SEIU sues its ex-president, 2 ex-staffers in Vegas
The Service Employees International Union Local 1107 is suing Eleazar “Al” Martinez, its former president, and two former high-ranking staffers, alleging that they had a role in nearly $48,000 in misappropriated money.
Two separate payments went to departing employees at the union office shortly after Martinez lost his 2013 bid for re-election as president of the influential union, according to the lawsuit.
If the union prevails in court, it would receive a nearly $200,000 judgment in its favor when including punitive damages that SEIU is seeking.
The union describes the alleged actions of its former leader as “misconduct” in the lawsuit, filed Sept. 10 in District Court.
Besides Martinez, the union is suing Amber Lopez Lasater, its former chief of staff, and Birgit “Sam” Harris, its former financial officer.
The lawsuit alleges that in June 2013, two days after Martinez lost the election, Lasater received a payment of $39,561.25 in severance pay and medical premium payments.
Martinez approved the payments, and Harris issued the payments, according to the lawsuit.
However, the union and its executive board never authorized the payments, which aren’t allowed under its bylaws, the lawsuit contends.
Harris received $8,043.36, the equivalent of 30 days of “gifted” compensatory time, according to the lawsuit. That payment, while approved by Martinez and Lasater, didn’t have the union board’s approval, court documents allege.
Harris received the payment when she retired, and the union only discovered it after the fact, according to the lawsuit.
Martinez is an employee of Clark County, a major employer that the SEIU Local 1107 bargains with during negotiations. The union represents 4,589 county employees, according to its website. Martinez works in the parks and recreation department.
The local also represents employees at University Medical Center, private hospitals and the Regional Transportation Commission, among others.
Martinez declined to comment, deferring to Matthew Callister, his attorney. Callister wasn’t available Thursday.
The lawsuit seeks more than $140,000 in punitive damages, contending the defendant’s’ actions were “oppressive, willful and intentional or done with reckless disregard for the possible consequences.”
The union said in court filings that dollar amount is necessary to punish the defendants and deter future misconduct. The union is also seeking attorney fees.
The defendants haven’t filed a response in court. Union officials couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.
The money that the union is seeking is relatively small compared with its overall revenue. The local received $5.4 million in revenue in 2013, most from dues, according to the organization’s annual report filed with the U.S. Labor Department.
An expert in labor law says that the financial disclosure requirement for the SEIU is rare for a public-sector union.
Putting financial disclosure requirements in place for other unions that represent public employees would be a good step toward transparency, said Mark Ricciardi, an attorney with Fisher &Phillips who practices labor and employment law for employers.
SEIU Local 1107 is one of the few unions representing public government employees in Southern Nevada that is required to file financial disclosure reports with the federal government, said Ricciardi, who isn’t representing either party.
That’s because the government only requires financial disclosures for unions that represent workers for private employers. SEIU Local 1107, because it also represents employees in private sector hospitals, is required to file an annual financial disclosure.
Ricciardi, who also blogged about the issue, noted it’s up to states to regulate public employee unions and decide whether to enact disclosure requirements. Some states, including Alabama, Kansas and South Dakota, have passed legislation requiring annual financial reports.
“The best way for union members and the public to be sure unions are policing themselves is to have some sort of financial disclosure for these unions that is publicly filed with the government,” Ricciardi said.
Nevada lawmakers didn’t support a bill proposed in the 2011 Legislature that would have required annual reports made available for inspection to members who paid dues the prior year. That bill died.
Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-405-9781. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1.
