U.S. Department of Labor
Office of Labor-Management Standards
Seattle District Office
1111 Third Avenue, Suite 605
Seattle, WA 98101-
(206) 398-8099 Fax: (206) 398-8090

 

May 5, 2010

Mr. Darren O'Neil, Secretary-Treasurer
Teamsters LU 252
217 E. Main Street
Centralia, WA 98531-4449 Case Number: ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LM Number: 001-682

Dear Mr. O'Neil:

This office has recently completed an audit of Teamsters LU 252 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, President Johnston, and Toni Keller on April 15, 2010, the following problem was disclosed during the CAP. The matter listed below is 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 of the goods or service. 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 the Teamsters Local 252’s 2009 records revealed the following recordkeeping violation:

Meal Expenses

Teamsters Local 252 did not require officers and employees to submit itemized receipts for meal expenses totaling at least $3000. For example, 66 out of 77 meal receipts were not itemized. The union must maintain itemized receipts provided by restaurants to officers and employees. These itemized receipts are necessary to determine if such disbursements are for union business purposes and to sufficiently fulfill the recordkeeping requirement of LMRDA Section 206.

Based on your assurance that Teamsters Local 252 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 LU 252 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,

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Investigator

cc: Mr. Gary Johnston, President