U.S. Department of Labor
Office of Labor-Management Standards
Cleveland District Office
1240 East 9th Street, Suite 831
Cleveland, OH 44199
(216) 357-5455 Fax: (216) 357-5425

 

 

 

March 8, 2011

Paul Meister, Treasurer
Metal Workers Alliance
PO Box 8
Minerva, OH 44657 Case Number: ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LM Number: 050134

Dear Paul Meister:

This office has recently completed an audit of the Metal Workers Alliance 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 January 27, 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 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 the Metal Workers Alliance’s 2009 records revealed the following recordkeeping violation:

Disposition of Gifts

A record of the disposition of the Honey Baked Ham holiday gift packages was not found in the 2009 union record. The purchase of the gift packages was documented and it is understood that the list documenting the distribution of the gift packages to members was inadvertently destroyed.

To properly account for union funds and property, a record tracking the purchase and distribution of gifts to members needs to be maintained and damaged documents need to be replicated for the union record.

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

I want to extend my personal appreciation to Metal Workers Alliance 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: Brad Bell, President