a trustee for the educational fund.
In the wake of the takeover, three Shakers and Makers, including Vellardita, approached a member who stayed with United Healthcare Workers-West, confronting him as he parked his car on a dark street outside his home after work. The man testified that they threatened him and yelled, "Sellout! Scab!" After they left, he immediately called police.
Teachers want to be treated like the professionals that we are. When the CCEA hires a true union thug like Vellardita is, we lose creditability.
This is a disgrace for the members of the teacher's union to hire a union thug like Vellardita and have him participate in negotiations. If he doesn't like the ways things are going, is he going to protest, is he going to break into buildings owned by the Clark County School District? Will he call for an illegal strike? Is he going to represent us or be an embarrassment to teachers?
It's a shame that the CCEA has decided to go into a more radical, less professional direction with the hiring of Vellardita. If the CCEA wants more respect from the community, administration and teachers, they should withdraw Vellardita offer of employment and go into another direction. Otherwise, us teachers will continue to be held in low esteem in the public eyes.