INVESTIGATION OF IMPROPER ACTIVITIES IN THE LABOR OR MANAGEMENT FIELD TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1958 U.S. SENATE, SELECT COMMITTEE ON IMPROPER ACTIVITIES, Washington, D.C. The select committee met at 10:30 a.m., pursuant to Senate Resolution 221, agreed to January 29, 1958, in the caucus room, Senate Office Building, Senator John L. McClellan (chairman of the select committee) presiding. Present: Senator John L. McClellan, Democrat, Arkansas; Senator Barry Goldwater, Republican, Arizona. Also present: Robert F. Kennedy, chief counsel; Jerome S. Adlerman, assistant chief counsel; Arthur G. Kaplan, assistant counsel; Ruth Y. Watts, chief clerk. The CHAIRMAN. The committee will be in order. (Members of the select committee present at the convening of the session were Senators McClellan and Goldwater.) The CHAIRMAN. We resume hearings this morning in connection with the subject matter that we had under consideration on the last day of our previous hearings. Call the first witness. Mr. KENNEDY. I might just say before we call the first witness that as you know, we have been extremely interested in the democratic processes and procedures within certain unions, and we went into this situation rather extensively in the hearings that we had on the Teamsters Union, and the situation regarding St. Louis, Pontiac, Mich., and some other areas in Missouri, as well as the situation in New York regarding the elections there. So this morning will be a hearing involving not only a jukebox local, but a situation involving an election, or democratic processes and procedures within the local of the Teamsters Union in Youngstown, Ohio. The first witness-I would like to call two witnesses, Mr. Carelly and Mr. Sammartino. The CHAIRMAN. Will you be sworn, please? Do you and each of you solemnly swear that the evidence you shall give before this Senate select committee shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God? Mr. CARELLY. I do. Mr. SAMMARTINO. I do. TESTIMONY OF LARRY CARELLY AND JOSEPH SAMMARTINO The CHAIRMAN. The witness on my left, will you please state your name, your place of residence, and your business or occupation. Mr. SAMMARTINO. My name is Joseph Sammartino, and I am affiliated with the General Distributing Co., Youngstown, Ohio. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. And the next witness, will you identify yourself. Mr. CARELLY. My name is Larry Carelly, affiliated with the Islay Dairy Co., in Youngstown, Ohio. The CHAIRMAN. Do you gentlemen waive counsel? Mr. SAMMARTINO. Yes, sir. Mr. CARELLY. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. All right, Mr. Kennedy, proceed. Mr. KENNEDY. Let me get the spelling of your name, please. Mr. CARELLY. C-a-r-e-l-l-y. Joseph Lawrence Carelly. Mr. KENNEDY. And the name of the company you work for is I-s-l-a-y Dairy Co.? Mr. CARELLY. Yes, sir. Mr. KENNEDY. And Mr. Sammartino, it is S-a-m-m-a-r-t-i-n-o? Mr. KENNEDY. What is the name of your place of business? Mr. SAMMARTINO. General Distributing Co. Mr. KENNEDY. And you both drive trucks for those companies; is that right? Mr. CARELLY. That is right. Mr. SAMMARTINO. I am now a salesman, sir. Mr. KENNEDY. I will address the questions first to Mr. Carelly. Mr. KENNEDY. What local is that? Mr. CARELLY. No. 377. Mr. KENNEDY. How long have you been a member of that local? Mr. KENNEDY. And that takes in the truck drivers in the Youngstown, Ohio, area; is that right? Mr. CARELLY. Yes; which also includes Warren and Ashtabula, Ohio. Mr. KENNEDY. How many members do you have in that Teamster local? Mr. CARELLY. Approximately 4,500 to 5,000. Mr. KENNEDY. How long have you been a member? Mr. CARELLY. Since June of 1945. Mr. KENNEDY. Since that time, have you been on a checkoff system? Mr. CARELLY. Yes, sir. Mr. KENNEDY. Would you explain what that means? Mr. CARELLY. Well, on the checkoff system, the union entered into an agreement with the employer to have the employer take out their dues and remit those to the union. Mr. KENNEDY. Would you identify this, please? The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Carelly, I hand you a blank form here entitled "Statement, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen, and Helpers, Local Union 377," and I will ask you to examine it and state if you identify it, please. Mr. CARELLY. This is a statement of our local that is sent to our employer. The CHAIRMAN. That is sent to whom? Mr. CARELLY. Sent to our employer, mailed to our employer at the last day of every month. The CHAIRMAN. Mailed to your employer? Mr. CARELLY. Yes; on the last day of every month, whichever the case might be, the 30th or 31st of the month. The CHAIRMAN. That is a statement to your employer with respect to the amount of dues they should withhold and pay? Mr. CARELLY. Yes, sir, that is for each and every driver. The CHAIRMAN. For each driver? Mr. CARELLY. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. That memorandum or statement, or whatever it is, is sent to the employer for each driver? Mr. CARELLY. No, just one statement is sent for all of the drivers. The CHAIRMAN. They put the name of all of the drivers on there! Mr. CARELLY. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. And indicate the amount of dues that should be withheld? Mr. CARELLY. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. That may be made exhibit No. 1. (Document referred to was marked "Exhibit No. 1" for reference and may be found in the files of the select committee.) Mr. KENNEDY. When is this sent to the employer? Mr. CARELLY. I stated on the last day of the month, the 30th or 31st. Mr. KENNEDY. And it states the dues must be paid by the 10th of the month; is that right? Mr. CARELLY. Yes, sir. Mr. KENNEDY. Now, you have been on the checkoff system since 1945, where the employer sends in the dues and checks it off your salary and sends in the dues to the union headquarters. Now, were you nominated for office of this local? Mr. CARELLY. Yes, sir, I was, I was nominated from the floor, on the night of September 3, at a general membership meeting. Mr. KENNEDY. September 3 of this year; is that right? Mr. CARELLY. Yes, 1958. Mr. KENNEDY. And you were nominated for the position of trustee; is that right? Mr. CARELLY. Trustee and business agent. Mr. KENNEDY. Let me just ask Mr. Sammartino-how long have you been in the local? Mr. SAMMARTINO. Approximately 21 years, sir. Mr. KENNEDY. Have you also been in the checkoff system? Mr. SAMMARTINO. Yes, sir. Mr. KENNEDY. And your dues have been paid every month for 21 years by the employer; is that right? Mr. SAMMARTINO. No, sir, the checkoff system, I am just guessing, took effect approximately 14 years ago. Mr. KENNEDY. Prior to that you paid your own dues? Mr. SAMMARTINO. That is right. Mr. KENNEDY. But for 14 years, the checkoff system has been in effect? Mr. SAMMARTINO. That is just a guess. Mr. KENNEDY. That is on the arrangements made between the employer and the union officials, or union; is that right? Mr. SAMMARTINO. That is right. Mr. KENNEDY. It is done by contract? Mr. SAMMARTINO. Yes, sir. Mr. KENNEDY. It is part of the bargaining contract that the checkoff will take place? Mr. SAMMARTINO. That is right. Mr. KENNEDY. Were you also nominated for office? Mr. SAMMARTINO. Yes, sir, I was nominated for trustee and business agent. Mr. KENNEDY. At the same meeting? Mr. SAMMARTINO. September 3 meeting, sir. Mr. KENNEDY. Could you tell us, Mr. Carelly, what occurred after you were nominated? Mr. CARELLY. After I was nominated from the floor, the question came up concerning our eligibility, and so it was brought out to the attention that the officers maybe should go down to the union hall and find out who was eligible and who was not eligible according to the constitution. The reason I say to the union hall, this meeting is held at the Eagles Hall in Youngstown, Ohio, and it is a large auditorium, and doing something like this the audience is much greater than our union hall can possibly hold. So they came back with their findings, and claimed that only one of our men was eligible to run. Mr. KENNEDY. How many were nominated in your slate? Mr. CARELLY. There were four of us altogether, William DeGenaro. Mr. KENNEDY. Who was the fourth one? Mr. CARELLY. William Gaw. Mr. KENNEDY. And you were an opposition slate to the incumbent officers? Mr. CARELLY. That is right. They came back with the findings that William DeGenaro was the only one eligible to run. So after I found that out, I asked for the floor, and I made a statement to the effect that I didn't buy their findings, and that if I had to I would fight it and fight it all of the way to the courts. Mr. KENNEDY. Why were you ruled ineligible? Mr. CARELLY. Because they claimed according to the constitution my dues weren't paid 2 years prior to the nomination; that is, to be in good standing your dues would have to be paid on the first business day of each and every month, and as I stated before, the employer does not send the statement out until the 30th of the month or the 31st, and therefore our employer cannot possibly send the money back on the 1st of the month, so it is ineligible. The CHAIRMAN. May I enter a question there a moment. When the bill is sent out on the 30th of the month, from your union, what day do you get your check for your wages? Mr. CARELLY. Well, we get paid-let me put it this way-we get paid on the 10th and 25th of each and every month. Our dues are taken out the 25th of the month, the preceding month. |