MAJORITY MEMBERS: MINORITY MEMBERS:
VIRGINIA FOXX, NORTH CAROLINA, ROBERT C. “BOBBY” SCOTT, VIRGINIA,
Chairwoman Ranking Member
JOE WILSON, SOUTH CAROLINA RAÚL M. GRIJALVA, ARIZONA
GLENN THOMPSON, PENNSYLVANIA JOE COURTNEY, CONNECTICUT
TIM WALBERG, MICHIGAN GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN,
GLENN GROTHMAN, WISCONSIN NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS
ELISE M. STEFANIK, NEW YORK FREDERICA S. WILSON, FLORIDA
RICK W. ALLEN, GEORGIA SUZANNE BONAMICI, OREGON
JIM BANKS, INDIANA MARK TAKANO, CALIFORNIA
JAMES COMER, KENTUCKY ALMA S. ADAMS, NORTH CAROLINA
LLOYD SMUCKER, PENNSYLVANIA MARK DESAULNIER, CALIFORNIA
BURGESS OWENS, UTAH
BOB GOOD, VIRGINIA
COMMITTEE ON DONALD NORCROSS, NEW JERSEY
PRAMILA JAYAPAL, WASHINGTON
LISA C. MCCLAIN, MICHIGAN
MARY E. MILLER, ILLINOIS
MICHELLE STEEL, CALIFORNIA
EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE SUSAN WILD, PENNSYLVANIA
LUCY MCBATH, GEORGIA
JAHANA HAYES, CONNECTICUT
RON ESTES, KANSAS U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ILHAN OMAR, MINNESOTA
JULIA LETLOW, LOUISIANA HALEY M. STEVENS, MICHIGAN
KEVIN KILEY, CALIFORNIA 2176 RAYBURN HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING TERESA LEGER FERNÁNDEZ,
AARON BEAN, FLORIDA NEW MEXICO
ERIC BURLISON, MISSOURI WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6100 KATHY E. MANNING, NORTH CAROLINA
NATHANIEL MORAN, TEXAS FRANK J. MRVAN, INDIANA
JOHN JAMES, MICHIGAN JAMAAL BOWMAN, NEW YORK
LORI CHAVEZ-DEREMER, OREGON
BRANDON WILLIAMS, NEW YORK
ERIN HOUCHIN, INDIANA
March 15, 2024
Claude Cummings, Jr.
President
Communications Workers of America
501 Third Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
Dear Mr. Cummings:
The Committee on Education and the Workforce (Committee) is concerned about fraud,
embezzlement, and corruption perpetrated by union officials. To ensure workers represented by
labor organizations are shielded from malfeasance by union officials, the Committee requests
documents and information relating to the Communications Workers of America’s (union) efforts
to protect employees and deter fraud, corruption, and improper accounting.
The Committee is concerned by reports from the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of
Inspector General and Office of Labor-Management Standards (OLMS) highlighting significant
fraud, embezzlement, and corrupt behavior by union officials. The Committee is particularly
concerned that over the past decade OLMS has reported 725 federal indictments and 693
convictions of union officials and other union associates.1 The Committee’s oversight efforts on
just a dozen private-sector unions involve more than $3.2 million in embezzlement and $220,000
in bribery.
A recent example of this corruption is related to your union’s own activities. On March 6, 2023,
Jesse Kehler, the former treasurer of the union’s Local 84758 in Dayton, Ohio, was charged in a
two-count indictment with grand theft for embezzling $54,354 in union funds.2 Mr. Kehler was
ordered by the court to pay $24,359 in restitution.3
The Committee has jurisdiction over legislation that protects employees from union
mismanagement and corruption, including the National Labor Relations Act and the Labor-
1
DOL, OLMS, HISTORICAL ENFORCEMENT DATA, ANNUAL TOTALS OF INDICTMENTS & CONVICTIONS, FY 2014 TO
FY 2023, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/olms/enforcement/data.
2
DOL, OLMS, 2023 CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS (Jan. 31, 2024),
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/olms/criminal-enforcement/2023.
3
Id.
Claude Cummings, Jr.
March 15, 2024
Page 2
Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. For the Committee to determine unions’ adherence
to these important laws and to weigh the need for possible revisions to them or additional
legislation, we are asking unions to provide the following information by no later than April 3,
2024:
1. A comprehensive description of the policies and procedures the union has in place to
monitor and deter fraud, corruption, and improper accounting, including any third-party
audits. In this description, please include the names and titles of those who design and
implement these policies.
2. A comprehensive description of the policies and procedures the union requires its locals
to have in place to monitor and deter fraud, corruption, and improper accounting,
including any third-party audits. In this description, please include the names and titles of
those who design and implement these policies. If the union does not have policies and
procedures for its locals, please articulate how the union ensures that fraud, corruption,
and improper accounting do not occur among its local unions.
3. A comprehensive description of the education the union provides its staff to ensure that
proper accounting standards are observed for the oversight of funds, assets, and property
for the national organization and for the local unions. In this description, include the
names and titles of those who design and implement these policies. If the union does not
provide its locals with such education, please articulate how the union ensures financial
oversight is conducted by the locals.
4. An explanation of whether the union has an internal reporting mechanism, such as a
hotline, for its members, staff, and whistleblowers to report any examples of fraud,
corruption, or improper accounting. In this explanation, please provide the names and
titles of those responsible for reviewing any complaints received. Additionally, if such a
mechanism exists, please explain how many staff reports have been made using it over
the past decade.
5. An explanation of whether the union requires its local unions to maintain internal
reporting mechanisms for their members, staff, and whistleblowers to report any
instances of fraud, corruption, or improper accounting. If such mechanisms exist at the
local level, please describe how many staff reports have been made at each local over the
past decade. If the union does not have such a requirement for its local unions, please
explain how staff at the local level can report their concerns to their local’s leadership.
6. A comprehensive description of any internal disciplinary policies the union has in place
to punish instances of fraud, corruption, and improper accounting. In this explanation,
please provide the names and titles of those responsible for creating and administering
such policies. Additionally, in this description, please include an explanation of whether
the union has any internal or legal requirement that it must report such instances to
appropriate federal agencies or other law enforcement agencies.
Claude Cummings, Jr.
March 15, 2024
Page 3
7. A comprehensive description of any disciplinary policies that the local unions have in
place to punish instances of fraud, corruption, and improper accounting. In this
description, please include an explanation of the union’s requirements that the local
unions report such instances to appropriate federal agencies, other law enforcement
agencies, and the union itself.
The Committee has jurisdiction over labor-related matters and it “shall review and study on a
continuing basis the application, administration, execution, and effectiveness of laws and
programs addressing subjects with its jurisdiction” as set forth in House Rule X.4 The
Committee’s investigation on this matter is within the Committee’s jurisdiction and is a “subject
on which legislation ‘could be had.’”5 This request and any documents created as the result of
this request will be deemed congressional documents and property of the Committee.
Please deliver your responses to 2176 Rayburn House Office Building. If you have any questions
about this request, please contact Committee staff at 202-225-4527. Thank you for your prompt
attention to this request.
Sincerely,
Virginia Foxx
Chairwoman
4
RULES OF THE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 6, 7, 9-12 (118th Cong.) (Jan. 10, 2023).
5
Trump v. Mazars USA, LLP, 140 S.Ct. 2019, 2031 (2020) (internal citations omitted).
