The charges brought by the federal police in 2021 were not proven and are entirely separate from Christopher’s case. But Leo Scordombis, assistant secretary of the manufacturing division of the UAW of the District of Columbia, said Greenfield should step down as secretary until his case is resolved.
“The accusations are serious and people in leadership positions, whether in the trade union movement or even in the corporate world, when situations like this arise [involving criminal charges] “He should not continue to hold and exercise power,” he said.
There is no indication that Greenfield is guilty, but it is unusual for an organization’s leader to remain in office after being accused of corruption.
Deputy National Secretary of the French Football Federation, Leo Scordombes. 60 minutes
The construction division of the Canadian Building Trades Union is facing a growing crisis amid explosive revelations about its links to the underworld, biker gangs and alleged corruption.
Federal Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said Sunday it was “unacceptable” for bikers to hold positions of power in the union.
He told ABC that he had asked his management to evaluate his options for cleaning up the union, including deregistration, but said he would assess the union movement’s reaction before deciding his next move.
Crown
Derek Christopher was unceremoniously appointed in recent months by Sitka – who dramatically resigned from the union on Friday night after facing questions from Financial Review– Investigate him – to replace him as leader of the most powerful branch of the CFMEU.
Evidence gathered by Operation Pantel includes footage from a hidden camera that recorded workers from some of Victoria’s largest construction companies repeatedly visiting Christopher’s home while it was being renovated. The companies are not involved in residential renovations.
Australian Taxation Office data obtained by Operation Pantile shows how workers secretly filmed by police at Christopher’s home renovation site were simultaneously being paid by commercial construction companies to ostensibly work on major building sites – not in Christopher’s residential job.
Wiretaps and listening devices also revealed evidence that Christopher arranged for free labor and supplies from major construction companies with agreements with the Canadian Building Trades Union, and used CBU representatives on commercial construction sites to help renovate his home.
the Financial Review She asserted that law enforcement intelligence indicates that Christopher tried to cover up his behavior by creating invoices after a police raid on his property in 2019.
Police raided the home of Transport Workers of Canada union official Derek Christopher in August 2019. Joe Armao
the Financial Review The raid was previously revealedBut details of the free benefits he received and the companies that provided them were not previously announced.
Belt said it “fully cooperated” with the police investigation, and Multiplex declined to comment. Express Interiors did not respond to requests for comment.
An unidentified source said the Building Trades Union of Canada conducted an internal investigation into the allegations at the time of the police raid but found no wrongdoing.
But the belief of many within the union that the investigation into Christopher – who did not respond to questions – was no longer active will be shattered when police confirm the investigation is still active and legal advice is being sought on whether the union president can be charged under Victoria’s Criminal Code.
There is no suggestion on this page that Christopher is guilty of a crime, a verdict that can only be reached by a court of law.
Secret Benefits of Union Communication
The revelation of the suspected bribes received by Christopher comes after a major investigation by this newspaper. 60 minutes I obtained an audio recording of Harry Kuras, describing a plan to transfer secret benefits separately to his union contacts.
Kuras, a former security company owner with underworld connections, was convicted of tax evasion in 2019.
the Financial Review And 60 minutes Corus launched the sting operation in March after gathering information from construction industry insiders that Corus was offering to help companies secure union support and access to major construction projects in exchange for large payments.
An undercover agent – who informed Corse that they were the owner of a new company seeking the support of the CFMEU to win contracts to supply construction sites with traffic control workers – approached Corse to ask about the possibility of obtaining union support.
The Building and Construction Workers Union strictly controls the entry of labor-hire and traffic-management companies into the industry, agreeing only to union-backed institutional bargaining agreements with certain companies, and pushing these favored companies onto some of the state’s most profitable construction sites.
Saturday, Financial Review The investigations revealed how those who served as biker gang leaders, along with other underworld figures, infiltrated the ranks of the CTU and, in some cases, Labor government projects in Victoria and New South Wales, exploiting preferential union treatment to profit.
Sitka’s personal role in intimidating a union leader was revealed Sunday, along with a secret video of a senior union organizer threatening to attack construction company owners working on the massive construction project.
Coras told the undercover agent at a meeting in an office in Coburg, north of Melbourne, that the Melbourne Building Workers’ Union was expanding its control over big construction, the Victorian government’s signature infrastructure agenda, by using its industrial muscle.
Corse also said the CFL used union-backed multilateral labour agreements — which are used in workplaces to fix wages and working conditions — to enable the union to control which companies can win contracts.
“You know now that the biggest union is the CFMEU. They are very smart about how they run their business,” said Kuras. “They don’t give loans to all workers easily. That’s because they control the market.”
There is a fee to get an EBA. This is a business. And everyone eats.
— Harry Kuras
The union has consolidated its control over the construction industry, Corse said, claiming that “the CBU tortures everything” to determine which subcontractors have access to major construction projects.
“They are going after everything. The huge project is theirs. You can’t get in if you don’t know someone. It won’t happen.”
Kuras explained that he was in close contact with union members who would help behind the scenes to force one company out of the mega-project and replace it with a new one. Doing so would require a bribe.
“My relationship with the union goes back 30 years, and my relationship with them is very good,” he said.
“So the bosses are all my friends. We all grew up together,” he said of the unnamed UAW officials. “I’ll ask them this. They’ll ask me two questions. One, why should I help you? And two, they want to eat. So there’s a fee to get an EBA. This is a business. And everyone eats.”
A bribe would secure access to the site, Coras said.
“They look at the big building… They look at it and they say, ‘Well, let’s put it up.’ [your new traffic management firm] here’.”
“So they’ll say, ‘This is yours.’ But to put you there, they have to move someone. This is business. And everybody eats.”
When asked if “everyone gets a share,” Kuras stressed that this should happen “to make it fair for everyone.”
Kuras then explained that the first payment from a new company to get union support was cash, giving the example of a scaffolding company that paid $100,000 up front to win work on a government project.
“That job cost them $100,000 to get. But, my friend, they’re making more than I can tell you.”
After the initial payment, which he believes was paid in cash, companies are required to pay an ongoing commission on every dollar they earn from the site, Kuras said.
But Cors explained that this cost was absorbed into the invoices sent to the main contractor, which in major construction projects is ultimately taxpayer money.
“The good thing is that it costs you nothing, it’s within your price range.” [that you are paid by the lead contractor]”.”
“So they’ll say to you, ‘I say for example,'”[new company]“The wage is $100 an hour. The boys should get $60. You keep $20.”
“The rest,” or one-fifth of every dollar paid to the new transit company, would be paid as a bribe so “everyone would eat,” Kuras said.
He said the bribe money would be paid through a consulting firm.
“The company gives you an invoice, which is ‘professional advice,'” he said.
At the end of the discussion, Kuras said he would organize a meeting between the Transport Workers Union and the new traffic management company. When asked if the union would request money during that meeting, Kuras said the request would be made before then.
“They will tell me in advance.”
Harry Kuras (left) with underworld character Mick Gatto. Instagram
The meeting never took place.
Corse’s comments on the tape contradict his strong denials, in which he said he never arranged agreements with the CBA for union payments and that he “had no idea” about the construction industry.
Asked if he had helped a company obtain a credit facility agreement from the CFMEU in exchange for commissions or union payments, Kuras said, “Absolutely not.”
“I’m not involved in anything like that, or unions or anything like that. I’m not involved in this industry. This is absolute nonsense,” he said.
He said he had “never met the union,” [was] It has nothing to do with the union. This is absolutely not true.
“Maybe I got former guards who worked there. [in the CFMEU] Or people who work there but I don’t meet them and talk about the building. [industry]”I would have no idea.”
In a statement, the Oil and Gas Workers Union said it had no evidence that any official had received any payments from companies that signed the multiple economic aid agreements.
“Anyone found to be involved in this behaviour has no place in the Transport Workers’ Union,” the statement said.
