Save Our Union

Around the month of Oct. 07, it was discovered, that UTU/UTUIA President Thompson was seated on the Advisory Board of the American Income Life Insurance company (AIL); Concurrently while serving as President & CEO of the UTUIA. AIL is a direct competitor of the UTUIA. Not only is Thompson seated on AIL's Board, but so is Mike Sullivan the General President of SMWIA and SMART. Sullivan also serves on the UTUIA Board of Directors, elected to that position at the UTUIA Convention in Aug. 07. Thompson insisted that Sullivan be placed on the UTUIA Board of Directors, and made Sullivan's nomination to the Board, which was seconded by Assistant President Rick Marceau.  

The UTU International has launched an investigation concerning this matter, and the following is a repost excerpt from UTU.org:  

 ...."Another subject we are investigating is the appointment last July of a sitting UTU president to the advisory board of the American Income Life Insurance Co., which competes with our own UTUIA. That appointment may have constituted a conflict of interest with his position as a director and chief executive officer of the UTUIA, and we will report to you on the results of that investigation. We stress that this is not a matter of "going after" a former officer, but a matter of protecting UTUIA."......

It's also worth noting that the delegates of the UTUIA convention in Aug. 07; were not advised by Thompson or Sullivan of their positions on AIL's Advisory Board. Why did they withhold this information from the delegates, and who else on the UTUIA Board knew about it?

Below you will find a short article announcing their "elections to those positions". Apparently its more then an appointment, one has to seek the position and get elected.  Its worth noting the comments made by CEO & AIL's President Roger Smith where he states "...As members of the board, they will advise the company on its labor support program, which includes financial and corporate activities on behalf of unions....."   

 "....AIL Announces New Board Members
Frank Hurt, president of the
Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco
Workers and Grain Millers International
Union, United Transportation
Union President Paul C.
Thompson and Communications
Workers of America Executive
Vice President Jeffrey A. Rechenbach
were elected to the AIL/
NILICO Labor Advisory Board,
announced AIL/NILICO Labor
Advisory Board Executive Director
Jules Pagano.
AIL President & CEO Roger
Smith welcomed the new members
to the Labor Advisory Board and
said they bring added "strength,
wisdom and prestige" to the
group.
As members of the board, they
will advise the company on its labor
support program, which includes
financial and corporate activities
on behalf of unions...."

There are some obvious improprieties concerning this matter; and you have to ask yourself, what role did Brokenrail play in all this?   One thing is for certain-- a few years back-- he met with the management of AIL to discuss an acquisition by AIL of the UTUIA, as we discovered in an email to Dan Johnson, the GS&T at the time. 

As Brothers and Sisters we have received an overwhelming commitment and support in "Saving our Union". Some of us  feel strongly that we want to extend that same commitment towards "Saving our UTUIA".

As UTUIA Policyholders we currently are focusing on what can be done. We do know that what Sullivan is doing is raising Ethical questions.

We begin by asking Brother Mike Sullivan to step down immediately from his position as a UTUIA Board of Director.

We ask him to do so voluntarily, with all due respect, so as to spare him the embarrassment of the UTUIA Delegates taking the necessary and provided actions to remove him from our Board. We feel strongly that by his serving on two boards of competing insurance companies he is jeopardizing the financial interest of the policyholders of our Union's Insurance Association.

 

• Was Brokenrail aware of Thompson's election to the AIL Advisory Board at any time prior to the UTUIA Convention?

• Was Brokenrail aware of the fact that Mike Sullivan served on the AIL Advisory Board when Sullivan was elected onto the UTUIA Board of Directors?

• Were there any plans to sell the UTUIA to AIL, and if so who was aware of these plans?

• Why would Thompson, who has outspokenly considered the Teamsters a constant organizing threat to the UTU want to serve on an Advisory Board of a competing Insurance Company with Teamster's President Hoffa?

• Thompson and Sullivan received compensation and expenses while serving in their positions on the UTUIA Board of Directors, did they also receive compensation while serving on the AIL Advisory Board?

• Why weren't  the UTUIA Delegates advised at the UTUIA Convention by Thompson and Sullivan that they were serving on the AIL Advisory Board?

• What other UTU/UTUIA Officers and Employee/Directors were aware of Thompson serving on the AIL Advisory Board and when did they become aware of it?

• If the merger would go into effect, and the AIL Insurance Company would buy the UTUIA where and who would have control and access to the over 30 million dollars that would result from that sale?

The following is a Petition be circulated by UTUIA Delegates, UTUIA Policyholders, UTU Officers and Members. It is our understanding that it will be forwarded to Sullivan, UTUIA Board of Director Members, and the Ohio Insurance Commissioner. 

 

January 29, 2008

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Editors note: The following is a repost that can be found on the AIL website we repost it here for illustration purposes only.